Healing the planet: traditional spiritual beliefs and sustainable management of ecosystems in the Amazon Forest, Colombia
Elders of the indigenous communities of the Colombian Amazon have sustainably managed their forest for millennia. They practise an ecotheology founded on their sacred history (Historia) narrating actions of gods that created the universe, world, and humanity. Plants, animals, and ecological niches h...
| Published in: | Practical theology |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group
2022
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| In: |
Practical theology
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| RelBib Classification: | AG Religious life; material religion BB Indigenous religions KBR Latin America NBD Doctrine of Creation NBE Anthropology NCG Environmental ethics; Creation ethics TK Recent history |
| Further subjects: | B
traditional indigenous knowledge
B Climate Change B Ecotheology B Colombian Amazon |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Elders of the indigenous communities of the Colombian Amazon have sustainably managed their forest for millennia. They practise an ecotheology founded on their sacred history (Historia) narrating actions of gods that created the universe, world, and humanity. Plants, animals, and ecological niches have spiritual owners consulted before using or hunting. Humans are regarded as an integral part of the natural world. These wisepeople undertake careers following their Historia, using their wisdom to resolve problems of deforestation and effects of climate change. Worldwide, moves to fully include indigenous peoples in climate and environmental change forums and decision-making bodies are on-going. Since 1992, the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) has promoted integration of indigenous knowledge and practices in environment management (article 8j). This can be challenging due to differences in academic and local knowledge systems. Centred on my twenty years of multidisciplinary health and environmental projects with Uitoto, Muinane, Andoke and other Colombian Amazon communities, in this article I set out elements of the ecotheological systems practised by these groups. I argue for the relevance of their understanding of the relationship between sustainable ecosystem management and traditional religious practices to practical theological knowledge. |
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| ISSN: | 1756-0748 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Practical theology
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/1756073X.2022.2081290 |