Migratory locusts are among the most damaging agricultural plagues in the world. However, the role of grasshoppers and locusts in human societies embraces other cultural dimensions. For the Gran Chaco (an immense plain located in the west of Paraguay, the north of Argentina, a small portion of the south-west of Brazil, and part of the east of Bolivia), the documentation available contains no clear description of the topic, although information is scattered throughout a variety of bibliographic sources. This study presents a synthesis of the significance and role of locusts and grasshoppers for Indigenous communities of the Gran Chaco. It is the result of an exhaustive bibliographic review of the region, as well as fieldwork conducted with various Toba communities. The resulting information has been organized by cultural topic. The references come under ten headings: food, damage, shamanism, fishing, toponyms, names of bands, textile art, string games, oral narrative, and vernacular nomenclature. Details describing forms of gathering and consumption, present and past uses, as well as the reasons why they were abandoned, were recorded, along with negative assessments and the fear experienced at the arrival of swarms of locusts. This synthesis allows reconstruction of a historical cultural aspect of the Gran Chaco which has received little attention, while recording prevailing cultural aspects and others that have fallen into disuse.

The collection and consumption of wild edible plants (WEPs) and fungi is an important part of the foodways of many populations worldwide. Knowledge of WEPs and fungi is considered a significant component of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), and is greatly impacted by social, economic, political, and cultural contexts and changes. T his study showcases a naturalistic comparison between more traditional villages and villages that were part of a government program to promote walnut production. We document the ethno-species of WEPs and fungi and analyze the corresponding socio-economic implications in an ethnic Nuosu township in the northwest region of Yunnan Province, China. Semi-structured interviews, free lists, household surveys, and cultural consensus analysis were used for data collection and data analysis. We recorded 139 ethno-species of WEPs and fungi, and consensus analysis indicates a good fit of the cultural consensus model with respect to Nuosu people's knowledge on WEPs and fungi. Quantitative analysis shows gender does not have an effect on local knowledge of WEPs and fungi, and different types of villages and travel-time required to collect WEPs and fungi are not correlated with competence scores. However, the correlation between competence scores of WEPs and fungi with gender and travel time show moderate effect-sizes. Age plays an important role in knowledge of WEPs and fungi among Nuosu people in the study township, showing that the older the person, the higher their score. This article illustrates the plight and reality of traditional knowledge about WEPs and fungi of the Nuosu people, revealing a trend that traditional knowledge is gradually changing due to social, economic, and ecological changes.

Hunting is a key subsistence strategy and source of income and food security for rural communities throughout the world. Hunters often gift game meat to their friends or family in return for reciprocation or other social benefits. We used interviews to assess how hunters in an Amazonian Indigenous community navigate the economic, subsistence, and social aspects of hunting. We found that hunters typically sell the most valuable and preferred species whole, except for the head, gift better cuts of less-preferred species, and consume the lowest quality portions of non-preferred species. We conclude that hunters use species and portions of carcasses differentially to maximize profit and food security and fit the social norms of the community. Understanding the social systems surrounding wild game use in rural Amazonian communities provides insight into how the loss of wild mammals could influence food security and social relationships.

Among the Nasa, an Indigenous culture of Colombia, established in the Departments of Cauca, Huila, Valle del Cauca, Caquetá, and Putumayo, the Hummingbird and the Condor are symbols of spirituality. The Hummingbird represents the fertility and abundance of crops; it is the giver of water and the one that harmonizes the Condor to prevent it from bringing negative energies to the territory. On the other hand, the Condor is the ruler of the great mountains, who can bring good or bad energies to the territories because it is the only one that knows the way to the afterlife. To achieve both harmonization and protection of the territory, the Nasa people, every September 21, perform the Saakhelu ceremony. This ceremony symbolizes their cultural identity and this legacy has been maintained for thousands of years, representing the most significant festival within their five grand festivities, bringing them together throughout their territory. All the spirits of nature are invited to this ceremony, particularly the Hummingbird and the Condor. Therefore, this study aims to understand the biocultural importance of these two birds in the Nasa culture. For this, the Saakhelu ceremony was analyzed, following ethnographic methods and the dialogue of knowledge with three knowledge holders of the Nasa people, who have the ancestral knowledge of their culture and the spiritual responsibility of being essential guides for their people.

Malaria is endemic in Brazilian Amazonia, accounting for 99% of national cases. Amazonian forest peoples (both Indigenous and traditional) understand and treat the disease based on their knowledge, rituals, and religion. In recent decades, biomedical health coverage has expanded in the region, with implications for local perceptions and practices to prevent, treat, and recover from malaria. This paper attempts to understand how the expansion of biomedical healthcare among forest peoples interacts with their ethnomedicinal knowledge. Our results clearly indicate that most of our research participants in rural northwest Amazonia believe that malaria has a variety of causes, forms of prevention, and treatment. We also found that these beliefs are shaped by both local knowledge (including Indigenous) and some technical concepts of biomedicine. Consequently, new approaches and practices in healthcare need to be developed which consider forest peoples' perceptions and understanding.

Home gardens are often the most agrobiodiverse sites in the anthropogenic environment, a space where crops and other useful plants are often transplanted from other components of the landscape. This study investigates the plant composition of home gardens and their usefulness in 12 small towns and villages—with three of these chosen as the focus for in-depth research—situated in the Jeju province of South Korea. The goal of the research is to explore their roles in local ethnobotany in the context of habitat conversion and land use change. The 131 home gardens surveyed in these villages yielded 164 species- and variety-level plant taxa (52 wild, 109 domesticated, and 3 introduced), of which 95 were useful plant taxa (39 wild, 55 domesticated, and 1 introduced). Use of home garden plants was predominantly for food and medicinal purposes. Home garden plant usefulness was more multi-functional and thus more versatile than practices associated with these plants in non-garden habitats. Plant diversity in home gardens was supported by the presence of nearby forest and grassland areas. Interview data indicate that plant users were motivated to transplant wild plants into their home gardens in order to secure a consistent supply, given decreases in wild plant populations in the last 15–20 years. The loss and overharvesting of forests and other wild plant habitats have caused the decrease in these plant populations. Underlying drivers of the habitat conversion and land use change influencing increased wild plant transplants to home gardens are local livelihood and lifestyle changes, including the earlier expansion of commercial agriculture beginning in the late 1960s and the accelerated growth of tourism since 2000.

Understanding local knowledge about wildlife, local uses, and local people's willingness to support conservation activities are crucial factors in formulating wildlife conservation strategies. We conducted a semi-structured questionnaire survey of 1017 people from 105 villages located in different ecological regions across all seven Provinces of Nepal. We performed generalized linear mixed modeling (GLMM) to investigate the key drivers influencing respondents' knowledge about pangolins, based on a questionnaire score. We identified provinces, ethnicity, occupation, gender, and age group as strong predictors influencing local ecological knowledge about pangolins. The respondents from provinces in the western part of Nepal represented significantly lower knowledge scores than the respondents from the eastern and central provinces. Similarly, respondents belonging to non-Indigenous groups, students, females, and people aged between 18–30 years had the lowest knowledge scores about pangolins. A range of uses and beliefs about pangolins were reported across Nepal, and 48% of respondents believed that pangolin scales and meat were used for traditional medicines. The majority of respondents (71.1%) were willing to support pangolin conservation in their local areas. Our study suggests that awareness programs, alternative livelihood, and income-generating trainings for local communities could be helpful in enhancing the long-term conservation of pangolins in Nepal. Increased efforts are needed in western Nepal and across the country with non-Indigenous communities, females, young people, and students. Thus, this study offers an important baseline to help design and execute effective community-based conservation actions and management decisions for pangolin conservation.