Abstract
In this chapter the local system of Campo Bello will be compared to three other local systems from different world contexts. What they have in common is the fact that they are quite ‘remote’ in terms of accessibility and ‘backward’ compared to the general economic development of their country. The aim of such a comparative undertaking is to find out whether the courses of development taken by each of these local settings actually follow a similar pathway; and if this is the case, what can be learnt for a sustainability transition? Specifically, I will look at three different sets of biophysical indicators – ecological, agro-economic and human labour time – in order to find whether the systems, which are all at different sociometabolic transition stages, undergo, in biophysical terms, similar transformation processes. The second specific aim is to examine some of the drivers for change. The whole discussion is embedded in two theoretical frameworks: the intensification theory and the sociometabolic regime theory.
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- 1.
For SangSaeng, there is no comparative time use data available, since the generation of time use data is largely restricted to labour investments in agricultural activities and hence does not suffice to establish a 24-h time use profile for the whole system.
- 2.
Hereafter, Ban Nalang will solely be referred to as Nalang.
- 3.
To assess the biophysical parameters of these three communities the same methodology was followed as described in Chapter 2 of this monograph. For a more detailed discussion on data collection methods see Singh et al. 2001; Singh and Grünbühel 2003; Grünbühel et al. 2003; Singh and Schandl 2003; Schandl and Grünbühel 2005.
- 4.
Only 5% of Indian rice produced in SangSaeng is consumed within the village. In comparison, 90% of glutinous rice production is consumed by the producers themselves within a year (Grünbühel et al. 2003: 60).
- 5.
In his publication, Wilkinson (1973) gives an interesting account of how the Industrial Revolution in England was directly related to a shortage of land and land-based resources (e.g., wood), which, in turn, led to the exploitation of coal.
- 6.
This figure has been inspired by many scholars. The first idea came from Grünbühel et al. (2007: 149), who designed a scale based on the principle of a Guttman scale in order to measure their hypothesis of the existence of ‘an in-built irreversible dynamics from one stage to the next’. Following their publication, many useful suggestions to enhance the logic and clarity of the figure were brought forward by Christian Lauk during a meeting at the Institute of Social Ecology in April 2009. His thoughts on separating the land use from the production practices, as was the case originally, inspired the structure of this figure. Moreover, I found Boserup’s (1965: 15–16) grouping of five types of land use useful in order to obtain a more differentiated basis upon which to ground the four empirical cases. Lastly, Hobbes’ (2005) article on material flow accounting in rural communities was instructive for making a subdivision between independent and incorporated (agriculture) within the stages ‘sale of agricultural surplus’ and ‘production for the market’.
- 7.
Recently, some Nalang families have introduced the planting of cucumbers that are sold on the local market. It is the only major cash crop in the village besides bananas (Mayrhofer-Grünbühel 2004: 101-102). Notwithstanding, due to its only minor importance as compared to subsistence rice production (dry season cucumber cultivation accounts for 13% of all agricultural harvests), I have avoided to categorise the production modes of Nalang as ‘production for market’.
- 8.
There is still some doubt as to whether the interior grasslands on Trinket exist due to natural processes or are a result of previous human colonization by Danish invaders. What has remained certain, however, is that the colonizers left cattle on Trinket that continues to maintain the grasslands as such and prevent succession. For this analysis, it is assumed that the grasslands are man-made (see Singh 2003a).
- 9.
According to FAO data, recommended minimum daily intakes are 2,500 kcal/d – FAO (2001).
- 10.
The means of market exchange, however, differs between SangSaeng and Trinket. Whereas SangSaeng’s market transactions are done via cash, Trinket’s exchange mechanisms are largely based on copra barter trade.
- 11.
Root crops especially are known for their low labour requirements. In Descola’s (1996: 322) view, this is the reason why in the last four or five millennia Amazonian societies always planted manioc; an activity that did not engender less leisure time that could be used in hunting, gathering and fishing.
- 12.
Lee and De Vore (1968), for example, forward the figure 0.6 cap/km² for pure hunting and gathering societies of the Pleistocene era.
- 13.
At the present growth rate, Nalang will reach SangSaeng’s population density within 27 years. It appears likely that Nalang will not be able to sustain such a growth rate for long, since land suitable for agriculture has already become scarce and the strategy of expansion has more or less reached its limit (Grünbühel et al. 2007: 175).
- 14.
In January 2006, for example, river floods destroyed large amounts of rice and plantains that were cultivated on alluvial river terraces. Local people were suddenly deprived of their subsistence and economic base and had to resort to emergency food aid.
- 15.
An average of 14h/cap·a are invested in copra production; 121 h/cap·a are spent on fishing activities (Grünbühel et al. 2007: 172).
- 16.
In his book ‘The Great Transformation’ Polanyi (1957) contends that market exposure leads to a substantial change in a society’s socio-cultural and subsistence structure.
- 17.
These interventions largely took place before the Bolivian State officially recognised the Tsimane’ Territory in 1990, granting legal land titles to various indigenous groups in the region.
- 18.
In 1998, per capita water consumption in a household in Sang Saeng amounted to 107 l. Total annual water consumption amounted to 8,868,789 l, out of which around one third were used for agriculture (Grünbühel et al. 1999: 20).
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Ringhofer, L. (2010). Comparing Local Transitions Across The Developing World. In: Fishing, Foraging and Farming in the Bolivian Amazon. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3487-8_6
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