What is biocultural diversity, and why does it matter?

By Peter Bridgewater, Adjunct Professor, University of Canberra
Suraj Upadhaya, Postdoctoral research associate, Iowa State University

What do the English concept of the countryside, the French paysage, the Spanish dehesas and Australian Aboriginal country have in common? All of these are unique landscapes which created through long-term management by people. All are underpinned by centuries, even millennia, of intangible knowledge, cultural heritage and practice.

Crucially, these landscapes also contain more biodiversity than the areas that surrounding them. It was this observation that created the term “biocultural diversity”, to encompass how crucial the knowledge, innovations, and practices…

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