Seven Names for the Bellbird: Conservation Geography in Honduras

Features

• Cover Type: Hard Cover with 250 pages
• Published by: Texas A&M University Press
• Edition: 1st Edition July 2003
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 1585442496
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-1585442492
• Book Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Weighs: 1.3 pounds

Product Review
" gorgeously written, and deserves to be on the naturalist's bookshelf alongside the classic works of Aldo Leopold, Peter Matthiessen, and John McPhee." - Gregory Knapp; " a fresh (and refreshing) account of the intimate Interaction among the Honduran landscape, birds, and local inhabitants." - Miles Richardson, Louisiana State University

Product Description
Offering intimate and unforgettable descriptions of the birds and people that inhabit Honduran landscapes, Seven Names for the Bellbird showcases the deep-rooted local traditions of bird appreciation and holds them up as a model for sound management of the environment. Through his recounting of local lore, author Mark Bonta makes the interaction between culture and avifauna in Latin America a key to better understanding the practice of biodiversity protection. He offers a significant contribution to the scarce anthropological and geographical literature on human-environment relationships in Central America and also provides stories of native birds and their human observers. After a decade in the field in Honduras, Bonta came to realize that, contrary to outsiders' general beliefs, the society he observed was predisposed "to like birds, to observe birds, to weave them into folklore, and to protect them on private property." Bonta argues that if North Americans and Europeans were to pay real attention to local knowledge and practice--instead of condemning them out-of-hand and imposing upon them new beliefs and techniques--they would learn that rural cultures offer alternative ways of accommodating habitats and wildlife. Bonta uses the concept of "conservation geography"--the study of human beings and their landscapes, with natural resource conservation in the forefront--to advance his argument. He describes many cases in which local individuals and their traditional knowledge of birds contribute to a de facto variety of bird conservation that precedes or parallels "official" bird protection efforts. This book is not offered as "proof" that all birds have happy futures in the Neotropics.Bonta recognizes the ravages of both human pressures and natural disasters on the birds and forests. But he shows that in many instances, birds are safe and even thrive in the presence of local people, who "celebrate them just as often as they persecute them."

Reader Reviews
Seven Names for the Bellbird goes beyond typical discussions of environmental problems in Latin America to show how real people and real birds interact in their shared landscapes. The wealth of details in Bonta's discussion makes a significant contribution to the study of human-animal interactions. Easily accessible and yet provocative, Bonta shows how conservation activities need to be based on local practices and control of resources--a lesson not just for environmentalists working in developing countries, but good advice for people working to protect their own neighborhoods.