Peru

Seeking relief from dry spells, Peru’s capital looks to its ancient past
By: Erica Gies
July 9, 2019
National Geographic
Key Words: Peru, ancient canals, water, desert, restore ancient technology, climate change, drought
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/seeking-relief-from-drought-peru-capital-lima-looks-to-ancient-past#:~:text=Seeking%20relief%20from%20dry%20spells,pre%2DInca%20amunas%20are%20located
Peru’s capital city, Lima, is a desert and has a deficit of water usage. Ancient stone canals, called amunas, are being restored to bring water from highlands to sandy areas where they soak in to join underground springs and resurface elsewhere. A study found these systems to be highly accurate, and water reemerged in an average of 45 days. Revaluing the amunas, a system in place 1400 years previously, revalues indigenous knowledge and is cheaper than more modern techniques although a combination of modern and ancient techniques will be needed to supply the vast city with water as the climate changes.

How Traditional Knowledge Opens Nature’s Medicine Cabinet
By: Jane Palmer
Sapiens: Anthropology / Everything Human
Mar. 22, 2019
Key words: Medicine, traditional knowledge, plants, healing, health, Peru, Western science, traditional healers / curandero
https://www.sapiens.org/body/peruvian-health-care/?utm_source=SAPIENS.org+Subscribers&utm_campaign=765ddcc80f-Email+Blast+12.22.2017_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_18b7e41cd8-765ddcc80f-182818105
A botanist, cultural anthropologists, and traditional healers, called curanderos, are working together to bring plants that have been used for medicinal purposes for thousands of years into pharmacies to work alongside Western medical advancements. Studies of the traditional plants showed that they are highly effective and often cheaper than Western medicines, but people often choose Western medicines for the speed at which they take effect. The team hopes to bring recognition to the curanderos’ healing practices and encourage that their methods work in parallel to Western science’s methods.

The Importance of Traditional Ecological Knowledge in Agroecological Systems in Peru
By: Christina R. Saylor, Dr. Kamal A. Alsharif, and Hannah Torres
International Journal of Biodiversity Science, Ecosystem Services & Management, 13:1
2017
Keywords: Social ecology, ethno-ecology, agroecology, traditional ecological knowledge, indigenous knowledge, ecosystem services, environmental management, sustainability, Peru, Lake Titicaca
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21513732.2017.1285814
This study highlights the importance of Traditional Ecological Knowledge within an ecosystems services approach to environmental management. Issues of scheduling, climate variability and water availability are among the issues where Traditional Ecological Knowledge can play an important role.