A comparative study of the socio-ecological concomitants of cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) diversity, local knowledge and management in Eastern Indonesia

Abstract

We compare cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) diversity, local knowledge and management practices in two eastern Indonesian populations that differ both ecologically and socioculturally (Nuaulu on the island of Seram, and Debut in the Kei archipelago) and make some reference to a third population (Buano, west of Seram). The report is set within the wider problem of understanding the differences and similarities between M. esculenta in its homeland (South America) and in its diaspora, and specifically in island Southeast Asia. We show how under different conditions the importance of diversity and of toxicity varies, and how in particular this is related to environmental degradation and biocultural aspects of food ecology.