The indigenous management of biodiversity and agriculture in the Andes and Amazon regions

Conventional anthropocentric approaches to biodiversity conservation and agriculture have proven insufficient to halt biodiversity loss and climate change. This article argues that indigenous Buen Vivir approaches from the Andes and Amazon regions may contribute to current agroecology and convivial conservation practices by adding a distinct biocentric worldview. Most indigenous agricultural practices can be considered as agroecological practices. Agroecology offers an alternative vision and proposes that technology should be adapted to the specific regional, social and cultural circumstances. It aims to optimize interactions between plants, animals, humans, and the environment while addressing issues of equity and sustainability. Indigenous agroecological practices add additional – not merely technical – aspects, in the sense that they are imbedded in worldviews that are more biocentric that can benefit Western societies and may serve as a lesson for current Western agricultural practices and consequently benefit biodiversity. Therefore, a fundamentally different way of thinking – grounded in indigenous principles like mutual exchange, shared well-being, and equality – could significantly reshape how agriculture overall, and agroecology specifically, are carried out. Indigenous practices emphasize territorial autonomy, plural property and exchange relations, food sovereignty, reciprocity with nature, and agricultural systems that enhance biodiversity rather than undermine it. These include farming across ecological zones, watershed management, agroforestry, soil fertility practices such as terra preta, and mixed cropping systems. Drawing on a post-colonial critical realist framework, the article highlights the importance of recognizing indigenous knowledge systems as holistic socio-ecological, cultural, political, and spiritual systems.