Purpose

The traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) of indigenous, tribal and local communities in the Amazon is key to their livelihoods and well-being. This knowledge can also inform and guide the protection and sustainable use of Amazonian biodiversity for society at large. A key activity of the Amazon Conservation Team – Guianas (ACT-Guianas) is to help partner communities retain and adapt their dynamic traditional knowledge for present and future generations. Understanding local names and folk classifications of biological species (i.e., plants, animals and fungi) is a practical and culturally rich starting point. Such names reflect shared knowledge in daily and ritual life and often persist when native language fluency is fading. The cross-referencing of local names with Latin binomial species names, as provided in this website, provides insight into cross-cultural ways of seeing the natural world and supports better informed species identifications.

Background: Context and Significance of the Guianas Region and ACT-Guianas

“The Guianas” is the collective name for three small territories located in northeastern South America, north of Brazil (see regional map in the About Us tab). These territories include the nation states of Guyana and Suriname, and the French overseas territory of French Guiana . The Guianas regional name is linked to the Guiana Shield, an ancient geological formation underlying much of northeastern South America and encompassing approximately 25% of Amazonia. The Shield supports vast expanses of remote tropical forests and savannahs, unique and rich biodiversity, black water rivers and waterfalls and high, flat-topped sandstone mountains, known as tepuis. Intact forest cover in Suriname and French Guiana – exceeding 90% of their territories – is the highest per capita in the world.

Contrasting with the extensive forestlands, human populations within the Guianas region are relatively small (< 2 million total) and highly concentrated in cities and towns along the Atlantic Ocean coastline. The hinterlands have long served as a home and refuge for indigenous communities who live in widely dispersed villages with established territories. Suriname is unique in the establishment of five Afro-American ‘Maroon’ societies along major rivers in the 1600s and 1700s. These peoples are the descendants of enslaved Africans that escaped colonial plantations. Unfortunately, threats to intact forest ecosystems, biodiversity and the future of the indigenous, tribal and local communities of the Guianas are accelerating across the region, due to environmental destruction, climate change, economic strife and weak or non-existent land tenure.
ACT-Guianas is a regional rainforest conservation program with a biocultural emphasis that was originally founded as ACT-Suriname in 2002. Over decades, ACT-Suriname grew and formed long-term partnerships with many indigenous communities across southern Suriname. From 2014 onwards, under the leadership of Program Director Minu Parahoe, the program expanded to include partnerships with the Matawai Maroons and more indigenous groups. In 2023, the country program formally launched as the regional ACT-Guianas. We are now collaborating with governments, NGOs, and communities in Guyana and French Guiana, as well as Suriname, and leading a long-term initiative to establish a 30 million ha co-managed conservation corridor across the region.

Background of the Cross-Cultural Biodiversity Names Website.

Scientists and ACT staff in the Guianas have been recording local names and making lists of biological species for years. ACT’s biocultural mapping initiatives typically encompass diverse folk species names as many creeks and sites of cultural importance are named after animals or plants. Unfortunately, this information is not usually accessible to a broader audience and may lack a strong link between Latin binomial and local names. To make better linkages, we provided communities with illustrated field guides on birds, mammals and plants and encouraged elders and knowledgeable people to write local names for pictured species in the books. As the amount and quality of the data on cross-cultural names improved, the idea was born (and permission obtained) to produce this dataset and website to better organize, improve, collaborate and share the information. The Biodiversity of the Guianas: Cross-cultural names and information website is a product of ACT-Guianas staff and collaborators, but is based upon data from multiple sources. This resource is a work in progress and we invite contributors to help expand it to include more languages and regions across the Guianas and Amazonia.