Towards Biocultural Conservation of Chilean Palm Landscapes: Expanding Perspectives from Historical Ecology

The Chilean palm ( Jubaea chilensis ) is an endangered and culturally important species from central Chile. We studied the Ocoa palm landscape (OPL), which is currently part of a protected area that harbors the largest Chilean palm population where local peasant practices have been excluded and conflict with biodiversity conservation strategies. We explored how human–landscape relationships over time have shaped present conditions and the implications for biocultural conservation. Methods included a review of archaeobotanical and historical records, and a qualitative study focused on local peasants’ perspectives. We reported the uses of J. chilensis and the OPL since pre-Hispanic times. For the last 400 years, these uses have involved important differences between landowners and local peasants in terms of power dynamics, access to the land, and intensity of use. The current palm landscape structure directly responds to past human activities, such as palm felling and agriculture. Also, we explain peasant practices linked to the OPL as ways of resisting cultural homogenization and marginalization associated with reductive conservation approaches and other presses and pulses. Chilean palm conservation can be improved by considering ecological legacies to inform future conservation strategies and adding a biocultural approach that respectfully integrates local peasant knowledge systems and worldviews.