Reshaping the future of ethnobiology research after the COVID-19 pandemic - Nature
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Reshaping the future of ethnobiology research
after the COVID-19 pandemic
A geographically diverse group of 29 ethnobiologists addresses three common themes in response to the
COVID-19 global health crisis: impact on local communities, future interactions between researchers and
communities, and new (or renewed) conceptual and/or applied research priorities for ethnobiology.
Ina Vandebroek, Andrea Pieroni, John Richard Stepp, Natalia Hanazaki, Ana Ladio,
Rômulo Romeu Nóbrega Alves, David Picking, Rupika Delgoda, Alfred Maroyi, Tinde van Andel,
Cassandra L. Quave, Narel Y. Paniagua-Zambrana, Rainer W. Bussmann, Guillaume Odonne,
Arshad Mehmood Abbasi, Ulysses Paulino Albuquerque, Janelle Baker, Susan Kutz, Shrabya Timsina,
Masayoshi Shigeta, Tacyana Pereira Ribeiro Oliveira, Julio A. Hurrell, Patricia M. Arenas,
Jeremias P. Puentes, Jean Hugé, Yeter Yeşil, Laurent Jean Pierre, Temesgen Magule Olango and
Farid Dahdouh-Guebas
T
he public health crisis triggered and its likely impact. The swift response these perspectives will become critical,
by SARS-CoV-2, the cause of the from many colleagues who provided their especially given the discipline’s stake in the
COVID-19 disease, is teaching us that views reflects a shared sense of necessity and conservation of, and sustainable and ethical
the world is no longer operating under the urgency to carry out this exercise. use of, biocultural diversity4,5.
assumption of ‘business as usual’. According We opted to keep reflections as individual
to the online global tracker managed by viewpoints because they are informed Common theme 1: how the pandemic
Johns Hopkins University1, as of the end of by local geographies that are shaped by will impact local communities, their
May 2020, there are more than 5.8 million specific political, social, cultural and traditional knowledge, livelihoods
confirmed cases of COVID-19 across 188 economic contexts. As such, they represent and use or management of natural
countries and regions, a number that is still opportunities for understanding either resources
increasing. Undoubtedly, this global health subtle or outspoken differences in scholarly
crisis will also have a profound impact opinions related to post-COVID-19 John Richard Stepp: shutdown of
on the discipline of ethnobiology that is ethnobiology around the world. Moreover, animal and insect markets. Clearly
devoted to the interdisciplinary study of past ethnobiology’s broad mission includes a the world community is now going to
and present relationships between humans, diversity of research topics that are fittingly view local ‘wet markets’ (markets that
cultures and the biophysical environment, represented by these individual perspectives. sell live and dead animal products for
with a focus on knowledge, cognition and However, regardless of geographical human consumption) with considerable
the traditional use of plants and animals. and/or research-specific priorities, there are scepticism and even disdain, since the likely
Ethnobiology is primarily a field-based recurrent themes that tie these reflections origin of SARS-CoV-2 is zoonotic and a
enterprise that has scholars and students together: (1) how the pandemic will impact general public opinion has formed that
‘on the ground’ in diverse biological and local and indigenous communities, their the initial infection occurred in a market,
cultural landscapes around the world. traditional knowledge, livelihoods and use although there is some evidence to the
Ethnobiologists tend to travel frequently or management of natural resources; (2) how contrary6. These markets are rich sources
for fieldwork, often to remote and relatively this crisis should guide future interactions of ethnobiological resources, knowledge
isolated areas, interacting directly with between researchers and local communities; transmission and knowledge production7.
local communities. and (3) what the new (conceptual and/or While government officials need to make
Much ethnobiology research is relevant applied) priorities of the discipline should sure that markets are not a public health
to the conservation of biological and cultural be. Inevitably, there exists some degree of nuisance, it is likely that overreactions
diversity (‘biocultural diversity’)2, and directly overlap between these themes (Fig. 1). will lead to the wholesale termination and
relates to sustainability; in fact, along with its The impacts from the COVID-19 destruction of markets in countries across
sub-discipline of ethnobotany, ethnobiology pandemic reveal both the strengths and the globe. There will be significant network
has been called the ‘science of survival’3. weaknesses of ethnobiology as a discipline. effects from these actions that reverberate
Given the discipline’s long-standing Some reflections offered here are new, while both to consumers and also back to local
concern for addressing environmental others (for example, empowering local and producers and communities. Consumers
and cultural problems, a key question is: indigenous communities or developing will be forced into further engagement
how will ethnobiology reshape itself in new plant-based medicines) have been with industrial food production systems,
a post-COVID-19 world? Twenty-nine largely confined to the readership within while producers will lose income and the
ethnobiologists from seventeen countries ethnobiology or its closely related fields. ability to sell their products. In China alone,
reflect on how they envision the future of Now, with the pressure of the COVID-19 30–59% of the food supply is procured
ethnobiology, addressing one major topic crisis in full force, the mainstreaming of in wet markets8, and this is true in many
Nature Plants | VOL 6 | July 2020 | 723–730 | www.nature.com/natureplants 723viewpoint
profession and age, and in the way they
Post-COVID-19 opportunities Post-COVID-19 barriers use, need and influence ecosystems.
Adaptive co-management is built on short
1 • Revitalized traditional, ‘alternative’ lifestyles • Shutdown of local animal markets 1
• Rural return migration, ‘back to the land’ • Data gathering barriers (especially on illegal feedback loops and requires dialogue
• Sustainable local food movements, animal trade) and knowledge exchange to co-identify
co-operatives • Endangered adaptive problems and co-produce visions and
• Cultural heritage gardens co-management of ecosystems
• Increased environmental • Credibility issues of actions that maintain the resilience of a
awareness 1 traditional medicine SES in times of (global) change. However,
Impact on
2 • Foster local and local communities • Increased social 2 live meetings, formal and informal
indigenous (youth) distancing consultations and knowledge exchange,
leaders • Fear and stigma decision-making processes and so on
• Local research • Physical contact is
facilitators life threatening to cannot easily be continued online in rural
• Implement Nagoya Ethnobiology vulnerable groups areas or in traditional systems. Next to
protocol (ethics and • Marginalized technical issues (for example, network
rights) 2 3 communities
• Amplify local voices Researcher– New • Lack of in-country coverage, maintenance and electric power
• Support local networks community research funding and training reliability), institutions underpinning
interactions priorities
• Co-design ethnobiology adaptive co-management cannot simply be
informatics platforms
dematerialized and held online, at least not
3 3
• Sharpen audiovisual public • Spread of misinformation in the short run. This prompts the question:
communication skills • ‘Business as usual’ approach
• New socio-environmental ethics • Limited transdisciplinary funding how adaptive is ‘adaptive co-management’,
• Develop ‘green’, integrative medicine opportunities if vital co-management elements that occur
• Study resilience of biocultural heritage • Limited international policy concern for existing ‘live’ are halted by confinement measures in
• More socially engaged research health disparities, universal food security
• Reconsider complexity of people–plant relationships and environmental health view of an overriding public health crisis?
Next to impeding dialogue and face-to-face
contact, strict confinement measures
Fig. 1 | Schematic representation of three common themes in ethnobiology that were identified by a have an even greater impact on people
geographically diverse group of 29 ethnobiologists from 17 countries in response to the COVID-19 whose livelihoods directly depend on daily
global health crisis. (1) Impact on local communities, (2) future interactions between researchers and excursions to get water and food, such as
local communities and (3) new (or renewed) research priorities for ethnobiology. For each of these people living in drylands, fishermen and
common themes, there will likely exist opportunities after the COVID-19 pandemic, but also barriers. so on. We must find a way to ensure that
adaptive co-management is also resilient in
the face of unexpected global crises, such
other countries as well. Animal and insect amendments. The legislation associated with as COVID-19. Inevitably, at some point,
markets often coexist with markets for food, wildlife exploitation is a crucial driver of the trade-offs need to be made by individuals
medicinal and ritual plants, so there is likely interactions between people and animals, left with the choice between respecting
to be an impact on wild and cultivated local and may imply difficulties in gathering well-intentioned, top-down rules to protect
food plant production systems as well. ethnozoological data, primarily (illegal) society and public health, and focusing
trade data. This is an important issue to be on day-to-day survival by fulfilling their
Rômulo Romeu Nóbrega Alves and considered when ethnozoological studies individual and community needs.
Tacyana Pereira Ribeiro Oliveira: the are pivotal in assessing animal trade and
COVID-19 pandemic, wildlife trade uses worldwide; for instance, by providing Tinde van Andel: COVID-19 increases
and use regulations, and ethnobiology essential information on consumer demand, the demand for medicinal plants, while
studies. The coronavirus (COVID-19) product source or destination, and trends in traditional healers lose credibility. The
pandemic has provoked severe public health captures, prices and uses9,10. Conversely, an outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has
and socioeconomic impacts worldwide, important role for ethnozoology following increased the demand for medicinal plants,
hereby raising attention to animal–human the COVID-19 crisis includes assessing especially in heavily infected countries like
interactions. The impacts extend to conflicts that emerge from pandemic bans, China and the USA13. Medicinal plants
disciplines assessing these interactions, hereby helping to promote dialogue between like ginger and turmeric are marketed as
such as ethnozoology. A major focus of stakeholders (such as dealers, consumers ‘immune boosters’ that cure or protect
ethnozoology is studying the use and and wildlife managers) and assessing against the coronavirus14. The Chinese
trade of wild animals, activities which are shifts in trade and use of other animal government credits traditional Chinese
strongly linked with virus transmissions groups not covered by the bans (that is, medicine as having cured thousands
to humans. The current pandemic is aquatic species), which will raise further of patients with COVID-19 during the
expected to promote important changes conservation challenges. outbreak and proudly promotes herbal
in animal exploitation regulations, such as medicine as an alternative therapeutic
those imposed by China on 24 February Farid Dahdouh-Guebas and Jean Hugé: solution15. Through (social) media, YouTube,
2020, which banned the hunting, trade, adaptive co-management and mere TV and word-of-mouth, self-identified
consumption and farming of all edible livelihoods endangered by COVID-19 traditional healers argue that while Western
terrestrial wildlife. Undeniably, if not for confinement measures. Adaptive doctors struggle to combat this new virus,
the coronavirus outbreak, this ban would co-management brings together they already know the cure, which they
have hardly been adopted by a country with stakeholders linked somehow to the make using herbs from their own backyard
such strong cultural preferences toward management of a social-ecological system or local markets16. As COVID-19 is a new
the use of wild animals. Likewise, other (SES)11,12. These stakeholders often disease for which there has been little time
countries may follow the Chinese legislation differ in community origin, ethnicity, to experiment with plant-based cures, these
724 Nature Plants | VOL 6 | July 2020 | 723–730 | www.nature.com/natureplantsviewpoint
claims give traditional healers and herbal redefine what is currently categorized healthcare at the household level and
medicine a bad name. Several herbs may ‘alternative medicine’. simultaneously reducing high ‘nutraceutical’
effectively treat (the symptoms of) viral (food and medicine) import bills without
diseases like influenza17, but no research has Yeter Yeşil: ethnobiological knowledge overexploiting the environment. Hereby,
been done yet on their effectiveness against and local income generation after our endangered ethnobotanical knowledge
the new SARS-CoV-2 virus. Still, the fear COVID-19. In addition to publishing and the indigenous language associated with
of this new disease and the absence of a in scientific journals, ethnobiological the Creole Garden (Jaden Kwéyòl), which
cure or vaccine drives the global demand data should, after analysis, be arranged instructs on preparation procedures for
for medicinal plants to provide general and communicated in an accessible and self-medication and self-sustainability at the
health improvement and potential cures. understandable way to the people from community level, is essential to maintain the
Ethnobotanists have a key role to play in whom such data were obtained. The public biosphere and ethnosphere that constitute
analysing these trends and explaining that, should also be warned about products the true web of life24.
if public health is our concern, the potential that may pose a significant health threat, By its very nature, the Jaden Kwéyòl uses
beneficial or adverse effects of herbal including the plant and animal products low or no inputs, encourages biodiversity
medicine and the influence of alternative they use in cultural traditions. The outbreak and cultural diversity (‘biocultural
healers on healthcare-seeking behaviour of COVID-19 has revealed the importance diversity’), and supports a healthy and
should be taken seriously. of transmitting accurate information to the varied diet25. More specifically, in times of
public clearly and effectively. global crises when people are quarantined or
Shrabya Timsina: rise of the alternative in At the same time, the COVID-19 isolated to prevent the spread of infection, it
South Asia. As the surging movement pandemic may lead people to consider is important to ask: (1) which insights and
of Dharmic patriotism encounters the immigration back to rural areas; that is, lessons can be learned from this agricultural
COVID-19 crisis, the ethnobiological a lifestyle closer to nature. Previous to medical heritage, and (2) how do we
elements of Dharma in South Asia COVID-19, the declining labour demand in sustainably use and manage this cultural
are attracting political and popular agriculture provoked high rates of migration heritage for creating health and wealth
attention. The iconic yoga guru and from rural to urban areas in Turkey22. vital to present and future generations? We
Ayurved businessman Baba Ramdev drew However, the pandemic has now inevitably postulate that the model of the Jaden Kwéyòl
criticism from health professionals for halted life, especially in large cities, is replicable for many people in diverse
publicizing his ‘finding’ that ashvagandha where large numbers of people with close geographical localities.
(Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal) may interpersonal relationships are confined to
ward off the virus18. The most emblematic small areas. As ethnobotanists, we need to Common theme 2: how the COVID-19
ethnobiological stir, however, was that design studies that consider and prioritize crisis should guide future interactions
of the ridiculed prescription of bovine economic returns to the countryside, which, between ethnobiology researchers and
urine and dung as medicine19. Ayurved as a result, may help reverse migration local communities
works with a particular framework of caused by economic problems. In particular,
bio-elements and diagnostic tools and, as the development of cooperatives and other Andrea Pieroni: time for co-creating a new
such, anything, even excrement, can be sustainable local food movements can way of ethnobiological being, experiencing
rendered medicinal, depending on the be supported rather than represent the and living. The consequences of this
patient’s conditions. Thus, its cosmology dominant industrial food economy23 in pandemic, and the fears and social distance
interacts awkwardly with the secular need order to generate extra income. Thus, local it has created, will transform the ways
to scientifically prove its ‘validity’, which production helps to ensure that people have we interact with local (especially elderly)
faces backlash from a section of society a self-sufficient economic structure, and participants. More participatory research
that labels it pseudoscientific quackery20, ethnobiology can play a proactive role in via local facilitators will be crucial, as well
and it suffers from its association with supporting such initiatives. as a more robust use of online interacting
right-wing nationalism21. Consumerism and tools. The panic that this pandemic is
politicization simultaneously promote and Laurent Jean Pierre: roots redux — the generating around the world will plausibly
endanger this heritage. But, its emphasis importance of the ‘Jaden Kwéyòl’ and lead to a scarring stigmatization of cultural
on locally procurable ingredients, yogic endangered ethnobiological knowledge groups from countries heavily affected by
lifestyle and clean environments contrasts in a post-COVID-19 world, and for the virus. Additionally, since the pandemic
with the centralized, financially restrictive mitigation and adaptation to climate is (correctly) perceived as life threatening
and mechanical approach of subcontinental change. With the current COVID-19 for aged community members and other
biomedicine, now overwhelmed by crowded pandemic and predicted climate uncertainty, vulnerable societal groups — who are often
hospitals and scarce drugs. The crisis there is growing international concern key study participants for ethnobiologists
demonstrates the ills of overurbanization, for safe foods and medicines, food — face-to-face encounters will become
narrow diets and sedentary lifestyles security, sovereignty, local livelihoods more difficult. Therefore, this pandemic is
that compromise the immune response. and sustainability. Now more than ever, it challenging the meaning of ‘being social’.
The virus’ origin stories are promoting has become necessary to prepare to feed Ethnobiology methods might need to
vegetarianism and the re-consecration of and self-medicate an increasing world reshape their ethos and become more
nature. With millions of labour migrants population, which, according to 2019 ‘situated’26; that is, ‘embedded’ in local lives.
now unemployed and the volatility of United Nations population prospects, is This can be a unique chance to rethink
globalization again exposed, the crisis may projected to grow by 34%, from 7.7 to ethnobiology as a platform and as a process,
encourage a heritage-oriented ‘back to the 9.7 billion people, by 2050. Therefore, and not merely as a scientific discipline.
land’ movement built on the importance it is essential for small Caribbean island According to Nygren27, scholars “have been
of nature worship and minimalist agrarian states to focus on feeding their people, happy to highlight the ‘indigenous point of
living, which, if handled cleverly, could promoting self-administered primary view’ and to see local people as producers
Nature Plants | VOL 6 | July 2020 | 723–730 | www.nature.com/natureplants 725viewpoint
of endogenous knowledge regarding natural Benefits from their Use in the Convention However, without professional training
resource management, cosmological on Biological Diversity29 has brought a and funding, this will be specifically
theories and medical cures; however, less boost to the recognition of the rights of challenging for those working in developing
attention has been paid to the contested and IPLC, their participation in ethnobiology countries in collaboration with deprived and
hybrid character of such knowledge”. Nygren research often is still fragmentary. In this disempowered communities living in remote
argued that knowledge systems should be scenario, COVID-19 might be an incentive areas with deficient modern amenities.
seen as negotiating processes involving to change that and give local participants Incorporating these much-needed measures
multiple actors and complex power the role they deserve — to not only be will facilitate better interactions among
relations. Ecological ‘knowing’ and practice participants, but also investigators and ethnobiologists and native people, and will
are collaborative concepts28. Scientists, co-authors. Rather than sending (mostly) also contribute to coping with such disasters
environmentalists and local communities Western students and researchers around in a more appropriate manner in the future.
should co-create long term processes with the globe, COVID-19 might finally force
different nuances of knowing and living, and the ethnobiology community to focus on Janelle Baker and Susan Kutz: zoonosis
collective experimentation. training local community researchers so that and ethnobiological knowledge.
they can conduct interviews in their own Ethnobiology field research in 2020 has
Natalia Hanazaki: reshaping research communities, and then to fully participate in come to a halt as indigenous communities
with local people. …and then, a new data analysis and publication. limit access to outsiders during the
virus invisibly arrived, causing an illness COVID-19 could well highlight the COVID-19 pandemic. Concurrently,
against which no one had prior immunity, possible contribution of local communities communities are encouraging members
sometimes symptomless, but killing more to global health. Viruses of Coronaviridae to return to the land for food and social
people than we could have imagined… also have a long history of infecting humans. distancing. A likely and very positive
This story of COVID-19 is an old story. However, the pathogenicity of viruses outcome is a revitalized connection with
Now we can feel, watch and live a small belonging to Coronaviridae are generally family and the land and improvements
part of the terror that assaulted so many believed to be low. Hypothetically speaking, to intergenerational transmission of
Amerindian people for more than five local communities residing in areas with knowledge, both of which will lead to
centuries. This time we all share a lack of prevalence of Coronoviridae vectors or stronger food security and sovereignty.
prior immunity, but in the long term, those reservoirs could have also developed COVID-19, however, is not the first,
without proper healthcare assistance will plant-based remedies both for curative as and will not be the last, wildlife zoonosis to
suffer most. COVID-19, spread worldwide well as preventive purposes. In globalized emerge from the human–animal interface
through airplane travel by the upper classes, science, the knowledge that our counterparts with pandemic consequences30. Indigenous
will disproportionately affect the poorest share with us must be protected so that it people, who retain an intimate relationship
and marginalized, including indigenous cannot be appropriated by actors who did with wildlife as part of their physical and
peoples and local communities (IPLC). not participate in the original study for both cultural well-being, are facing ongoing
What can we do as researchers and global scientific and commercial purposes, and the and amplifying risks of zoonotic diseases
citizens? First, we need to demand proper benefits of the research must include the in an increasingly stressed world; yet, they
healthcare assistance from governmental repatriation of the data obtained. COVID-19 are also part of the solution. Grounded
authorities for IPLC facing this new disease could be a trigger to finally achieve this. in multi-generational knowledge and
while understanding and respecting their typically living in remote areas, indigenous
cultural contexts. Second, we should support Arshad Mehmood Abbasi: COVID-19 communities are the first line of defence for
IPLC networks that share information, and marginalized communities. Human recognizing changes in their ecosystems31.
especially to those living in remote areas, via beings, the most intellectual and influential In a COVID-19 world, the importance
social media, radio and other technologies, creatures of this universe, have been of co-production of knowledge, supporting
about the need to quickly respond to this ominously influenced by nature through indigenous educational opportunities
epidemic with IPLCs’ own measures of the emergence of COVID-19. Although the and fostering indigenous ethnobiologists
social isolation and restriction of outsiders. emergence of an infectious disease is not a is paramount for biocultural diversity
Finally, as researchers, we need to increase new test for human survival, nonetheless, in remote regions32. Community youth
our awareness of ourselves as potential the effects of COVID-19 in an era of can further this research collaboration
vectors of COVID-19 and other diseases. We contemporary scientific knowledge and and education, bridging the gap between
have the responsibility to learn from what is technologies is frightening. This pandemic indigenous and scientific knowledge, as they
happening, to improve our understanding has not only traumatized humans and can learn and share information both online
of complex networks connecting people and shaken the social, economic, cultural and and in the bush. Armed with the right tools
appreciate how different cultures perceive religious bases of human life, but it is to gather and record indigenous knowledge,
and interact with the biological world. also redefining human attitudes towards and with the right partnerships to translate
Ultimately, the main focus of ethnobiology natural resources. Although indigenous this knowledge to action, indigenous
is to help us value the simplest and most people and other communities in rural communities become essential leaders in
important thing in life: being human. areas are economically marginalized, wildlife, human and environmental health
they represent a real hub of traditional surveillance.
Narel Y. Paniagua-Zambrana and Rainer knowledge. However, isolation caused by
W. Bussmann: COVID-19 as incentive the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly Masayoshi Shigeta: change of person–‘life’
for the ethnobiology community to influenced their robust socio-cultural and relationships (including with viruses)
finally implement the Nagoya Protocol. religious bonds. Consequently, the role — meaning of domestication, social
Although the ratification of the Nagoya of ethnobiologists is crucial to help them distancing and cultural proximity in a
Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources cope with post-COVID-19 circumstances post-COVID-19 era. The physical distance
and Fair and Equitable Participation in the and shape future strategies and policies. between two (living and/or non-living)
726 Nature Plants | VOL 6 | July 2020 | 723–730 | www.nature.com/natureplantsviewpoint
things is important in many disciplines, systems; (2) airing voices of disadvantaged are all connected, we should use this as an
including ethnobiology. The study of IPLC for equitable rights for benefit sharing; opportunity to communicate and collaborate
domestication is defined as the mutual (3) designing customized action frameworks more intensely than ever.
(symbiotic) interactions between two living for decentralized capacity building for
things (organisms) that enhance the life local stakeholders; and (4) partnering for Ana Ladio: ethnobiology studies raised
value of each other. I have been studying ethnobiology informatics platforms for the alarm about the socio-environmental
human–plant relationships by looking at informed decision making. Although many crisis and now provide a foundation for
local knowledge related to ensete cultivation of these actions might be deemed overly a new set of socio-environmental ethics.
(including Ensete ventricosum (Welw.) time-consuming and an unnecessary drain Ethnobiology has often been described as
Cheesman) in the southern part of Ethiopia. on scarce resources, they remain necessary a naive science, and misunderstood to be
My focus has always been on the intimate contributions for co-designing the future of a discipline that yearns for the old ways of
relationships between two living entities. changing socio-cultural environments and the indigenous cultures of the world. One
However, in the case of COVID-19, a killer human relationships to natural resources in of our main focuses has been to study these
virus and non-living entity, the case fatality the wake of the post-COVID-19 pandemic cultures’ health and food systems. These
rate (number of reported deaths per number in SSA. systems are based on self-sufficiency and
of reported cases) is up to 13%33. What is agroecological concepts, and rooted in
more, the mode of dissemination of this Common theme 3: what the new non-exploitative relational models (sensu35)
virus may cause worse calamities than the (conceptual and/or applied) with an ethical commitment to renewing
Great Plague and H1N1-type influenza. priorities of ethnobiology as a natural cycles. Those who follow these
In the post-COVID-19 era, much stricter discipline should be relational models know without a doubt that
norms of public health behaviour are their destiny is irrevocably connected to the
foreseen as a global standard, including Ina Vandebroek: a revolution is needed destiny of Mother Earth. The COVID-19
maintaining social distancing at all times. in how we communicate and collaborate. crisis shows us that the ethnobiology
Likewise, there are likely going to be changes The COVID-19 crisis shows a real need research carried out in these communities
in the indigenous mode of interacting for better mainstreaming of scientific provided an early warning to the current
with living (and/or non-living) things, and facts and important lessons learned from socio-environmental crisis. The main causes
naturally the meaning of cultural proximity ethnobiology research to counter the for this pandemic have been the imposition
may (or may not change) qualitatively. As spread of misinformation. This amplified of unscrupulous global market logic based
ethnobiologists, our new role can be to trace communication strategy will also drive on actions such as the indiscriminate
changes in the interactions that will occur much-needed continued attention to urgent destruction of forests, the use of damaging
after COVID-19, and to describe these global challenges many ethnobiologists are agrochemicals in industrial agriculture
phenomena. Another important question studying, ranging from the worldwide decline and, in particular, the illegal trafficking of
is how we as researchers can rebuild our in biological and cultural diversity to health wild species. The lack of food and health
interactions with local people, which should disparities faced by immigrant communities autonomy in urban centres, with inhabitants
also be a part of our new research agendas. in urban environments. Ethnobiologists are who no longer relate to nature, makes
doing a great job of communicating to their these areas highly vulnerable in this crisis.
Temesgen Magule Olango: co-designing peers. Now they will also have to sharpen Therefore, after COVID-19, ethnobiology
post-COVID-19 ethnobiology in their audiovisual communication skills to should have a much stronger role to play,
sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The impact of reach those outside the scientific community proclaiming loudly to the world the ethical
COVID-19 will likely be pronounced in SSA, more effectively and more often. guidelines to be followed, which we learned
profoundly altering the lives and livelihoods In addition to better shaping the public from the indigenous peoples36. Ethnobiology
of the rural and urban poor, including IPLC. dialogue, the post-COVID-19 world will should be an essential instrument in this
The region is uniquely exposed to the global hopefully also see a concerted action new stage, with a call to reflect and sustain,
emergency because of weakly developed from ethnobiologists in advocating for with scientific evidence, a new conception
healthcare systems, scarcity of public health increased funding for international and of human health interconnected with the
personnel and limited financial resources. transdisciplinary collaborations, cutting sustainability of the biosphere.
Interactions between existing vulnerabilities across existing barriers in the social and
and the COVID-19 pandemic would natural sciences and across geopolitical David Picking and Rupika Delgoda:
intensify damages to social, health and food boundaries34. Unfortunately, in many ethnomedicine fit for the twenty-first
systems. Societal strains accompanied by countries, funding for these two divisions century — a post-COVID-19 perspective.
fears and uncertainties will lead to changes is still operating in parallel, with scarce The Caribbean, like many regions in the
in behaviours and beliefs of people. A cross-pollination. A similar limitation exists Global South, faces significant health
plethora of malpractices, myths, social for geographical funding opportunities, inequalities and potentially catastrophic
stigmatizations and scepticism will linger, which are too often restricted to predefined repercussions from the health and economic
hindering dialogues and engagements. regions or countries. Such limitations impact of COVID-19. The region does,
In fighting back against COVID-19 in all significantly hamper joint ethnobiology however, benefit from its unique biodiversity
its dimensions, ethnobiologists should research in today’s globalized world. and rich culture of ethnomedicine37. At
take their stake through proactive steps Collaborations between researchers and this time, perhaps more than ever, it is
for shaping the future, including (1) community members should also become imperative that these are fully developed
highlighting the possible contributions of more visible, so that community voices for the greater good. Cuba, by example, is
local communities and their less understood are increasingly heard instead of being unique in the region in its development of
wild and cultivated natural foods, as well interpreted by scientists. Breaking down ‘green medicine’, providing a compelling
as eco-pharmacological environments for these walls will require coordinated action. illustration of scientific and traditional
resilience of local and global food and health If the COVID-19 crisis is showing us that we medicine merging. Cuba’s green medicine
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focuses on prevention before intervention, often associated with rural communities wage war, dissolve and reconstitute over
reducing reliance on pharmaceutical include poverty, poor sanitation, illiteracy time. Some groups experienced collapses,
drugs and keeping medicine close to the and social stigma of infectious diseases. as did most of Americas’ peoples in the
communities it serves38. Therefore, public health interventions aimed past 500 years43. Among those communities
Partnering collaboratively and equitably at combating COVID-19 should also address still surviving, a high biocultural resilience
with communities and traditional the socio-cultural factors associated with the arose to radical change, and this must
knowledge holders continues to hold rural–urban divide. be understood as a major cultural trait44.
potentially valuable insights into many Adaptation mainly concerns cultural
of today’s health challenges. While Cassandra L. Quave: a new look at relationships to changing ecosystems,
nature-based searches have and continue to traditional health strategies in the but also to the pathosphere (the global
inspire the development of treatments for a aftermath of COVID-19. The rapid panorama of surrounding pathogens),
wide range of diseases39, COVID-19 delivers emergence of COVID-19 has put a driving changes in people’s religious,
an urgent call to prioritize funding and tremendous strain on Western systems of medicinal and sociocultural systems.
innovative research methods for traditional medicine across the globe, overwhelming The COVID-19 pandemic is a unique
medicines. Examples include the use of healthcare personnel and medical supply opportunity to switch from a fixist to a
systems biology and reverse pharmacology chains, especially in urban centres. dynamic view of ethnobiological knowledge.
to improve and confirm the efficacy and Strategies have been overwhelmingly Deciphering the mechanisms of changes
safety of Argemone mexicana L., a traditional reactive, rather than proactive, both in in biocultural heritage might help to better
treatment for malaria in Mali40. tracking and treating cases. Individuals understand these societies than through
A post-COVID-19 world presents an with underlying chronic health conditions recording lists of species that become often
opportunity for a reboot, a re-evaluation have been among those at greatest risk, obsolete in the next few decades, since
and a re-envisioning of healthcare, the highlighting the importance not only of medicinal floras worldwide are full of
development of medicines that come from chronic disease prevention, but also health alien species45.
and are available to those in the Global promotion and maintenance. Across many Documenting biocultural dynamics
South, and the development of a green, cultures, traditional systems of medicine through time thus needs an urgent and
integrated or ethnomedicine fit for the put great emphasis on proactive health long-term investment in fundamental
twenty-first century. measures rather than reactive critical care. research. As an example, during the last
Yet the scientific basis of many traditional five years, the Teko people from French
Alfred Maroyi: COVID-19 — a need to medical interventions remains poorly Guiana, with a population of ~500 people,
highlight its biological and socio-cultural understood; this includes pharmacological lost 20% of their elders, which means a
dimensions. In the advent of globalization, activities of foods and medicines, as well significant decrease in the biocultural
human travel, trade and transportation as the psychological impacts of ritual heritage of this community. The COVID-19
increased, and the outbreak of COVID-19 practices on health and well-being. pandemic, which particularly affects elderly
underscores the need to develop prevention Medicinal plants are fundamental to persons, will likely erase a substantial part of
protocols towards safeguarding public the pharmacopoeia of many traditional humanity’s biocultural heritage worldwide.
health. Pharmacological research done over medical systems, and while an estimated It is therefore crucial to invest in its
many centuries aimed at developing new 28,187 species have been documented interdisciplinary and participatory inventory
microbial vaccines has failed to develop for use in plant-based medicine41, most and to decolonize methods, so that research
effective preventive viral vaccines and have not been evaluated using modern is conducted in an intercultural and
effective antiviral therapies. The unique laboratory techniques. Ethnobiologists are respectful way, and towards mutual benefit46.
biology of viruses makes it difficult to poised to make important contributions Ethnobiology as an academic science owes
develop viral vaccines, as some viruses to the documentation, evaluation and this to local knowledge.
have very high mutation rates. Therefore, dissemination of traditional health
collaboration between researchers is required strategies. Collaborations between scientists Ulysses Paulino Albuquerque: towards
to shed more light on COVID-19 and across diverse disciplines, including a more rigorous and socially engaged
human–virus interactions. In ethnobiology ethnobiology, chemistry, microbiology, ethnobiological science. The community
research, ethnopharmacological insights and pharmacology, psychology, immunology and of ethnobiologists has long advocated more
socio-cultural factors are all important in the more, can open up new paths to enriching theoretical and methodological rigor in the
management and control of the COVID-19 medical resources and shifting paradigms research being carried out. The discussion
outbreak. Since COVID-19 is widespread towards more holistic care across the world. about the dichotomy between quantitative
and a major public health problem, it is Moreover, ethnobiologists can serve as key versus qualitative research, for example,
important to understand the broader social connectors between local stakeholders and is already out of date. We concluded
and cultural contexts that contribute to scientists, facilitating pathways for equitable that we need to overcome the phase of
the experiences of affected persons, their access and benefit sharing. At a time when traditional surveys to answer questions
families and their communities, including the public has lost much control over their that are original, relevant and have some
the role of socio-cultural factors such as health and well-being, the need for a deeper importance (whether theoretical or applied).
inequality, informal settlements, inadequate understanding of intercultural health In a post-COVID-19 world, these questions
health care systems and cultural beliefs in the paradigms42 has never been greater. are even more important. Scientists will be
spread and/or prevention of the epidemic. increasingly demanded to produce relevant
This is particularly important in South Guillaume Odonne: ethnobiology in knowledge, either to advance science or
Africa and other countries in sub-Saharan motion — COVID-19 as a trigger to to improve people’s quality of life. The
Africa, where rural and urban communities consider the dynamics and resilience of association of COVID-19, as well as other
have historically faced different public biocultural heritage. Local knowledge is diseases, with human patterns of use of
health challenges. Socio-cultural factors never fixed, since cultural groups exchange, biodiversity (regardless of scale), poses
728 Nature Plants | VOL 6 | July 2020 | 723–730 | www.nature.com/natureplantsviewpoint
significant challenges for ethnobiologists, David Picking7, Rupika Delgoda7, Published online: 22 June 2020
such as (1) the planning and execution of Alfred Maroyi8, Tinde van Andel 9, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-020-0691-6
studies on broad geographical scales; (2) the Cassandra L. Quave10,
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