Special Focus: 2024 - UN International Year of Camelids (International Society of Ethnobiology Congress)
Marrakesh (Morocco), 19/05/2024
Convened by B. Vilà (CONICET & National University of Luján, Argentina) & H. Yacobaccio (CONICET & University of Buenos Aires, Argentina).
The session, held on May 19, aimed to highlight the bio-socio-cultural role of these emblematic species (dromedaries, Bactrian camels, llamas, alpacas, guanacos, vicuñas) in human life across arid, semi-arid, and mountainous areas. The session highlighted the reasons behind the celebration of 2024 as the International Year of Camelids (IYC) and discussed some of the proposals from the international organizations that are supporting the year.
The session also explored the key role of camelid species for Andean pastoralist communities from an ethnozoological and ethnoecological perspective and provided a historical comparative analysis with the camels of Africa and Asia. This analysis focused on the roles and contributions of camelids to people, aligned with the concept of Nature's Contributions to People (NCP).
Based on these convergences and differences, the session analyzed the potential and common challenges faced by camelids and their herders globally, particularly in the context of climate change, land use, sedentarization, lack of markets for herders' products, and the emigration of young people, among other issues.