Chapter 9
Conservation and Management of Latin American
Mangroves
L.D. de Lacerda . B. Kjerfve
9.1
Man and Mangroves in Pre-Columbian and Colonial America
Pre-Ci:>lumbian inhabitants of the American continent have traditionally used mangroves for many purposes, including wood and energy production. In various countries, there is strong archaeological evidence of mangrove utilization by pre-Columbian
and even pre-historic people. The use of mangroves varied from site to site, depending
on the particular characteristics of the population, but apparently began during the
transition period from nomad to fIxed habits, between 9000 to 3000 years B.P.
The American nomads frequently formed semi-permanent settlements along tropical mangrove coasts, close to lagoons and bays, where an abundance of easy to collect
protein-rich diet existed in the form of molluscs (Reichel-Dolmatoff 1965). At settlement sites, they left large accumulations of shells, organic waste products, and cultural
debris, collectively referred to as conchales in Spanish speaking countries and
sambaquis in Brazil. These settlement remains provide important informatiot:J. on the
characteristics of pre-historic populations and their food habits and utilization of natural resources (Perdomo-Rojas 1978; von Prahl et al. 1990).
Castano-Uribe (1989) suggested that, in Colombia, the process of fIxation of the
population was a continuous chronological sequence, with great implications for the
cultural development of the entire continent. One example was the discovery of the
most ancient ceramics of the American continent (ca. 2400 years B.P.), along the Atlantic coast of Colombia in mangroves and adjacent areas, a fInding of enormous cultural importance (Reichel-Dolmatoff1965). Along the extensive mangrove fringes of
the PacifIc and the Caribbean coasts of northern South America, the development of
human. groups resulted in distinct patterns of cultural adaptation, which can still be
recognized today. Technology was continuously being changed and optimized for the
exploitation of resource-rich, non-seasonal wetlands, to provide the necessary infrastructure for the establishment of populous human groups, with an economy based
on the collection of molluscs and on fIsheries. The experience was diversifIed and expanded throughout the continent (Castano-Uribe 1989).
In Panama, there is evidence of human settlement in mangrove areas about
5000 years B.P. Tools were made out of mangrove wood (D'Croz 1993). It is well documented fIshing of euryhaline species from mangrove-bordered estuaries and channels
was important for pre-Columbian human settlements located on the central coast
of Panama at that time (Cook and Ranere 1992). People from these settlements
fIshed for estuarine and coastal species such as Carangidae, Batrachoididae, Ariidae
and Clupeidae, utilizing fences, harpoons, and fIsh hooks, many made of mangrove
wood.
Conservation and Management of Latin American
Mangroves
L.D. de Lacerda . B. Kjerfve
9.1
Man and Mangroves in Pre-Columbian and Colonial America
Pre-Ci:>lumbian inhabitants of the American continent have traditionally used mangroves for many purposes, including wood and energy production. In various countries, there is strong archaeological evidence of mangrove utilization by pre-Columbian
and even pre-historic people. The use of mangroves varied from site to site, depending
on the particular characteristics of the population, but apparently began during the
transition period from nomad to fIxed habits, between 9000 to 3000 years B.P.
The American nomads frequently formed semi-permanent settlements along tropical mangrove coasts, close to lagoons and bays, where an abundance of easy to collect
protein-rich diet existed in the form of molluscs (Reichel-Dolmatoff 1965). At settlement sites, they left large accumulations of shells, organic waste products, and cultural
debris, collectively referred to as conchales in Spanish speaking countries and
sambaquis in Brazil. These settlement remains provide important informatiot:J. on the
characteristics of pre-historic populations and their food habits and utilization of natural resources (Perdomo-Rojas 1978; von Prahl et al. 1990).
Castano-Uribe (1989) suggested that, in Colombia, the process of fIxation of the
population was a continuous chronological sequence, with great implications for the
cultural development of the entire continent. One example was the discovery of the
most ancient ceramics of the American continent (ca. 2400 years B.P.), along the Atlantic coast of Colombia in mangroves and adjacent areas, a fInding of enormous cultural importance (Reichel-Dolmatoff1965). Along the extensive mangrove fringes of
the PacifIc and the Caribbean coasts of northern South America, the development of
human. groups resulted in distinct patterns of cultural adaptation, which can still be
recognized today. Technology was continuously being changed and optimized for the
exploitation of resource-rich, non-seasonal wetlands, to provide the necessary infrastructure for the establishment of populous human groups, with an economy based
on the collection of molluscs and on fIsheries. The experience was diversifIed and expanded throughout the continent (Castano-Uribe 1989).
In Panama, there is evidence of human settlement in mangrove areas about
5000 years B.P. Tools were made out of mangrove wood (D'Croz 1993). It is well documented fIshing of euryhaline species from mangrove-bordered estuaries and channels
was important for pre-Columbian human settlements located on the central coast
of Panama at that time (Cook and Ranere 1992). People from these settlements
fIshed for estuarine and coastal species such as Carangidae, Batrachoididae, Ariidae
and Clupeidae, utilizing fences, harpoons, and fIsh hooks, many made of mangrove
wood.