9 p., tablas, gráficos -- Post-print del artículo publicado en Ecological Economics. Versión revisada y corregida.The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment found a general decline in the consumption and gathering of wild edible plants, but some studies also observe a localized increase. Using information from interviews (n = 1133) in seven sites in the Iberian Peninsula and one in the Balearic Islands, we 1) identify current trends in the consumption and gathering of wild edible plants (n = 56 plant-uses) and 2) analyze how cultural ecosystem services relate to such trends. Our data show a generalized decrease in the consumption and gathering of wild edible plants, although the trend changes significantly across plant-uses. Specifically, we found that –despite the overall decreasing trend– uses of wild edible plants that simultaneously relate to foods with high cultural appreciation and the recreational function of gathering remain popular. Our results signal that cultural services and values associated to the gathering and consumption of some wild edible plants are important factors explaining divergent trends across plant species. This finding reinforces the notion that cultural ecosystem services are deeply intertwined with other categories of services which can combine in complex, non-linear ways producing a variety of interdependent benefits.Research was funded by the Programa de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades del Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (España) (CSO2011-27565), with supporting funding from Diputación de Badajoz, Kent University and Catalan government (514SGR2014). Gómez-Baggethun received partial funding from the FP7 EU-funded project OpenNESS (EC-308428).Peer reviewe

Many ethnobotanical studies have shown differences in the knowledge and practices held by men and women. Using ethnographic fieldwork, a survey, and secondary data from three different areas in Spain, this study shows a geographical pattern in women’s and men’s relations with wild edible plants. In the case studies from Southern Spain, Doñana, and Sierra Morena Extremeña, women gather less wild edible plants than men, while in the Central Spain case study, Sierra Norte de Madrid, the difference is less marked. We explain this difference through the construction and distribution of agrarian spaces, particularly with regards to land tenure type and urban centers size. In the southern cases, large agrarian properties are more prevalent than in Sierra Norte de Madrid, where common lands and small and medium properties predominate. Additionally, in Doñana, big urban agro-towns dominate, whereas in Sierra Norte de Madrid and Sierra Morena Extremeña little towns are the norm. Overall, our study suggests that gendered differences in the use of natural resources are better understood if contextualized in a large socioecological context.

Anthropogenic pressure has significantly increased in the last decades, often enhancing conflicts at the human–wildlife interface. Therefore, understanding peoples’ value orientations, attitudes and behavioural intentions towards wildlife is a crucial endeavour to reduce the occurrence of conflicts between humans and wildlife. Previous research in the USA has shown a consistent link between modernization and increased anthropomorphism (i.e., the tendency to attribute human mental or physical characteristics to other entities), leading to positive changes in value orientations, attitudes, and behavioural intentions towards wildlife. In this paper, we aimed to address whether this link is also present in other cultures, by testing participants (N = 741) in five different countries (Brazil, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, and Spain). Our study shows that while the positive link between anthropomorphism, positive attitudes and behavioural intentions towards wildlife is universal, the link between modernization and anthropomorphism is culturally mediated. In some countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, Spain), modernization increased anthropomorphism, while in others modernization predicted no differences (Brazil) or even a decrease in anthropomorphism (Mexico), ultimately deteriorating individuals’ attitude and behavioural intentions towards wildlife. These results call for caution when generalizing findings from western industrialized countries to inform conservation policies worldwide.

El medio rural se constituye hoy en día en un espacio de disputa entre diferentes agentes en pugna por sus recursos materiales e ideáticos y por la definición del contenido de la nueva ruralidad, una vez socavadas las bases y criterios tradicionales de la antigua. A su vez, en el contexto de la globalización, aparecen movimientos culturalistas que de manera consciente pugnan por crear identidades y modelos de vida que tengan una cultura como referente. La iniciativa de recuperación de la cultura campesina por parte del Universidad Rural Paulo Freire (URPF) sería uno de estos movimientos, con la Agroecología como referente teórico y con el medio rural español y su población como su problemática base territorial y sociológica para la creación de una nueva ruralidad campesinista. El objetivo del texto es analizar los procesos y herramientas que pone en juego este grupo social para reconstruir y resignificar la identidad campesina y sus prácticas como parte del intento de construcción de un sujeto político.