November 08, 2011 at 11:51 AM

Local Populations and Human Geography

Is mapping the human geography of a region a threat to its inhabitants?

A controversy over an academic human geography project called México Indígena raised the issue of whether mapping the human geography of an area is a threat to its inhabitants, especially if the funding is provided by a defense-related institution.  The charge of “geopiracy,” which carries the implication that the intellectual property of the inhabitants was pirated for pernicious use, was also leveled at the project. The criticism ignores the value of what is gained by the project.  While the case is specific to two towns in one region of Mexico, the controversy has broader implications.

Recording the facts on the ground preserves the options of indigenous residents and is important globally as what is recorded is not lost. It is somewhat ironic that the area of controversy, within the ancestral Zapotec territory in Oaxaca, is a continuing example of how more than a thousand years of history and culture – including important botanical diversity – was hidden for ages because the knowledge of that civilization was not recorded in a manner that could be easily recovered.  The rich heritage of the area is only slowly being discovered.  Not recording the human geography of the indigenous areas of the region – in fact the whole of Mexico and elsewhere – leaves the area a sort of terra nullius for outsiders, including narcotics traffickers and enforcer gangs, to invoke a latter day Doctrine of Discovery to impose designs inimical to those of the inhabitants on the territory.  Not recording the human geography of an area also inhibits the recovery process following a man-made or natural disaster.

Projects that map the state of human geography in a location as they exist, such as México Indígena, aid in the recovery from disaster – whether man made or natural.   The international humanitarian relief community regards the early integration of land tenure and property issues as essential to the success of recovery efforts.  Failure to address land tenure concerns early in the recovery process can lead to conflict and reduce the efficacy of the overall recovery effort.  A map of land tenure patterns in a locality that is developed by the inhabitants themselves averts the confusion and disruption that can occur in the recovery process.

 Geographic indication/collective trademark protection benefits by human geography projects. The intellectual property of indigenous groups in Oaxaca – as elsewhere – include the landrace plant and animal species developed over time in the specific geographic area where they are produced.  A manner of protecting such intellectual property is the internationally-recognized method of designating a geographic indication (GI).   Delimitation of the geographic extent of an area of production is necessary for the designation of a GI.  Should an indigenous community choose to go the route of designating a GI for its intellectual property, projects such as México Indígena provide a foundation for the effort.   Even if there is no action to officially designate a GI, the mapping developed in the project provides a basis for passive protection.

Local_Populations_and_Human_Geography.pdf

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