On Native American Conservation and the Tragedy of the Commons
Author(s)
Beckerman, Stephen; Valentine, Paul
Abstract
Conservation patterns and collective action among South American Indians in impoverished regions are affected by environmental conditions and abundance of food resource. Alvard and Hill indicated that the Piro Indians of eastern Peru displays a lack of conserving behavior in game hunting. However, some South American Indians display conserving behavior by keeping animals for pets until they are big enough to be eaten. Collective action such as communal meals or collective consumption was also detected among Indians in the northwestern Amazon which is characterized by conservative behavior.
