In dialogue with an agricultural research team, the Wayuu indigenous peoples said to be interested in improving animal husbandry practices and the efficiency of pastoralism. The research team considered that it would be unwise to prepare knowledge exchange and capacity building without in-depth understanding of the importance of pastoralism as a livelihood. The Wayuu and the research team agreed that an ethnography of Wayuu pastoralism seemed appropriate to prepare for knowledge exchange, capacity building and perhaps plan for farther collaboration.
From the outset, the research team realised that some of the information been gathered and generated related to a main issue of concern to indigenous peoples of Colombia more generally: how to advance political devolution and gain autonomy whilst increasing knowledge exchange with (indigenous and non-indigenous) experts to make it more robust the strategies of adaptation to climate change. The team also realised the ethnography of Wayuu pastoralism relates to two issues of concern to ethnobiology research of pastoral communities: (a) unsustainable use of agrobiodiversity exacerbated by lack of strategic planning for adaptation to global climate change, and (b) the risk of losing traditional knowledge practices following transition from transhumance to transtermitance and/or governmental initiatives promoting or enforcing sedentarisation of pastoral communities.
The ethnography confirmed that the Wayuu have continued adapting to environmental and socio-political shocks. However, the perspective of Wayuu themselves is that social and environmental changes of recent years are occurring too rapidly for effective adaptation. We agreed that there is need to assess how transformation of transhumance and transtermitance has impacted the resilience of their livelihoods. The ethnography revealed that currently due to environmental stresses and socio-political conflicts, Wayuu livelihoods are been tested.
