Biocultural Diversity

The concept of biocultural diversity examines the interde-pendence of biological and cultural diversity, emphasizing their co-evolution as part of complex socio-ecological sys-tems. Despite its potential for integrating conservation with cultural values, it faces three conceptual confusions: defining the scale of biocultural interactions, recognizing the heteroge-neity of biocultural relationships, and navigating its political uses. We explore these tensions through a case study of the yangambi Biosphere reserve in the Democratic republic of congo, where local communities’ cultural ties to their ances-tral lands within the reserve interact with broader structural circumstances. this case highlights the dynamic, contested nature of biocultural interactions and their implications for conservation.