Ethnobiology and Ethnoecology management of plants and animals are also affected by each individual’s life experiences – for example, if he or she has suffered from a major illness, migrated to other communities, or worked as an apprentice to a plant specialist Awareness of these differences is essential when assessing the depth and breadth of traditional knowledge and the diversity of ecological practices in a particular area It is now recognized that researchers run the risk of obtaining a biased perspective of local biological knowledge if they work with few informants In contrast, consultation with a representative cross-section of local people can provide a relatively accurate portrayal of perception of the natural world Ethnobiologists are analyzing patterns of agreement among different individuals, producing a quantitative method of identifying the most culturally significant plant and animal species, soil types, forest zones, and other elements of the landscape These results ensure accuracy when preparing natural resource management plans and popular manuals produced with local communities They can also play a role in understanding the knowledge held by specialist user groups and how they are transmitting it from one generation to the next Mechanisms of Change Another principle that has emerged in recent studies is that knowledge about the natural environment and ways of managing biological resources are not static They change as people move from one region to another, as youth reinterpret what they have learned from elders, and as cultures come into contact with each other Ethnobiologists are analyzing the dynamics of these cultural changes and assessing how they can enrich or impoverish local knowledge systems Archaeology, linguistic reconstruction, archival research, and oral history open a window to the past, allowing researchers to discover how ecological knowledge and resource management have evolved during decades and centuries of political, demographic, and economic change Studies of historical ecology are revealing which species, ethnobiological categories, and ecological practices have persisted, changed, or disappeared over time, including those that have become widespread through borrowing across cultural boundaries Research that focuses on world events in recent centuries allows historians to assess the impact of colonization and other forms of culture contact on local ways of perceiving and managing the natural world Many regions of the world are currently in an intense period of change characterized by not only the destruction of wildlands and loss of biological diversity but also the transformation of traditional biological knowledge In some regions, young people are not learning what their elders know about the environment, particularly as traditional ways of using biological organisms and managing natural areas fade away Specialized knowledge held by only a few curers or spiritual leaders is lost when no apprentice is found to carry on traditional medical or religious practices This loss of knowledge is often linked to increasing contact with national and international cultures and is often exacerbated as local people incorporate formal education, major religions, and migration into their lifestyles 327 Ethnobiologists are playing a practical role in assessing the extent of cultural transformation and searching for ways of promoting the survival of local ways of classifying, using, and managing natural resources These actions are based on the assumption that participation in the joint management of ecosystems and resources stimulates local people to retain and build on empirical knowledge and practices acquired during the tens, hundreds, or thousands of years that they and their ancestors have resided in the region Studying the evolution of ethnobiological knowledge elucidates mechanisms of cultural resistance, allowing us to understand why local ecological knowledge persists and how we can reinforce the mechanisms of resistance These studies also highlight the impact that local people have had on the natural environment over time, often providing evidence that they are responsible for maintaining biological diversity and stimulating innovative ideas for conservation in the future Ritual, Religion, and Symbolism Plants and animals play an important role in rituals and spiritual practices and are a recurring element in myths, legends, and stories Some researchers assert that local people, because of their cosmology or understanding of the universe, relate to the natural environment in ways fundamentally different from that found in, for example, European or American culture A central element in this conception is that traditional lifestyles link people to nature in a way that provides them with a special understanding of nature A common way for outsiders to gain access to the world of ritual, magic, and religion of local peoples is through apprenticeship with spiritual leaders, often accompanied by the use of psychoactive plants Whether or not these generalized notions of differences between global knowledge systems and traditional knowledge are valid in all cases, it is undeniable that spiritual beliefs about the forest and associated taboos on the use of natural resources are important elements of conservation and sustainable use of natural resources in many cultures When people begin to abandon these beliefs, traditional controls on resource exploitation often disappear, potentially leading to devastation of formerly protected areas such as sacred groves Ethnobiologists are increasingly aware of the need to record these belief systems and to verify empirically what impact they have on conservation and use of natural resources In areas in which traditional cosmology is still a viable element of local culture, conservation biologists are exploring ways of integrating it with the management of protected areas The Internationalization of Ethnobiology Although ethnobiology as an academic discipline originated in Europe and the United States, it has now been embraced by researchers in many developing countries who have subsequently adapted the techniques and concepts to their own goals and local conditions The emergence of professional societies of ethnobotanists in developing countries, ranging from the Indian Society of Ethnobotanists in 1980 to the Asociacio´n Mexicana de Etnobiologı´a in 1993 and the