The traditional theory of resource conservation in the third world was that local communities existed in equilibrium with their natural resources when they were peripheral or uninvolved with a commercial market, but that once they were involved more significantly with a market this caused them to overexploit their natural resources. This research involves the dissertation project of an anthropology student from the University of Florida, who will study the relationship between market integration and natural resource conservation and evaluation among small farmers in highland Peru. Using methods of participant observation, surveys, as well as an experimental agricultural plot, the student will analyze the behavior and cognitive models of natural resources of farmers in the Callejon de Huaylas, to test the hypothesis that traditional knowledge loss is a direct function of market involvement. This research is important because the case study will advance our understanding of the long-term effects of market production in agrarian societies, while at the same time increasing our understanding of this important region of the world and contributing to the training of a young scientist.
