Protecting Endangered Cultures from Harms of Globalization: A New Product Certification Approach Using Business Incentives
A recent article by this author borrowed a strategy used by environmentalists to promote rights of species— that of the "Red Book," used to protect biodiversity—and outlined how applied anthropologists could combine with rights advocates to promote systematic monitoring and legal protections for endangered cultures, to highlight the endangerment of and to protect cultural diversity (Lempert 2010). That was one of a series of potential approaches to cultural protections suggested by this author (Lempert 1997; 2008; 2009; 2012; Lempert and Nguyen 2008) and by others to try to use governance, law, and "rights" as a means of enforcing existing international and domestic laws and obligations. Most such strategies, however, are major initiatives requiring investment of resources and risk-taking by individual anthropologists and our profession. Accountability and law enforcement are also confrontational.
How Ecotourism Affects Human Communities
This chapter examines the contribution of ecotourism to the improvement of communities’ livelihoods by providing the theoretical background and some experiences from around the world. First, we explore the role of ecotourism in empowering local people and improving resource stewardship and the role of ecotourism in influencing policy and decision-making toward biodiversity conservation. Second, we discuss the direct and indirect economic benefits of ecotourism to local communities and the role of ecotourism in educating and raising awareness toward conservation of natural resources. Finally, we discuss these issues considering the North-South debate, attempting to understand how different roles of ecotourism differ from community to community, from country to country, and from region to region. We demonstrate that there are different perspectives of ecotourism and what is meant by ecotourism in the South differs from the Northern perspective, with direct implications to how management is applied and biological impacts minimized.
Indian Fig Cactus (Opuntia Ficus-Indica (L.) Miller) in the Americas: an Uncertain History
Abstract: 
 Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Miller is a globally important cactus species with a long history of human use. In addition to the importance of O. ficus-indica as a food for humans and livestock, it also has long served a role in the production of cochineal, a once important textile dye. This cactus also is intimately interwoven into the story of Cactoblastis cactorum (Berg) (South American cactus moth), one of the best-known examples of biological weed control. In this regard, O. ficus-indica has been a target weed as well as an unintended host in C. cactorum invasion. Although the distribution and human-assisted movement of this cactus throughout much of the world is well documented, surprisingly little has been written about its history and movement within the Americas. Literature associated with Opuntia and their phytophagous pests in North and South America was examined in an attempt to determine the history of O. ficus-indica in the Americas. Available information suggests with some certainty that O. ficus-indica originated in present-day Mexico, but the timing of its introduction to South America is much less clear. Taxonomic difficulties associated with distinguishing among Opuntia species and the long pre-Columbian history of exchange between South American and Mesoamerican cultures are two primary complicating factors associated with dating the dispersal of this species to South America. Additionally, previous evidence in support of a pre-Columbian introduction to South America relied on questionable identification of insect-based textile dyes. These uncertainties are significant because clearer knowledge of the history of O. ficus-indica introduction to South America could provide a more complete biological and ecological context to efforts at managing this species in its native and introduced ranges, particularly with respect to the threat posed by C. cactorum in North American and Argentinean plantations.