For 25 years, author Toshio Kawabe and his colleagues periodically lived and worked among the Gidra people of the tropical wet lowland of Papua New Guinea. In this book, Kawabe reports on a continuing traditional hunter-gatherer-cultivator lifestyle, describing the way of life and the major subsistence activities in the diverse environment of the Gidraland, as well as examining the skills that have sustained the Gidra culture since the Stone Age. The Gidra live within a treasure trove of rich flora and fauna, but the decline of tropical forests has been recognized as a global environmental issue. Kawabe examines the importance of such forests as complex ecosystems and discusses the lessons that developed nations can learn from people who live closely within nature about how to survive environmental changes.

About Editors and Authors

KAWABE Toshio is Professor in the Faculty of Regional Policy, Takasaki City University of Economics. He obtained a PhD in Health Science from the University of Tokyo, and specializes in medical management, hygieiology and human ecology. He has conducted extensive fieldwork in Oceania, especially in Papua New Guinea.