The authors thank the Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Cientifico, Tecnologico y de Innovacion Tecnologica (FONDECYT) for funding this research through the contract No 026-2016 of the Circulo de Investigacion para la Innovacion y el fortalecimiento de la cadena de valor del cacao nativo fino de aroma en la zona nor oriental del Peru-CINCACAO project, executed by the Instituto de Investigacion para el Desarrollo Sustentable de Ceja de Selva (INDES-CES).

The phenotypic characterization of cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) plays an important role in the generation of information for the conservation of cacao germplasm. The objective of this study is to characterize phenotypically 146 ecotypes of fine-aroma native cacao (FFNC) from northeastern Peru that were collected from 280 to 1265 metres above sea level. Morphological descriptors of fruits and seeds, sensory characteristics, and productivity descriptors were used. The data obtained were analyzed using descriptive statistics with pie charts, distribution histograms, and multiple correspondence analysis. The results showed that 76.7% of the cocoa ecotypes had green immature fruits, 73% showed slight roughness on the surface of the fruit, 54% showed an intermediate thickness of the fruit wall, and 90% had the appearance of pairs of equidistant ridges. Regarding seed characteristics, 71% showed ...

Scientific-technological knowledge maintains the anthropocentric power-pattern and exploitive attitude with regard to nature, but sustainability science asks for an integration of territorial and decontextualized knowledge systems. Visual participatory methodologies involving diverse local stakeholder facilitate dialogue on environmental and sustainability issues. Inspired by visual ethnography and mediated discourse analysis, the present article uses semiological analysis to reconstruct the depicted narratives on the nature-society system in drawings representing “regional development”. The drawings were elaborated in a series of participatory workshops involving university faculty and students, regional government and non-governmental organizations and farmers from local communities in the northern Amazonian region of Peru. The analysis reveals a prevailing anthropo and technology ...