Biodiversity and Conservation 12: 2161–2171, 2003.  2003 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands. Preparation for propagation: understanding germination of giwa ( Astrocaryum standleyanum), wagara ( Sabal mauritiiformis), and eba ( Socratea exorrhiza) for future cultivation 1, 1 1 * CATHERINE POTVIN , ROGELIO CANSARI , JANE HUTTON , 2 2 INOCENCIO CAISAMO and BONARGE PACHECO 1 ´ ´ Department of Biology, McGill University, 1205 Dr Penfield Avenue, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3A 2 * ´ ´ 1B1; OUDCIE, El Dorado, Apartado postal 6-6461, Panama, Republica de Panama; Author for correspondence (e-mail: catherine.potvin@mcgill.ca; fax: 11-514-398-5069) Received 26 September 2001; accepted in revised form 27 November 2002 ´ Key words: Astrocaryum standleyanum, Germination, Indigenous people, Panama, Sabal mauritiifor- mis, Socratea exorrhiza, Tropical conservation Abstract. This article reports on domestication as a simple way to promote plant conservation in indigenous villages. We developed simple methods to germinate or transplant palm species central to the ´ traditional livelihood of two Panamanian nations: the Embera and the Wounaan. The target species were Astrocaryum standleyanum, Sabal mauritiiformis and Socratea exorrhiza. The youngest fully expanded leaf of Astrocaryum provides prime material for weaving baskets that are a major source of income for ´ ´ the Embera and Wounaan communities of Panama. Sabal and Socratea are the two most important species for traditional architecture. They provide, respectively, the roofs and floor of the round, open- ´ sided Embera–Wounaan houses. For each of the three target species, different treatments were tested to obtain germination rates as high as possible. Regardless of the treatments to which seeds were subjected, germination of Astrocaryum was difficult and slow. It took 13 months to break dormancy and the germination success was around 40%. However, the two other species, especially Socratea, were easy to germinate. Our project succeeded in introducing the practice of nursery and cultivation in over 20 ´ indigenous villages of Panama. It is hoped that such forestry approaches to conservation can help protect important components of biodiversity while giving access to the resource to people whose lifestyle depends on them. Introduction This article focuses on domestication as a simple way to promote plant conserva- tion. The work is part of a larger project aiming to implement sustainable manage- ´ ment strategies for biological diversity with two indigenous people of Panama, the ´ Embera and the Kuna (Dalle et al. 2002). The research presented here was carried out over several years, in different villages, and concentrates on three species of ´ palms. These palms are known locally by their Embera or Spanish names giwa, wagara and eba and were identified using the herbarium collection of the Smithso- nian Tropical Research Institute as, respectively, Astrocaryum standleyanum Bailey, Sabal mauritiiformis (H. Wendl. ex H. Karts.) Griseb. and H. Wendl., and Socratea exorrhiza (Mart.) H. Wendl.