Community Reserves: Their significance for the conservation of mammals in a mosaic of community-managed lands in Meghalaya, Northeast India.

Abstract

Community Reserves (CRs) have been advocated for increasing the protected area coverage in northeast India where the land is primarily owned and managed by local indigenous institutions. To understand the significance of these reserves for the conservation of mammals, we investigated the diversity and abundance of mammals in five CRs in the Khasi Hills of Meghalaya as well as interviewed 75 local villagers to assess the hunting practices and perceptions of the Indigenous Khasis on mammals. We employed 60 camera traps in the CRs and undertook a recce survey (day-time and night-time) for capturing the diversity in the CRs. We used photo-capture rate and encounter rate as indices of relative abundance in the CRs. We used an exact multinomial test to test differences of opinion among the respondents of the five CRs. We found a relatively low abundance of mammals in the CRs, yet they persist. A total of 28 species were detected through camera trapping and recce survey and an additional 12 species were reported by respondents to also occur in the CRs. Among the respondents, it was believed that the decline in mammal populations was largely driven by habitat loss and degradation (82.67%) while only a few believed it was also driven by hunting (5.33%). Respondents also believed that the presence of the reserves and awareness programs taken under them had also led to a reduction in hunting (20%) in their area. Although, some attributed it to a general decline in wildlife populations and forest cover (21.33%). Thus, despite these CRs being small (<2 km2) and isolated, they still harbour mammal species and are important for retaining remnant forest patches in a landscape that is highly fragmented.