Abstract
Simple SummaryHuman-Wildlife conflict (HWC) has become an important threat producing biodiversity loss around the world. As conflictive situations highly depend on their unique socio-ecological context, evaluation of the different aspects of the human dimension of conflicts is crucial to ensure wildlife conservation and people’s well-being at the same time. Raptors have been historically involved in HWC because some of them are considered livestock predators. We conducted interviews to evaluate the existence, extent and characteristics of human-raptor conflicts in the Southern Yungas region in Northwestern Argentina, identified as a priority area for raptor research. Our results suggest that conflict is only concentrated in certain high-profile raptor species—particularly those considered cattle predators—with a general high tolerance towards poultry predators. Livestock and poultry rearing are the only socio-demographic variables associated with the existence of HWC, independently of age, gender and occupation of interviewees. Andean condor, a Vulnerable species persecuted in some regions of Argentina, was the most conflictive species as it is locally considered a livestock predator. Though reports of Condor persecution were scarce in our study, negative attitudes towards this species, together with the increasing number of mass poisonings, highlight the need to address this conflict through true intercultural dialogue and transdisciplinary approaches.Wildlife persecution due to human-wildlife conflict has become a serious concern for biodiversity conservation, especially for many endangered species. In this context, conservation approaches need to consider the socio-ecological dimensions of each particular situation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the existence, extent and social characteristics of Human-Raptor Conflicts (HRC) in the Southern Yungas region in northwestern Argentina. We conducted 115 semi-structured interviews in 21 sites and analyzed attitudes and associations between sociodemographic variables and the existence of HRC. Forty percent of interviewees showed negative attitudes towards raptors, mainly with those species considered livestock predators rather than poultry predators. A total of 11 species were regarded as conflictive because of predation on domestic animals, of which Andean condors showed the highest conflict. The only socio-demographic factor affecting conflicts was livestock and poultry rearing, independently of age, gender and occupation of interviewees. The fact that only 8.7% of interviewees reported taking direct actions towards conflictive species indicates a relatively peaceful coexistence of people with raptors. Nevertheless, negative attitudes towards Andean condor together with their extreme susceptibility to any increase in non-natural mortality indicate the need of an integral conservation approach to tackle future threats for this species’ conservation in the area.
Highlights
Persecution due to Human-Wildlife Conflict (HWC) has become a serious and widespread concern for biodiversity conservation, as it imposes a serious threat to the survival of many globally endangered species [1]
We analyzed perceptions and attitudes of local settlers towards raptors, we assessed if there was any conflict due to predation of domestic animals involving raptors, and we evaluated the association between sociodemographic variables and the existence of conflicts with raptors and in the context of potential conflicts with other wildlife
These species are well known and considered predators of domestic animals by local settlers, conflicts arise mostly around the Andean condor (ICos = 34.78), and less so around the Roadside hawk (ICos = 14.78), while for Southern caracara and “eagles” the conflict is almost nonexistent (ICos = 5.22). This contrasts with results from other areas such as the northern Patagonia in Argentina, where Southern caracara and Black-chested buzzard eagle were considered harmful by at least half of the interviewees, while the Andean condor was considered harmful only by 25.5% of the 51 farmers interviewed [21]
Summary
Persecution due to Human-Wildlife Conflict (HWC) has become a serious and widespread concern for biodiversity conservation, as it imposes a serious threat to the survival of many globally endangered species [1]. HWC involves underlying Human-Human Conflicts (HHC) which arise when two or more stakeholders have different wildlife management practices, goals or priorities [3,5]. The only way to ensure both wildlife conservation and people’s well-being at the same time, is to consider the different aspects of the human dimension of conflicts, including the socioeconomic context, concepts, values, perceptions and attitudes of the stakeholders involved, and an evaluation of the interactions between them [5,9,10,11,12]. In the last decades, interdisciplinary fields of study such as ethnozoology, conservation marketing or social psychology, have made relevant contributions to biodiversity conservation, as they provide useful information on social beliefs, practices and rights, as well as methodological tools to reach participatory and consensual solutions that lead to human-wildlife coexistence, which are crucial for conservation programs to be truly successful [2,13,14,15,16]
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