Abstract
Species conservation is difficult. Threats to species are typically high and immediate. Effective solutions for counteracting these threats, however, require synthesis of high quality evidence, appropriately targeted activities, typically costly implementation, and rapid re-evaluation and adaptation. Conservation management can be ineffective if there is insufficient understanding of the complex ecological, political, socio-cultural, and economic factors that underlie conservation threats. When information about these factors is incomplete, conservation managers may be unaware of the most urgent threats or unable to envision all consequences of potential management strategies. Conservation research aims to address the gap between what is known and what knowledge is needed for effective conservation. Such research, however, generally addresses a subset of the factors that underlie conservation threats, producing a limited, simplistic, and often biased view of complex, real world situations. A combination of approaches is required to provide the complete picture necessary to engage in effective conservation. Orangutan conservation (Pongo spp.) offers an example: standard conservation assessments employ survey methods that focus on ecological variables, but do not usually address the socio-cultural factors that underlie threats. Here, we evaluate a complementary survey method based on interviews of nearly 7,000 people in 687 villages in Kalimantan, Indonesia. We address areas of potential methodological weakness in such surveys, including sampling and questionnaire design, respondent biases, statistical analyses, and sensitivity of resultant inferences. We show that interview-based surveys can provide cost-effective and statistically robust methods to better understand poorly known populations of species that are relatively easily identified by local people. Such surveys provide reasonably reliable estimates of relative presence and relative encounter rates of such species, as well as quantifying the main factors that threaten them. We recommend more extensive use of carefully designed and implemented interview surveys, in conjunction with more traditional field methods.
Highlights
Conservationists widely claim that accurate population estimates are needed for assessing a species’ vulnerability to extinction, monitoring population status, and informing decisions about how to best allocate limited conservation funds [1,2,3]
We focus on a recent survey to assess the distribution and threats to the Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) in Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo, which involved interviews with nearly 7,000 local people
Surveys give an approximation of reality, and the most relevant question is whether that approximation provides reliable information to solve a particular problem
Summary
Conservationists widely claim that accurate population estimates are needed for assessing a species’ vulnerability to extinction, monitoring population status, and informing decisions about how to best allocate limited conservation funds [1,2,3]. Presence of a species in a region may be related to timber harvest, and to other ecological, social, cultural, economic and political factors Understanding this interplay is important for the conservationist, and for industry (e.g., the manager of the timber concession), government and the people who live in the region. These methodological constraints mean that only a small part of the species’ range can be surveyed; for example, until 2004, such surveys for orangutans in the Indonesian part of Borneo covered an estimated 20–25% of their total range [11] This is not a fault of the survey methodology, but it indicates that there is a mismatch between information required for effective conservation, currently employed methods, and resources available for surveys. Due to the novelty of this survey approach, the present paper discusses methodological issues in depth, and detailed results of our project will be published elsewhere
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
