Community-based Conservation Strategies Research Articles

Human factors and health status of the highland forest ecosystems in North Shewa Zone, Central Ethiopia

The main purpose of this study was to evaluate anthropogenic factors and ecological health status of the forest ecosystems in the north Shewa zone (NSZ), Ethiopia. Tree cutting, grazing, cultivation, and fires were the major anthropogenic factors that led to deforestation and loss of biodiversity. The ecological analysis showed that the sites of Mehal-Wonz, Mehal-Tsebel, and Abogedam forests were very heavily disturbed, while Debdebo and Zego forests were heavily and moderately disturbed, respectively, implying the severe degradation of most forests in NSZ. Therefore, to restore the degraded forest areas of the zone, in-situ and ex-situ community-based conservation strategies were recommended.

Where do we manage? Uncovering the hidden impact of human presence on mammal conservation in northern Myanmar

Species spatiotemporal responses to human presence and prioritizing conservation areas are essential for effective management and conservation planning. To address this information, we conducted a long-term large mammal survey in both protected areas (PAs) and outside of PAs (non-PA) in Northern Mountain Forest Complex (NMFC), Myanmar by using 174 camera traps from 2015 to 2019. We selected 14 common species for the single species occupancy model and activity pattern analysis to evaluate their spatiotemporal responses to different anthropogenic and environmental variables. Results showed that human presence did not have a significant impact on mammal occupancy, whereas at the community level, it had a significant influence on mammal abundance. Some variables, including distance to settlements, proximity to water sources and forest cover, shaped the habitat occupancy of mammals in NMFC. Regarding the temporal axis, only three out of 14 species had higher temporal activity overlap with humans, while the remaining species showed lower to medium overlap in both PAs and non-PA, confirming that most mammals avoided human presence through temporal rather than spatial scale. Moreover, our priority analysis revealed that non-PA supported a significant proportion of medium- to high-priority areas, particularly in the south-eastern part of NMFC. We concluded that preserving both PAs and non-PA are crucial and human activities have an implicit influence on large mammal conservation in NMFC. The government should prioritize the south-eastern region of outside of the current PAs network and adopt community-based conservation strategies to ensure the efficacy of PA networks and biodiversity conservation in NMFC.

Community Forest Management: a socially innovative solution to address forest conservation? The case of Calleria Native Community (Ucayali, Peru)

Given the increasing speed of deforestation in the Amazonia and the problems faced by local communities and indigenous people who depend on forestry resources, the need for sustainable and collaborative forest management is evident. This essay evaluates the extent to which community-based conservation strategies could be framed into the social innovation approach, based on the experience of Community Forest Management in Callería Native Community (Ucayali, Peru). To address this purpose, different academic sources on Community Forest Management experiences within and outside the Amazon region and the case study itself were consulted, as well as other sources referring to the concepts of conservation, socio-ecological systems, governance of the commons and social innovation. The conclusion of this essay is that Community Forest Management could be largely framed as a solution within a social innovation approach, because it has enabled the Callería Native Community to achieve the three dimensions of social innovation: meet their human needs, develop new relationships and organizational structures, and increase their socio-political capacity. However, not all community conservation strategies are the same, as they are context specific.

Medicinal plants with traditional healthcare importance to manage human and livestock ailments in Enemay District, Amhara Region, Ethiopia

Complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) of plant origin have been used in the traditional healthcare systems (THS) of Ethiopia since immemorial. However, the medicinal plants (MPs) and the associated indigenous knowledge (IK) are on the verge of extinction due to different factors. The present study aimed to explore and document the plant species (PS) used to treat human diseases (HD) and livestock ailments (LA) in Enemay District, Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia. The ethnobotanical data was gathered between January 2015 to June 2017 from 104 research participants mainly through semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, and field observations. A total of 92 plants belonging to 84 genera and 48 botanical families were reported to have healthcare prominence in the management of HD and LA in the District. Asteraceae and Lamiaceae each accounted for 8.7% of PS were the most dominant plant families in the study area. In addition, 39.13% of the PS were perennial herbs followed by shrubs (34.78%) mostly obtained from wild (55.43%) habitats. Leaves (44.58%) and roots (43.33%) were the most commonly sought plant organs for remedy preparation and oral (54.17%) was the primary route of remedy administration. Moreover, the study showed that anthrax and Prunus africana as the most prevalent disease treated by 15 PS and most threatened MP, respectively in the District. Overall, the District is rich in MPs and concomitant IK, however, the absence of conservation practice and proper documentation jeopardize the sustainable use of the traditional knowledge (TK) unless critical community-based conservation strategies are implemented in the study area.

Evaluating the Trend in Managing Human-Wildlife Conflicts in and around Akagera National Park, Rwanda

Human-Wildlife Conflict (HWC) makes wildlife conservation more difficult and threatens the endangered species and human livelihood in adjacent protected areas. While the cases of existing conflicts are often evaluated, their trend vis-à-vis the mitigation measures such as an electric fence has been frequently overlooked. This study aimed at evaluating the trend of human-wildlife conflicts in and around Akagera National Park (ANP) by comparing the situations before and after its electric fencing. This study used both secondary and primary data. Secondary data used exiting literature while primary data has been obtained by using field observation, household questionnaire survey, and Key Informant Interview with park managers and local leaders.The findings revealed that both illegal activities from local population and damages from wild animals have significantly reduced if we compare the situations before and after the establishment of an electric fence around ANP in 2013. In fact, between 2011 and 2020, illegal activities in the park have reduced to 70 %, 80 %, 85 %, and 80 % for captured cows, caught poachers, found traps, and killed animals respectively. However, this electric fence has not yet eradicated all forms of human-wildlife conflicts to the extent of zero case. In this regard, a set of sustainable community-based conservation strategies such as revenue sharing scheme, insurance scheme, compensation measures, etc., is highly encouraged.

Influence of traditional ecological knowledge on conservation of the skywalker hoolock gibbon (Hoolock tianxing) outside nature reserves

Although many species are threatened by hunting or resource extraction from indigenous human communities, traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) of local communities has the potential to support management and conservation of natural resources and wildlife. The newly described skywalker hoolock gibbon (Hoolock tianxing) is found on the border of China and Myanmar, and a large proportion of the remaining population in China occurs outside nature reserves. We surveyed this species across its range in China, and interviewed 622 people in 99 villages to evaluate the relationship between gibbon status and TEK of local communities. The total confirmed population was estimated to be less than 150 individuals. Gibbon subpopulations appear to have remained stable from 2009 to 2017 both within and outside nature reserves. Sociological and environmental correlates of gibbon survival outside the reserve were: (1) more Lisu than Han people present in villages; (2) greater forest cover; (3) greater distance from county towns; (4) existence of traditional taboos on hunting gibbons; and (5) higher dependency on forest resources by villagers. Interviewees living closer to surviving gibbon populations were more knowledgeable about gibbons, although interviewees living more than 25km away also knew more about gibbons. Formal education level was also correlated with better knowledge of gibbons, and men were better informed about gibbons than women. TEK appears to limit poaching of gibbons, thus contributing to their survival. The persistence of gibbons outside nature reserves may depend on incorporating TEK within community-based conservation strategies.

Understanding the role of organizational legitimacy within the realm of the community-based conservation approach

Many organizations throughout the world utilize community based conservation (CBC) strategies to incorporate rural communities into conservation efforts. One key component to the success of these strategies is to gain trust within the communities which reside in the vicinity of the targeted areas for conservation. The research reported here introduces the concept of organizational legitimacy into the realm of CBC strategy by proposing how dimensions of legitimacy (pragmatic, moral, and cognitive) are related to community trust and attitudes. Employing institutional theory, this paper proposes that (i) pragmatic and moral legitimacy produce trust, (ii) trust positively influences cognitive legitimacy, and (iii) cognitive legitimacy influences attitudes. The Missouri Botanical Garden’s (MBG) CBC efforts in Madagascar’s Ambalabe and Mahabo communities served to empirically examine these propositions. The survey yielded 1 01 usable responses from community members in Mahabo and Ambalabe. A structural model was estimated to test the propositions and the results provided support for the premise that organizational legitimacy is needed to gain trust and influence favorable attitudes toward the organization. Since CBC strategies rely on trust between organizations and communities, the findings of this research provide implications for organizations seeking to implement CBC strategies. The findings do so by implying that in order to build trust with communities, organizations should first establish legitimacy, which not only helps build trust, but also indirectly affects attitudes toward the organization and its activities.

An Overview of Wild Edible Fungi Resource Conservation and Its Utilization in Yunnan

As one of the province with the most abundant bio-diversity in China, Yunnan is also one of the most-concerned region in the world which is famous for its bio-diversity. The wild edible fungi resources in Yunnan are extremely rich and diverse, which account for nearly 40.7% of the world’s known resources and 90% of China’s known resource respectively. Serving as one important type of forest understory resource and product, the wild edible fungi has a large market due to its unique flavor, texture or special health care function. Therefore, sustainable utilization of the wild edible fungi resource is of paramount importance to develop the rural livelihood and furthermore conserve forest and animal resources in Yunnan. Integrating a large number of previous researches, this paper has summarized the current situations of edible fungi resources as well as the existing problems on production, food, medicine utilization, processing, trade and resource conservation inYunnan. Data showed that the wild edible fungi resources are playing extremely important roles on the peasant household incomes in the vast mountainous areas in Yunnan. For example, the fungi collection incomes can account for 50% to 80% of the household income in Xishuangbanna. However, the wild edible fungi resources are facing the problems of the reductions in resource types and quantities, unclear ownership, improper collection and conservation measures, unscientific management as well as other outstanding issues. The author point out that it is quite essential to clear the ownership, implement the community-based conservation strategies as well as to strengthen the researches on the scientific collection, conservation and breeding technologies in order to solve the problems in the effective conservation and sustainable utilization of the wild edible fungi resources in the future.

General Perceptions and Awareness Level among Local Residents in Penang Island toward Bats Conservation Efforts.

The population of bats has declined from year to year caused by human activities such as logging and hunting activities. Since the human factor is linked to the issues of population decline in many animal species, a community-based conservation strategy that involved local communities is needed. We conducted face-to-face surveys among residents in Penang Island to assess knowledge and awareness level toward bats conservation efforts. We collected demographic values such as age, gender, level of education, length of residency as well as their monthly income, since different group in these variable might have different perception. We found that age groups, level of education and monthly income have shown significant differences among the respondents. However, no other significant differences were indicated for by gender and length of residency. Respondent’s knowledge of bats showed that the majority of the respondents were less likely to value the importance of bats in the ecosystem. We recommended stronger legal system, earlier exposure towards environmental education, well-planned urbanisation implementation and long-term monitoring programs to strengthen efforts in conserving bats in Malaysia.

Opportunities and constraints for community-based conservation: The case of the KwaZulu-Natal Sandstone Sourveld grassland, South Africa

Background: South Africa is characterised by high levels of biodiversity and species endemism alongside critical levels of socio-economic vulnerability, demonstrating potential for conservation practices that provide both environmental and social benefits. It is argued that communitybased conservation (CBC) practices can be strategically positioned to achieve environmental conservation objectives as well as promote local-level socio-economic development. The KwaZulu-Natal Sandstone Sourveld (KZNSS) vegetation type is classified as endemic (to KZN, South Africa), and is at present listed as endangered. Additionally, one of the KZNSS grassland patches occurs adjacent to the low-income peri-urban community of iNanda. The study examined local community uses and perceptions of the vegetation type. Objectives: To examine the uses, perceptions and attitudes displayed by the iNanda community towards the KZNSS grassland patch. Furthermore, it is hoped that the results of this study can be utilised to inform the potential use of CBC strategies within socio-economic contexts such as iNanda. Method: A mixed methodological approach was adopted, focusing on iNanda as the case study. One hundred households were purposively interviewed. Descriptive and chi-square statistical tests were carried out to examine main data trends. Results: Respondents displayed alarming levels of unemployment (61%) and 34% relied on state grants as a source of household income. Households used the grassland for subsistence (51%), grazing (14%), recreational (13%) and cultural purposes (12%). Respondents displayed limited awareness of conservation and the ecological importance of the grassland. However, respondents recognised the need to conserve the grassland based on their perception of changes to the adjacent patch. Conclusion: Potential grassland conservation plans should consider the current use displayed by respondents. Participatory approaches to conservation such as CBC initiatives could provide much-needed socio-economic and conservation benefits.

Climate change fosters the decline of epiphytic Lobaria species in Italy

Similarly to other Mediterranean regions, Italy is expected to experience dramatic climatic changes in the coming decades. Do to their poikilohydric nature, lichens are among the most sensitive organisms to climate change and species requiring temperate-humid conditions may rapidly decline in Italy, such in the case of the epiphytic Lobaria species that are confined to humid forests. Our study, based on ecological niche modelling of occurrence data of three Lobaria species, revealed that in the next decades climate change will impact their distribution range across Italy, predicting a steep gradient of increasing range loss across time slices. Lobaria species are therefore facing a high extinction risk associated with reduction of their range. The current patterns indicate that only L. pulmonaria still has a continuous distribution across Italy, with potential contact between Apennine and Alpine populations. This situation is consistent with the wider climatic niche of this species, still offering a major opportunity for its successful long-term conservation. Results (a) support the inclusion of the three Lobaria species in European conservation policies, such as the Habitat Directive, and (b) warn against an over-estimation of the indicator power of single flagship species to establish conservation priorities for lichens, indicating that even lichens with peculiar and similar climatic envelopes may fail to co-occur within a given forest stand. A multiple indicator approach could provide more useful tools for a community-based conservation strategy for epiphytes.

Household livelihoods and conflict with wildlife in community-based conservation areas across northern Tanzania

AbstractConservation strategies to protect biodiversity and support household livelihoods face numerous challenges. Across the tropics, efforts focus on balancing trade-offs in local communities near the borders of protected areas. Devolving rights and control over certain resources to communities is increasingly considered necessary, but decades of attempts have yielded limited success and few lessons on how such interventions could be successful in improving livelihoods. We investigated a key feature of household well-being, the experience of food insecurity, in villages across Tanzania's northern wildlife tourist circuit. Using a sample of 2,499 primarily livestock-keeping households we compared food insecurity in villages participating in the country's principal community-based conservation strategy with nearby control areas. We tested whether community-based projects could offset the central costs experienced by households near strictly protected areas (i.e. frequent human–wildlife conflict and restricted access to resources). We found substantial heterogeneity in outcomes associated with the presence of community-based conservation projects across multiple project sites. Although households in project villages experienced more frequent conflict with wildlife and received few provisioned benefits, there is evidence that these households may have been buffered to some degree against negative effects of wildlife conflict. We interpret our results in light of qualitative institutional factors that may explain various project outcomes. Tanzania, like many areas of conservation importance, contains threatened biodiversity alongside areas of extreme poverty. Our analyses highlight the need to examine more precisely the complex and locally specific mechanisms by which interventions do or do not benefit wildlife and local communities.

Conservación de murciélagos nectarívoros (Phyllostomidae: Glossophagini) en riesgo en Coahuila y Nuevo León

Introduction: Cave-dwelling nectar-feeding bats (Phyllostomidae: Glossophagini) face greater danger of extinction compared to other bats due to their restricted diet and the limited availability of suitable caves. Recent conservation biology literature suggests that successful conservation strategies should consider both biological and social perspectives. This paper presents the biological and social perspectives considered to implement conservation efforts for the threatened species Leptonycteris nivalis and Choeronycteris mexicana in the states of Coahuila and Nuevo Leon. Our objectives were to: 1) document caves used by these species, 2) describe community-based conservation strategies that link key actors (local communities, scientists, educators, government entities) resulting in a network, and 3) propose strategies to strengthen the links between key actors in the bat conservation network in order to maintain it in the long term. Material and methods: To document caves used by L. nivalis and C. mexicana in Coahuila and Nuevo Leon, we combined searching available literature for known roosting sites and field surveys to confirm sites not previously reported. We implemented community-based conservation strategies with targeted local communities through workshops and used surveys to obtain indicators of knowledge and perception of bats by members of the communities. Results: We report six caves used by nectar-feeding bats, which together house 12 species of bats (Table 1). The community-based conservation strategies that we implemented with local communities are described in four phases: information, communication, education, and training. A total of 574 residents from 52 communities participated in the study area. Surveys indicate that 60 % of the participants do not have knowledge of bat biology, 80 % are not aware of bats’ ecological functions, and 71 % mention that bats are animals that cause fear. Conclusions: We propose a conservation network consisting of key actors (local communities, scientists, non-governmental organizations, government entities, and financial institutions) with links that are strengthened by bi-directional communication (Figure 2). Flow of resources and information through networks such as this will facilitate the integration of social and biological perspectives for successful conservation actions. Key words: environmental education, conservation planning, community-based conservation, Leptonycteris nivalis, Choeronycteris mexicana

The Informal Trade of Medicinal Plants by Rastafari Bush Doctors in the Western Cape of South Africa

This research investigates the trade of medicinal plants by Rastafari bush doctors in the biologically diverse Western Cape region. Inventories of the plant collections of 52 bush doctors reveal 38.6 tons of 135 ethnospecies were traded with a market value of $733,000 (ZAR 5 million) in 2010. Although a small part of the total trade of medicinal plants in South Africa, the characteristics of the Rastafari trade are unique in many respects. Men dominate this trade, there is homogeneity of plant species among vendors, and low species richness in comparison to the area’s high floral diversity indicates a cultural sharing of plants and medical knowledge. Diversity indices and species accumulation curves verified adequate sampling efforts and reveal that the range of medicinal species from the Western Cape may not have not been fully exploited, with up to 35 species involved in the trade yet to be “discovered.” The 27 ethnospecies in high demand that are targeted as conservation priorities include six plants new to the trade, ten unsustainably harvested species, six endemic fynbos plants, two plants with rare phylogenies, and three identified in the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List Status. Bush doctors play a crucial role in transmitting herbal healing traditions and influence the future of this traditional plant knowledge and the sustainability of their diverse ecosystem. Western Cape medicinal plant trafficking by Rastafari should be monitored based upon the developing nature of this trade, the growing popularity of the group, and their willingness to engage in gardening, where community–based conservation strategies may be successful.

Buddhist Rituals, Mosque Sermons and Marine Turtles

As industrial civilisation presses on the limits of ecosystems, scienti?c conservation requires new strategies to restrain the destruction or modi?cation of habitats and ecosystems in order to halt the decline in biodiversity. Some advocates of community-based conservation strategies propose that scienti?c conservation discourses and practices bene?t from supplementation by ritual practices and traditional knowledge associated with place-based religious traditions. Partnerships between conservation scientists and religionists, which engage religious discourses and rituals in local communities in the care of habitats and species, represent a signi?cant reframing of scienti?c conservation. Hybrid forms of conservation between science and religion manifest greater sensitivity to human ecological relationships than conventional statist conservation strategies. An example of such partnerships is the effort to conserve the endangered leatherback turtle in West Malaysia.

Human–nonhuman primate interactions amongst Tikuna people: perceptions and local initiatives for resource management in Amacayacu in the Colombian Amazon

This study assesses the impact of hunting on the densities of nonhuman primates in two indigenous Tikuna territories (Mocagua and San Martín), overlapping Amacayacu National Park in the Colombian Amazon. Large-bodied primates were once favored prey by Tikunas, but are now rarely hunted owing to the diminishing primate populations. We evaluate the effect of a hunting ban on woolly monkeys (Lagothrix lagothricha) by the residents of Mocagua, using qualitative and quantitative methods. Hunting records showed that from February 2005 to February 2009, a total of 25,142 kg of mammal bushmeat were harvested in Mocagua and San Martín. Primates constituted 345 kg of the total harvest. From 223 kg of large-bodied primates extracted for subsistence purposes, 160 kg were hunted in San Martín and 64 kg in Mocagua. Large-bodied primates made up 70% of the total primate biomass in Mocagua (398 kg/km(2)) and 22% in San Martín (199 kg/km(2)). From dietary records, we found bushmeat constituted 30% of protein consumption in Mocagua and 37% in San Martín. Primates were absent in records from Mocagua, and appeared only three times in those from San Martín suggesting inconsistencies with hunting data. Despite its moderate consumption, bushmeat was identified as a highly valued food source during focus group activities. Primate pet-keeping and part utilization were observed in San Martín but not in Mocagua, possibly as a consequence of fewer primates being hunted. We suggest that Mocagua provides an example of how community-based conservation strategies can be achieved, where opportunities for employment in tourism and alternative food sources are available.

Payments for Ecosystem Services as a Framework for Community‐Based Conservation in Northern Tanzania

Payments for ecosystem services (PES) are an increasingly promoted approach to conservation. These approaches seek to develop financial mechanisms that create economic incentives for the maintenance of ecosystems and associated biodiversity by rewarding those who are responsible for provision of ecological services. There are, however, few cases in which such schemes have been used as a strategy for conserving wildlife in developing countries and very few operational examples of such schemes of any sort in sub-Saharan Africa. In savannah ecosystems, large mammal populations generally depend on seasonal use of extensive areas and are widely declining as a result of habitat loss, overexploitation, and policies that limit local benefits from wildlife. Community-based conservation strategies seek to create local incentives for conserving wildlife, but often have limited impact as a result of persistent institutional barriers that limit local rights and economic benefits. In northern Tanzania, a consortium of tourism operators is attempting to address these challenges through an agreement with a village that possesses part of a key wildlife dispersal area outside Tarangire National Park. The operators pay the community to enforce voluntary restrictions on agricultural cultivation and permanent settlement in a defined area of land. The initiative represents a potentially cost-effective framework for community-based conservation in an ecologically important area and is helping to reconcile historically conflicting local and national interests relative to land tenure, pastoralist livelihoods, and conservation. Wider adaptation of payments for ecosystem services approaches to settings where sustaining wildlife populations depends on local stewardship may help address current challenges facing conservation outside state-protected areas in savannah ecosystems in sub-Saharan Africa and other parts of the world.

The value of unprotected habitat in conserving the critically endangered Tana River red colobus ( Procolobus rufomitratus)

We determined the importance of unprotected forest habitat outside the Tana River Primate National Reserve (TRPNR), Kenya, in conserving the critically endangered Tana red colobus. We compared colobus and forest attributes inside and outside the reserve and found no significant difference in colobus density or mean group size, although absolute values for both measures were higher outside the reserve. Forests outside TRPNR had a higher basal area of trees, basal area per tree, and basal area of stumps from human use. We also compared data on group size and composition collected inside and outside TRPNR during the period of reserve establishment (1978), 10 years after establishment (1988) and over 20 years after establishment (2000). Mean group size declined by nearly 50% since the reserve was established across all age classes both inside and outside TRPNR. Since the red colobus population is in decline and forests outside TRPNR are as suitable as those inside as colobus habitat, we recommend adopting a community-based conservation strategy of sustainable forest management and use outside TRPNR to enhance conservation goals.

When Nomads Settle: The Effects of Commoditization, Nutritional Change, and Formal Education on Ariaal and Rendille Pastoralists

When Nomads Settle: The Effects of Commoditization, Nutritional Change, and Formal Education on Ariaal and Rendille Pastoralists