Community Conservation Area Research Articles

Conservation outside Protected Areas and the Effect of Human‐Dominated Landscapes on Stress Hormones in Savannah Elephants

Biodiversity conservation strategies are increasingly focused on regions outside national protected areas, where animals face numerous anthropogenic threats and must coexist with human settlements, livestock, and agriculture. The effects of these potential threats are not always clear, but they could have profound implications for population viability. We used savannah elephants (Loxodonta africana) as a case study to assess the physiological stress associated with living in a human-livestock-dominated landscape. We collected samples over two 3-month periods in 2007 and 2008. We used fecal DNA to identify 96 individual elephants in a community conservation area (CCA) and measured fecal glucocorticoid metabolite (FGM) concentrations as a proxy for stress. The CCA is community Maasai land managed for livestock and wildlife. We compared the FGM concentrations from the CCA to FGM concentrations of 40 elephants in Amboseli National Park and 32 elephants in the Maasai Mara National Reserve, where human settlements and intense livestock grazing were absent. In the CCA, we found no significant individual differences in FGM concentrations among the elephants in 2007 (p = 0.312) or 2008 (p = 0.412) and no difference between years (p = 0.616). The elephants in the CCA had similar FGM concentrations to the Maasai Mara population, but Amboseli elephants had significantly lower FGM concentrations than those in either Maasai Mara or the CCA (Tukey pairwise test, p < 0.001), due primarily to females excreting significantly lower FGM relative to males (p = 0.025). In the CCA, there was no relation among female group size, average pairwise group relatedness, and average group FGM concentration. We found no clear evidence of chronic stress in elephants living on CCA communal land, which is encouraging for conservation strategies promoting the protection of animals living outside protected areas.

Association between avian assemblages and mountain bushveld communities along a single mountain slope in the Usuthu Gorge, South Africa

The study investigated the bird species diversity associated with vegetation communities found on a single mountain slope in the Usuthu Gorge Community Conservation Area, northern KwaZulu-Natal. Thirteen sample sites were surveyed on a monthly basis for 12 months. Over this period, 279 birds and 55 species were recorded, of which the Dark-capped Bulbul Pycnonotus tricolor was the most abundant. The Rattling Cisticola Cisticola chiniana was the indicator species in the highest community, Open Bushveld, which is characterised by grassland and bush patches. The White-bellied Sunbird Cinnyris talatala was an indicator in the second-lowest community, Dense Bushveld–Woodland, which is characterised by steep slopes and thickets. In Wooded Grassland, located between the above two communities, the highest beta diversity (species turnover) was recorded and this outcome was probably caused by large areas covered by rocks that compelled woodland birds to move through this community. Contrary to expectation, the gamma diversity per vegetation community increased with elevation from 18 to 33 species in Dense Bushveld–Woodland, Wooded Grassland and Open Bushveld. A future study should measure bird species diversity on larger elevational gradients, i.e. slopes from 500 to 3 000 m above sea level, which also include more distinct vegetation communities.

Occupancy patterns and niche partitioning within a diverse carnivore community exposed to anthropogenic pressures

Although carnivores are in global decline, diverse carnivore communities are common in sub-Saharan Africa, where more than 20 species may co-occur. Though intraguild competition and predation can limit the set of species that coexist, most carnivores have traits that decrease the impacts of interspecific competition on fitness, a pattern that promotes coexistence. An increasing human population and demand for natural resources (e.g. farming) has fragmented landscapes, reduced available prey, and elevated rates of conflict. These anthropogenic pressures tend to eliminate large carnivores first, which can have cascading effects on ecosystem function (e.g. mesopredator release). Anthropogenic pressures might also affect mesocarnivores directly, but this hypothesis has received little research attention to date. Here, we used camera surveys to describe spatial and temporal patterns of carnivore occupancy in a mixed-use landscape in Kenya. This landscape included a community conservation area and seasonally occupied human settlement and livestock grazing areas. We detected 21 carnivore species and examined occupancy patterns for the 12 most frequently detected. Differences among species in responses to environmental conditions supported a hypothesis of spatial niche partitioning. Differences in the temporal activity patterns of the apex predators and mesocarnivores supported a hypothesis of temporal niche partitioning. Human land use altered occupancy patterns in 10 of 12 species. Apex predator occupancies were lower in more anthropogenically disturbed areas, but mesocarnivore occupancies were not inversely related to apex predators, contrary to the mesopredator release hypothesis. Our results suggest that a diverse carnivore community persists in this mixed use landscape because of seasonal variation in human land use.

Employing participatory surveys to monitor the illegal killing of elephants across diverse land uses in Laikipia–Samburu, Kenya

AbstractLevels and trends of illegal killing of elephants are measured by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE) programme in sites across Africa and Asia. In the mostly unprotected Laikipia–Samburu MIKE site in northern Kenya, elephant mortality data were collected using both standard law enforcement monitoring procedures, relying on patrolling, and participatory methods involving local communities. Qualitatively, traditional patrolling techniques were more successful in protected areas whereas participatory approaches provided more information outside protected areas, where elephant were most at risk from ivory poachers. A minimum of 35% of the 389 verified carcasses during 2001–2003 were illegally killed. In this baseline study, land uses ranked from highest to lowest by the proportion of illegally killed elephants (PIKE) were community conservation areas, government trust lands, forest reserves, private ranches, settlement areas and national reserves. PIKE trends derived from traditional and participatory data sources were similar across years and indicate elephants were at greater risk in regions outside government or privately patrolled areas. We suggest that PIKE is a useful index for comparing levels and trends in illegal killing of elephants, and that carcass ratios and presence/absence of tusks are useful proxy indicators of mortality and its causes.

Woody vegetation structure in conserved versus communal land in a biodiversity hotspot: A case study in Maputaland, South Africa

This study evaluated the effects of humans and herbivores on woody vegetation structure in the woodlands and forests of Maputaland. The woody vegetation structure of plant communities at three sites within a similar environment but under different utilisation regimes since the early 1990s was evaluated by means of a stem diameter and tree height class analysis. The effects of human utilisation were evaluated on the land of the rural Manqakulane community; herbivore utilisation was evaluated in the Tembe Elephant Park; and because of the low levels of utilisation since 1992 the vegetation in the Tshanini Community Conservation Area was used as a benchmark for the comparisons. In both woodlands and sand forests, utilisation regime resulted in changes in stem diameter size class distributions, although the height structure remained unchanged. In communal land human-associated disturbance promoted the presence of small woody plants. In general, conserved land under animal utilisation, had the least small diameter woody plants, but most of the large trees, whereas in the absence of utilisation intermediate densities of small diameter woody plants were found but low densities of large trees. This study presents the first quantification of significant changes in the woody vegetation structure in Maputaland due to human utilisation, herbivore utilisation, or lack of utilisation. It also provides a timeframe within which land use can cause significant changes in vegetation structure.

Comparison of Outcomes of Permanently Closed and Periodically Harvested Coral Reef Reserves

In many areas of the developing world, the establishment of permanent marine reserves is inhibited by cultural norms or socioeconomic pressures. Community conserved areas that are periodically harvested are increasingly being implemented as fisheries management tools, but few researchers have empirically compared them with permanently closed reserves. We used a hierarchical control-impact experimental design to compare the abundance and biomass of reef fishes, invertebrates, and substrate composition in periodically harvested and permanent reserves and in openly fished (control sites) of the South Pacific island country of Vanuatu. Fished species had significantly higher biomass in periodically harvested reserves than in adjacent openly fished areas. We did not detect differences in substratum composition between permanent reserves and openly fished areas or between permanent reserves and periodically harvested reserves. Giant clams (tridacnids) and top shells (Trochus niloticus) were vulnerable to periodic harvest, and we suggest that for adequate management of these species, periodically harvested community conservation areas be used in conjunction with other management strategies. Periodic harvest within reserves is an example of adaptive and flexible management that may meet conservation goals and that is suited to the social, economic, and cultural contexts of many coastal communities in the developing world.

A spatial and temporal analysis of Sand Forest tree assemblages in Maputaland, South Africa

Maputaland is a centre of plant endemism, within the Maputaland–Pondoland–Albany hotspot of biodiversity shared by Mozambique and South Africa. The Sand Forest vegetation is the most valuable vegetation type in this region due to the endemics it harbours, but it is currently under threat from growing animal population densities within conserved areas and from a growing human population outside. To improve our understanding of Sand Forest dynamics the present study investigated the woody plant assemblages in Tembe Elephant Park. A total of 59 plots were sampled and analysed using classification and ordination methods. The results indicate that Sand Forest in Tembe is a complex assemblage of at least three floristically and structurally distinct woody communities. An ordination of the combined results from the present study together with two other studies could link the floristics and structure of the Sand Forest to the level of disturbance by herbivores and humans. Large herbivores induce both structural and floristic changes in the Sand Forest of Tembe Elephant Park and a lack of disturbance in the nearby Tshanini Community Conservation Area leads to a state of equilibrium. The results therefore suggest that Sand Forest dynamics and complexity may be strongly linked to small- to medium-scale animal disturbance.

Community dynamics in Japanese rural areas and implications for national park management

Land in Japanese parks is not set aside for nature conservation; instead park land is managed through a system of zoning and regulations, regardless of existing ownership and use, to preserve 'scenic beauty.' Although this system faces numerous challenges, it contains a built-in mechanism for facilitating community and stakeholder participation in park management. Fieldwork in Oze, Ogasawara Islands and Yakushima Island, led to a stakeholder analysis, focusing on the dynamics that divide communities in many rural areas and which reflect complex social, economic and political circumstances in contemporary Japan. These dynamics have profound implications for park management, because those with the largest stake have the least influence over local-level decision making. Understanding these types of dynamics is critical for facilitating community conservation and sustainable protected area management.

A Survey of Tourist Expectations and Economic Potential for a Proposed Wildlife Sanctuary in a Maasai Group Ranch near Amboseli, Kenya

This paper looks at the ethical, ecological, community, economic and management issues in extending wildlife tourism and conservation beyond national park boundaries in Kenya. It specifically examines the proposed Kuku Community Conservation Area (KCCA). Prerequisites, including the availability of diverse tourist attractions, local community support, the support of tourism investors and other stakeholders are considered. Research focused on interviews with tourists and tour operators visiting the Tsavo-Amboseli Ecosystem. Wildlife was the number one attraction for over 75% of tourists, though some were attracted by the Maasai culture. Most of the tourists (over 75%) were willing to visit a community wildlife sanctuary. This willingness was independent of their belief that the Maasai were actually benefiting from wildlife resources (p > 0.20) but was dependent (p < 0.001) on their desire to have the Maasai benefit. Most of them (over 70%) wanted the Maasai Community to benefit from wildlife and tourism, even though a majority (over 70%) did not know the role the community played in conservation, or (over 80% of them) the socio-economic burden that wildlife places on local communities. A majority (over 60%) of tourists had not visited a Maasai cultural centre, but most (over 70%) would have visited if they knew what was presented there. Based on a simple management model of 46 staff, KCCA could potentially generate a net Ksh10.35 million (US$147,867) annually, in addition to revenue from a proposed cultural centre and resource access benefits for the local community. With the existing tourist attractions in the area and with potential partnerships with tour companies, maximum benefit to the community from the successful tourism industry already operating in the area can be realised, hence legitimising wildlife conservation for the community.

Aerial elephant count in the Shimba Hills ecosystem, Kenya

Conducted by helicopter in the Shimba Hills ecosystem in August 1997 a one day wet season count observed 464 elephant, and served to verify the estimated 412 obtained through dung counts. 150 of the animals were in Mwaluganje Forest, giving a density of 6 elephant per sq km in this area. The population in the Forest has probably been increasing since the 1950's. Shimba Hills National Reserve itself is enclosed by an electric fence. A wildlife corridor, namely the Mwaluganje Community Conservation Area, joins the Reserve and the Forest but there is no additional habitat/range for this isolated population which is literally surrounded by human habitation and agricultural land. Vegetation damage by elephants in the Shimba Hills ecosystem has reached critical levels in localized areas, and the area's biodiversity may suffer if management action is not taken soon. The author discusses the growth of the population and the differing opinions of researchers who have undertaken previous surveys. He conclusions are in line with a recent consultant's report (Kamanga, 1997) who suggested 200 animals should be removed, and that a density of 0.5 elephants per sq km is probably good for the Shimba ecosystem. Translocation is suggested as an option to consider followed up by a population control immunocontraception programme.