Sustainable Wildlife Research Articles

ISWIMAN – Integrated Sustainable Wildlife Management – Principles, Criteria and Indicators for Hunting, Forestry, Agriculture, Recreation

Tools for an integral sustainability assessment of four different land user groups have been developed in the Austrian model region “Vienna-Woods Biosphere Reserve”. Focusing on the cross-cutting issue of wildlife management, the step from sector-specific towards cross-sectoral integrated assessment of sustainable use has been taken for the first time. The assessment tools are also suitable for wider application if indicators are adapted to the specific regions.

Opportunities for Transdisciplinary Science to Mitigate Biosecurity Risks From the Intersectionality of Illegal Wildlife Trade With Emerging Zoonotic Pathogens

Existing collaborations among public health practitioners, veterinarians, and ecologists do not sufficiently consider illegal wildlife trade in their surveillance, biosafety, and security (SB&S) efforts even though the risks to health and biodiversity from these threats are significant. We highlight multiple cases to illustrate the risks posed by existing gaps in understanding the intersectionality of the illegal wildlife trade and zoonotic disease transmission. We argue for more integrative science in support of decision-making using the One Health approach. Opportunities abound to apply transdisciplinary science to sustainable wildlife trade policy and programming, such as combining on-the-ground monitoring of health, environmental, and social conditions with an understanding of the operational and spatial dynamics of illicit wildlife trade. We advocate for (1) a surveillance sample management system for enhanced diagnostic efficiency in collaboration with diverse and local partners that can help establish new or link existing surveillance networks, outbreak analysis, and risk mitigation strategies; (2) novel analytical tools and decision support models that can enhance self-directed local livelihoods by addressing monitoring, detection, prevention, interdiction, and remediation; (3) enhanced capacity to promote joint SB&S efforts that can encourage improved human and animal health, timely reporting, emerging disease detection, and outbreak response; and, (4) enhanced monitoring of illicit wildlife trade and supply chains across the heterogeneous context within which they occur. By integrating more diverse scientific disciplines, and their respective scientists with indigenous people and local community insight and risk assessment data, we can help promote a more sustainable and equitable wildlife trade.

“Shrimp Watching” Ecotourism in Thailand: Toward Sustainable Management Policy

Interest in wildlife ecotourism is increasing but many studies have identified detrimental effects making it unsustainable in the long run. We discuss a relatively new wildlife ecotourism event where tourists visit Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand to witness a mass migration of freshwater shrimp that emerge from the water and move across land known as “shrimp parading.” As this has been developed into a tourist event, the number of migrating shrimp have declined, suggesting that it may be unsustainable as currently practiced. We used a questionnaire to ask how locals, tourists, and stakeholders value the shrimp and their willingness to change their behavior to mitigate anthropogenic impacts. We found that three groups of participants were not aware of potential negative impacts to the shrimp from tourism. Locals valued the tourism in terms of the economy, culture, and environment less than tourists and stakeholders. The local government applied a top-down approach to manage this tourism without a fundamental understanding of the shrimp's biology, impacts of tourists on the shrimp, or the various stakeholder perceptions. We discuss the problems and possible solutions that may be employed to help sustain this fascinating biological and cultural event and propose a framework to develop a sustainable wildlife ecotourism management plan. This case study serves as a model for others developing wildlife watching ecotourism, especially in developing countries.

The Use of Law in Wildlife Management

This paper is a commentary on the suitability of using law in wildlife management, and on the role that the law can play in conservation and management of wildlife and wildlife resources. It is based on the hypothesis that law is an important tool for regulating social conduct and enforcing policy, and can play an important role in achieving sustainable wildlife management. The author holds the view that having no law at all, or having irrelevant, unsuitable, inappropriate and ineffective laws is unhelpful, and will in the end be counter-productive and a liability to the conservation agenda. The paper has critically addressed these concerns. Being a commentary, it presents the author’s personal views and opinion(s), but also draws from documented research and diverse views of other researchers, scholars, and commentators on the subject. It has also drawn from literature survey and arm-chair study, as well as views and information gathered by the author in previous research whose data and findings have been published. Virtually all societies, from the primitive society to the modern society, have had some form of law or legal ordering; with informal legal ordering in the former and more formalized laws in the latter. The enterprise of law (legal ordering) is so crucial that it has permeated all sectors of society and aspects of life, in such a way that a society without law is unfathomable. Laws have been used from time immemorial including the antecedent biblical times for: Societal ordering; defining rights and duties; prescribing standards for actions and conduct; proscribing harmful and undesirable conduct; punishing undesirable and prohibited conduct; addressing society’s problems; establishing mechanisms for dispute adjudication and dispute resolution; as well as reconciling and mitigating competing (and often conflicting) interests. Admittedly, law has permeated all sectors of society, including the wildlife sector; such that there are rules, regulations and laws on wildlife. This is to the extent that there has even developed a genre of law that may be described as wildlife management law, or simply wildlife law; with its own professionals, its own textbooks, and its own jurisprudence. This law has provisions: On wildlife ownership and use; for establishing wildlife agencies and spelling out their respective duties; for protecting wildlife from harm, especially that arising from human conduct and activities; for protecting wildlife habitats from encroachment by humans; and for mitigating the negative costs of wildlife such as competition for resources as well as wildlife predation and depredation. While law has some advantages that make it suitable for that purpose, it also has certain limitations. There are also several factors that determine or affect the effectiveness of laws (determinants)—mainly institutional ones. In that even with properly formulated laws, for law to be effective and play its intended role, there is need for those factors (determinants) to be addressed. They include: The relevance and suitability of the particular laws to the local circumstances of the locality in which they are applied; the acceptability of such laws to stakeholders and the general public; whether those laws set up effective mechanisms for dispute adjudication and dispute settlement; whether those laws are backed with appropriate policy frameworks and effective institutional arrangements.

Adoption of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives in promoting sustainable wildlife conservation in communities around Hwange national park, Zimbabwe

Though there are various Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives by the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZPWMA), through the Communal Areas Management of Indigenous Resources (CAMPFIRE) and wildlife conservation in Zimbabwe is facing perennial challenges that range from illegal hunting, wildlife habitat fragmentation, and wildlife retaliatory killings. The main objective of the study is to assess the adoption of effective CSR initiatives on communities around Hwange National Park on wildlife conservation. A case study research design was used where the target population was communities living around Hwange National Park. Purposive and simple random sampling techniques were used. The data collected from questionnaires was analysed using SPSS and interview data was placed into thematic areas according to objectives. Findings were that there is a legal framework for CSR in place but the challenge is on its implementation. It was noted in the study that the community is not being involved in the conservation of wildlife. The findings also indicated that the economic situation is affecting the daily operation of Hwange National Park; hence, there is reduction of CSR funding which includes the provision of social services. From the study, it was observed that some of the infrastructure like boreholes and roads were no longer being serviced on time due to limited resources. The study recommends that the use of education and awareness campaigns are essential for the conservation of the resources in the protected area.

Interactions Between People and Nigeria-Cameroon Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes ellioti) Around Mbam-Djerem National Park, Central Cameroon

Understanding the interactions between local people and chimpanzees is crucial to develop sustainable wildlife conservation strategies and management policy in the Mbam-Djerem National Park (MDNP). The MDNP covers about 416,512 ha and shelters the Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee ( Pan troglodytes ellioti) being the most endangered of all currently recognized chimpanzee subspecies. Close to 30,000 people live in the periphery of the MDNP and depend on the park’s resources for subsistence. We investigated the extent of, and factors leading to, the interactions between people and chimpanzees through a socio-economic survey focusing on households (124) and individual interviews (38) in 30% of villages around MDNP. About 95% of the respondents stated that human–wildlife conflict is an issue around MDNP. Access to resources (78.9%), crop damage (84%), and animal attack (11.3%) were the main sources of conflicts. The ground squirrel Xerus erythropus (59.7%), the green monkey Chlorocebus aethiops (20.2%), chimpanzees (7.3%) and baboons Papio anubis (5.6%) were identified as the main conflict animals and the destroyed crops included peanuts (70.2%), maize (15%) and cassava (5%). The population perceptions differed between the park’s four sectors and were significantly influenced by education and the main livelihood activity. The study also provided quantitative evidence on the role of personal and religious beliefs on the behavior towards chimpanzees. Our findings suggest that the improvement of income-generating activities and education will contribute to strengthening the conservation of chimpanzees.

Adana Yüreğir Kıyı Park Tasarımı ve Kentsel Rekreasyon Planlamasındaki Rolü

Today’s most important problem in terms of urban planning is rapidly diminishing urban green areas due to rapidly increasing housing. In urban planning, urban green space systems play an important role in meeting the recreational needs of people living in the city. Thus, within the urban green space system, urban parks contribute to the unification of disconnected biotopes in the urban green space system, the development of green corridor lines, and the sustainability of wildlife in the city as well as its benefits such as providing an aesthetic look, reducing noise, cleaning air, creating a microclimate, and reducing the pollution. In this study, “Adana Coastal Park Project” has been prepared for an urban green area in Yüreğir, Adana, which was reserved by Yüreğir Municipality and its function in Adana's urban green space system has been evaluated. In the evaluations, criteria such as activity, functions, materials used, aesthetic design principles, comfort, image, security, and maintenance have been taken into consideration.

Estimating Changes in Habitat Quality through Land-Use Predictions: Case Study of Roe Deer (Capreolus pygargus tianschanicus) in Jeju Island

This study predicts future land-use changes and the resulting changes in habitat quality, suggesting a method for establishing land-use management to ensure sustainable wildlife habitats. The conservation effects were verified in terms of wild animal habitat quality according to the designation of protected areas. Land-use change until 2050 was predicted using the Dyna-Conversion of Land Use Change and its effects (Dyna-CLUE) model for Jeju Island, Korea, and the change in the quality of roe deer habitats was predicted using the Integrated Valuation and Environmental Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model. Results indicate that, compared to 2030, urbanized area increased by 42.55 km2, farmland decreased by 81.36 km2, and natural area increased by 38.82 km2 by 2050. The average habitat quality on Jeju Island was predicted to decrease from 0.306 in 2030 to 0.303 in 2050. The average habitat quality ranged from 0.477 in 2030 to 0.476 in 2050 in protected areas and 0.281 in 2030 to 0.278 in 2050 outside protected areas. Habitat quality in protected areas was relatively high, and its reduction was limited. Areas with lower habitat quality need approaches such as expanding greenery and improving its quality. By establishing appropriate land-use plans by predicting habitat quality, wildlife habitats can be better maintained and protected, which is a primary goal of green infrastructure.

Raptor Feeding Characterization and Dynamic System Simulation Applied to Airport Falconry

Airport falconry is a highly effective technique for reducing wildlife strikes on aircraft, which cause great economic losses. As an example, nowadays, wildlife strikes on aircrafts in the air transport industry are estimated to cost between USD 187 and 937 million in the US and USD 1.2 billion worldwide every year. Moreover, the life-threatening danger that wildlife strikes pose to passengers has prompted security stakeholders to develop countermeasures to prevent wildlife impacts near airport transit zones. The experience acquired from international countermeasure analysis reveals that falconry is the most effective technique to create sustainable wildlife exclusion areas. However, its application in airport environments continues to be regarded as an art rather than a technique; falconers modulate raptors’ behavior by using a trial-and-error system of controlling their hunger to stimulate the need for prey. This paper focuses on a case study where such a decision-making process was designed as a dynamic system applied to feeding planning for raptors that can be used to set an efficient baseline to optimize raptor responses without damaging existing wildlife. The results were validated by comparing the outputs of the model and the falconer’s trial-and-error system, which revealed that the proposed model was 58.15% more precise.

Local Community Participation in Rhino Conservation - Key to Conservation Success

A robust framework to guide community engagement in sustainable wildlife conservation and illegal wildlife trade is lacking. Virtually all conservation bodies and players believe that local communities are key to the success of rhino conservation but they are not equally walking their talk. Bottom-up community-based initiatives help to curb poaching especially level one poachers. The multifaceted problem of the African rhinoceros poaching on the continent is approaching calamitous proportions, with astounding, sobering statistics revealing the sheer extent of the illegal practice today. Poverty, greediness, superstition, rampant corruption, unchecked social injustice, ruthlessness, and ignorance are fuelling the interplay of rhino horn demand and supply. In order to save the remaining rhinoceros species there is need for economic transformation which will benefit both the communities and wildlife. Communities should get direct financial benefits from rhinoceros conservation, capacitate them and always engage them in rhinoceros conservation matters. Rhino protection should be incentivized, increasing the number of local people benefiting from conservation, and decreasing hostility towards wildlife will motivate local people to fully embrace conservation efforts. These conservation efforts should first target level one poachers who are vulnerable and exposed, by developing a comprehensive profitable and lucrative community participation packages in all rhino properties. Conservationists should walk their talk and genuinely work with local communities to build support for rhino conservation through education, awareness, self-sustaining business ventures and employment.

Current Societal Views about Sustainable Wildlife Management and Conservation: A Survey of College Students in China.

Simple SummaryWildlife conservation and management has become a very complex public policy issue in China as concerns about animal welfare and empathy for animals have emerged, especially in the younger generation. Science-based conservation policy and strategy that focus on sustainable management are perceived as less irrelevant today and can often be in conflict with emerging attitudes and values. Sustainable wildlife management adheres to the conservation concept of effective combination of species conservation and sustainable utilization, with an aim to establish a long-acting species conservation model that promotes all-round development of ecology, society, and economy, and has traditionally formed the basis of conservation management. This study designed a semi-structured questionnaire, which aimed to assess attitudes of Chinese college students towards sustainable wildlife management and wildlife conservation, and investigate the role of demographic and other characteristics on attitude. From October 2018 to April 2019, nine universities (including “Double First-Class” universities, first-tier universities, second-tier universities), and four three-year colleges in China were selected as survey sites, where face-to-face interviews were conducted among students. The results show that students broadly support the sustainable wildlife management but not in issues relating to “Animal Welfare and Rights” and “Trophy Hunting”. Students with lowest support for the theory and practice of sustainable wildlife management are vegetarians, freshmen, and those who have taken environmental protection electives in their educational program.Wildlife conservation and management has become a very complex public policy issue in China as concerns over on animal welfare and empathy for animals have grown. Science-based conservation strategies that are oriented toward sustainable wildlife management (SWM) are under threat as these new attitudes and values emerge and take hold. This study accesses the attitudes of college students towards SWM and wildlife conservation, and investigates demographic characteristics influencing their attitudes in China, a country that is traditionally associated with consumptive use of wildlife and SWM, but where new ideas about wildlife conservation are emerging. From October 2018 to April 2019, nine universities (including “Double First-Class” universities, first-tier universities, second-tier universities), and four three-year colleges in China were selected as survey locations, and face-to-face interviews were conducted with 1991 students. A total of 1977 questionnaires were recovered, of which 1739 were valid, with a completion rate of 88%. A Likert seven-point scale method was used to score students’ attitudes, and a classification and regression tree (CART) was used to analyze whether their attitudes were affected by their demographic characteristics. The results show that although students are broadly supportive of the theory of SWM, some are deeply antagonistic about on SWM on issues that arouse strong emotions such as “Animal Welfare and Rights” and “Trophy Hunting”. Demographic characteristics of students affect their degree of support for the SWM with support for SWM lower among vegetarians, freshmen, and students who have taken environmental protection electives. This research suggests that the theory of SWM requires to be refreshed and adapted to appeal to the younger generation of Chinese students, with SWM principles integrated into the environmental education programs of universities and three-year colleges. More attention should also be attached to media publicity by the government about wildlife conservation so as to enhance awareness of the need for SWM.

Local attitudes toward the cultural seasonal hunting bans in Ghana’s Bomfobiri Wildlife Sanctuary: Implications for sustainable wildlife management and tourism

This study investigated the attitudes of the people living in three adjacent communities close to the Bomfobiri wildlife sanctuary in Ghana concerning the observation of the cultural, seasonal closures of hunting. The cognitive and motivational approaches to attitude theory in wildlife management guided, under the phenomenology method, the collection of qualitative data on the importance of the seasonal closure of hunting and its implementation challenges. This inquiry was deemed crucial to improving the disjointed relationship between park management and local communities that often make wildlife conservation and tourism difficult at the Bomfobiri Wildlife Sanctuary. Forty-five key wildlife stakeholders, including park officers, traditional authorities, elderly residents, and bushmeat traders, were purposively selected with some interviewed personally and others engaged in focus group discussions. Despite a more significant number of stakeholders admitting the importance of the seasonal closure of hunting, some challenges impeded its implementation. These included the absence of alternative arrangements to support hunters during the period for the annual closure of hunting; lack of proper sensitisation and education on the hunting ban; absence of transparency in the equitable sharing of proceeds from wildlife tourism at the Bomfobiri Wildlife Sanctuary among park officers (Government) and the traditional authorities; the booming bushmeat business and the fear of losing customers after the fallow period; and purported corruption on the part of park officers, threatening the observation of the seasonal closure of hunting. The study has offered proactive suggestions to the Wildlife Division of the Forestry Commission and mainly to park management at the Bomfobiri Wildlife Sanctuary on how to address these challenges and improve wildlife management and sustainable wildlife tourism potentials in Ghana. Paramount among them is the tactful provision of alternative sources of livelihood and the establishment of enterprises in non-timber forest products as sources of income for hunters during the seasonal hunting ban.

Beyond banning wildlife trade: COVID-19, conservation and development.

One of the immediate responses to COVID-19 has been a call to ban wildlife trade given the suspected origin of the pandemic in a Chinese market selling and butchering wild animals. There is clearly an urgent need to tackle wildlife trade that is illegal, unsustainable or carries major risks to human health, biodiversity conservation or meeting acceptable animal welfare standards. However, some of the suggested actions in these calls go far beyond tackling these risks and have the potential to undermine human rights, damage conservation incentives and harm sustainable development. There are a number of reasons for this concerns. First calls for bans on wildlife markets often include calls for bans on wet markets, but the two are not the same thing, and wet markets can be a critical underpinning of informal food systems. Second, wildlife trade generates essential resources for the world's most vulnerable people, contributing to food security for millions of people, particularly in developing countries. Third, wildlife trade bans have conservation risks including driving trade underground, making it even harder to regulate, and encouraging further livestock production. Fourth, in many cases, sustainable wildlife trade can provide key incentives for local people to actively protect species and the habitat they depend on, leading to population recoveries. Most importantly, a singular focus on wildlife trade overlooks the key driver of the emergence of infectious diseases: habitat destruction, largely driven by agricultural expansion and deforestation, and industrial livestock production. We suggest that the COVID-19 crisis provides a unique opportunity for a paradigm shift both in our global food system and also in our approach to conservation. We make specific suggestions as to what this entails, but the overriding principle is that local people must be at the heart of such policy shifts.

Wild Meat in Changing Times

Across the Global South, wildlife is harvested for food and livelihoods and for cultural and medicinal purposes, yet the dynamics of the wild meat sector are changing as remote areas become more accessible, more people are living in urban areas, and the world is becoming increasingly connected. The research articles in this special issue explore the contemporary use of wild meat in the lives and livelihoods of people across a rural-urban gradient, provide examples of how use may be evolving in relation to the changing social, political, economic, cultural, and environmental contexts, and what this means for sustainable wildlife management and biodiversity conservation. Urbanization, social change, and cultural dynamics contribute to the diversity of, and motivation for, wild meat uses, while human population growth and the changing state of the natural environment can ultimately influence sustainability. Given the diversity of wild meat uses across social-ecological contexts, and the potential for inequitable management decisions, incorporating social justice in wild meat management will ensure human-wellbeing while curbing biodiversity loss.

IMPLICATIONS OF HUMAN-WILDLIFE CONFLICT ON LOCAL LIVELIHOOD: CASE STUDY, KIMBI-FUNGOM NATIONAL PARK CAMEROON

This study entitled “implications of human-wildlife conflict on local livelihood in the Kimbi-Fungom National Park” was undertaken to assess impacts of Human-Wildlife Conflict (HWC) in the Park so as to provide basis to design a sustainable wildlife conservation roadmap. Data collection was done using questionnaires, semi structured interviews and direct observations. Collected data were treated using excel and statistical package for social sciences (SPSS version 14). Findings revealed that, 98% of the population experience human-wildlife conflicts that negatively impacted local livelihood, with cumulative average financial losses amounting to 1, 97,890 FCFA/year/acre (0.40ha) for the six common staple food crops, and an average cumulative surface area damage of 4.75 acres/year (0.19ha). It was revealed that great proximity to the Park edge bear the highest cost of the conflict. Though losses varied with different crop and distance from the Park, this was attributed to population pressure that intensifies farming activities along the Park edge that greatly threatened the sustainable management of wildlife in the study area. It is against this background that an Integrated Conservation Development Project is proposed for a sustainable wildlife management roadmap that would have to confront the drivers of conflict by working hand-in-hand with all stakeholders concerned towards a win-win outcome.

Local community participation in wildlife conservation and management in Rungwa Game Reserve, Tanzania

Abstract Local community participation in wildlife conservation and management is known to have existed for many years. However, the socio-economic activities regarding community participation remain questionable. Incorporating the views of the local community in the process of decision-making and providing alternative livelihood solutions are important steps towards sustainable conservation. The main aim of this study was to investigate the effects of community participation in sustainable wildlife management in Rungwa Game Reserve. A survey was conducted of the households in Rungwa and Mwamagembe villages with a sample size of 98 respondents. The study used a cross-sectional research design. Data were collected from different respondents at a single point in time. The main research methods used for data collection included: questionnaire surveys, key informant interviews, field observations, focus group discussions and a review of documents. Descriptive data were summarised and presented in frequency tables and charts. Content analysis was also used to determine relationships between the variables measured. The findings revealed both positive and negative effects of wildlife conservation and management. The results revealed that local communities provided confidential information pertaining to illegal activities. The findings further indicated that there was a failure of the game reserve authorities to allow meaningful local participation and equitable sharing of the benefits, which could be attributed to hatred, resentment, and illegal harvesting of natural resources from the game reserve, resulting in poor wildlife conservation. This study recommends the encouragement and a strengthening of the involvement of local communities in wildlife conservation for the sustainable utilisation of natural resources.

Human Use-Pressure and Sustainable Wildlife Management in Burkina Faso: A Case Study of Bushmeat Hunting in Bobo-Dioulasso

Hunting is an important activity for the survival of local communities. However, unregulated hunting threatens the sustainability of wildlife and subsequently affects the same populations. This study investigated bushmeat hunting practices and their implications in wildlife sustainable management in Bobo-Dioulasso (Burkina-Faso). A total of 226 hunters were interviewed, using a random sampling technique and a semi-structured questionnaire. It revealed four groups of hunters. Group 1 (32.57% of the sample) was young and commercial hunters from Bobo ethnic group with 42.15±6.01 as average age. Hunting is their main activity and they hunt all year round in groups using direct catch and hunting dogs. Group 2 (19.76%) prefers to hunt in the daytime and their products serve for diseases treatments through traditional medicine. Group 3 (29.06%) consists of the Mossi ethnic group with an average age of 58.92±3.69. They belong to the confederation of hunters called "Dozo". They are farmers with hunting as the secondary activity. They hunt at night with headlamps. Group 4 (18.60%), mainly Mossi with an average age of 63.06±7.19, hunts occasionally and respects the accredited hunting periods. The animals at the risk and most commonly used as bushmeat are Francolin, Porcupine, Cape hare, Buffalo, Nile monitor, Python, and Parrot. The locally threatened animals are respectively Ostrich, Roan antelope, Bat, Crocodile, and Striped hyena. Other animals are endangered and becoming increasingly rare (Lion, Elephant, Hippopotamus, and Warthog). Actions need to be taken by decision-makers and involve local communities for the sustainable management of wildlife in Bobo-Dioulasso.

Coronavirus e ambiente: una sfida per il pianeta e per la salute

In late December 2019, some patients were hospitalized with an initial diagnosis of pneumonia of unknown etiology. These patients were epidemiologically linked to a wholesale market of seafood, wild animals and meat located in Wuhan, Hubei province, China. Acute respiratory disease caused by a new Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, formerly known as 2019-nCoV, afterwards as Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), spread throughout China and received the attention of the entire world. Analysis of the genomic sequence of COVID-19 showed 88% of identity with two bat-derived severe acute respiratory syndrome-like Coronaviruses. Illegal and sustainable wildlife trade is the second largest direct threat to species after habitat destruction. Each year, hundreds of millions of plants and animals are captured or collected in the wild to be sold as food, pets, medicines, ornaments and for a variety of other reasons. Even the climate crisis could offer dangerous scenarios in addition to another fundamental chapter of the environmental pillar which is the one concerning air quality. There is a solid scientific literature which correlates the incidence of viral infection cases with concentrations of atmospheric particulate matter (e.g. PM10 and PM2.5). Despite the current regulations, which limit the levels of certain atmospheric pollutants, there are still numerous negative health effects deriving from exposure to these agents. However, it can be said that chronic air pollution, such as peaks of concentration of fine dust and other pollutants, acts as a pejorative factor in cases of epidemics. (GCND_planet)

Involving local communities for effective citizen science: Determining game species' reproductive status to assess hunting effects in tropical forests

Abstract Involving communities in sustainable wildlife management in tropical forests can ensure food security and livelihoods of millions of forest dwellers that depend on wild meat, and also safeguard hunted species. Mathematical models have been developed to assess hunting sustainability; but these require empirical information on reproductive parameters of the prey species, often challenging to obtain. Here, we suggest that if local people can accurately identify the reproductive status of hunted animals in the field, these data could fill the existing knowledge gap regarding species' life‐history traits and enable better assessments of hunting impacts. We first tested whether local people in 15 rural communities in three Amazonian sites could accurately diagnose, before and after training, the pregnancy status of hunted pacas Cuniculus paca, which we use as our model. We then applied the results from these tests to correct reproductive status data of hunted specimens, voluntarily collected over 17 years (2002–2018) as part of a citizen-science project in one of our study sites. We ran generalized additive models to contrast these corrected reproductive rates with those obtained from the direct analysis of genitalia by researchers, and with indices describing game extraction levels (catch‐per‐unit‐effort, CPUE, and age structure of hunted individuals). Before training, interviewees correctly diagnosed pregnancy in 72.5% of tests, but after training, interviewees accurately diagnosed pregnancy in 88.2% of tests, with high improvements especially for earlier pregnancy stages. Monthly pregnancy rates determined by hunters and by researchers were similar. Reported annual pregnancy rates were negatively correlated with CPUE, and positively correlated with the percentage of immatures in the hunted population, in accordance with an expected density‐dependent response to variations in hunting levels. Synthesis and applications. We show that the voluntary diagnosis of game species' reproductive status by local people is a feasible method to obtain accurate life‐history parameters for hunted tropical species, and to assess hunting effects on game populations. Given that almost half of the protected areas in the world are co‐managed by local people, our results confirm the potential of integrating local communities in citizen-science initiatives to ensure faster, low‐cost and more accurate data collection for wildlife management.

Ringing Studies at Poultry Wildlife Production Stations

Yaban hayatının sürdürülebilirliğini sağlamak amacıyla Orman ve Su İşleri Bakanlığı’nca 8 adet kanatlı yaban hayvanı üretim merkezi kurulmuş ve üretim faaliyetlerinde bulunmaktadır. Tarım ve Orman Bakanlığı ve diğer sivil toplum örgütleri tarafından keklik yetiştirip doğaya salma çalışmalarına temel oluşturmak üzere salınan kekliklerin doğal ortamlarında yaşama ve üreme oranlarının bilinmesine ihtiyaç duyulmaktadır. Üretilen kekliklerin takiplerinin bir yolu ise halkama yolu ile yapılmaktadır. Bu maksatla; kanatlı yaban hayvanı üretim merkezlerinde halkalama yapılmaktadır. Bu çalışma ile kanatlı yaban hayvanı üretim merkezlerinde üretilerek doğaya salınan kekliklerin halkalanması ve geri dönüşümü gibi konular araştırılmıştır.