Wildlife Loss Research Articles

Parasite responses to large mammal loss in an African savanna

Biodiversity loss can alter disease transmission; however, the magnitude and direction of these effects vary widely across ecosystems, scales, and pathogens. Here we experimentally examine the effects of one of the most globally pervasive patterns of biodiversity decline, the selective loss of large wildlife, on infection probability, intensity and population size of a group of common rodent-borne parasites - macroparasitic helminths. Consistent with previous work on vector-borne pathogens, we found that large wildlife removal causes strong and systematic increases of rodent-borne parasites, largely due to increases in rodent density, as rodents are released from competition with larger herbivores. Although we predicted that increased host density would also increase per capita infection among all directly transmitted parasites, this additional amplification occurred for only two of three examined parasites. Furthermore, the actual effects of large mammal loss on per capita infection were mediated by the complex suite of abiotic and biotic factors that regulate parasite transmission. Thus, while these results strongly suggest that large wildlife loss will cause systematic increases in rodent parasite populations, they also underscore the difficulty of making more specific predictions for a given parasite based on simple attributes such as transmission mode or life history strategy. Instead, detailed information on the ecology of each parasite species would be necessary to make more accurate predictions of how biodiversity loss will affect infection.

Interacting effects of land use and climate on rodent-borne pathogens in central Kenya.

Understanding the effects of anthropogenic disturbance on zoonotic disease risk is both a critical conservation objective and a public health priority. Here, we evaluate the effects of multiple forms of anthropogenic disturbance across a precipitation gradient on the abundance of pathogen-infected small mammal hosts in a multi-host, multi-pathogen system in central Kenya. Our results suggest that conversion to cropland and wildlife loss alone drive systematic increases in rodent-borne pathogen prevalence, but that pastoral conversion has no such systematic effects. The effects are most likely explained both by changes in total small mammal abundance, and by changes in relative abundance of a few high-competence species, although changes in vector assemblages may also be involved. Several pathogens responded to interactions between disturbance type and climatic conditions, suggesting the potential for synergistic effects of anthropogenic disturbance and climate change on the distribution of disease risk. Overall, these results indicate that conservation can be an effective tool for reducing abundance of rodent-borne pathogens in some contexts (e.g. wildlife loss alone); however, given the strong variation in effects across disturbance types, pathogen taxa and environmental conditions, the use of conservation as public health interventions will need to be carefully tailored to specific pathogens and human contexts.This article is part of the themed issue ‘Conservation, biodiversity and infectious disease: scientific evidence and policy implications’.

Population Status, Group Size, and Threat to Boutourlini’s Blue Monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis boutourlinii) in Jibat Forest, Ethiopia

The present study was conducted to determine population and group size, and identify major conservation challenges to the blue monkey (Cercopithecus mitis boutourlinii) in Jibat forest. Data were collected from July 2012 to April 2013 through direct field observation, focus group discussion, interview, and questionnaire survey. Individual count was used to determine the current population size, seasonal distribution, and sex and age structure of blue monkey. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Chi-square test was used to compare the sex and age ration, and their distribution among the counting blocks. The mean estimated population of Boutourlini’s blue monkeys in the study area was 188 individuals. Of which, adult males and adult females comprised 18.61% and 33.77%, respectively. There was statistical difference between the number of adult males and adult females (χ2=8.495, df=1, p 0.05). The sex ratio of adult males to adult females was 1:1.81, and adult female to infant was 1:1.65. Blue monkeys in the study area were seen mostly in groups and occasionally in pairs. The range of troop size varied from 2 to 21 with mean of 11 individuals of various sex and age categories. Major threats for blue monkey recorded in the study area were deforestation, poaching, agricultural land expansion, overgrazing, human encroachment, tree cutting and cultivation. Increasing human population density with the absence of participatory forest management has accelerated deforestation of the natural ecosystem and loss of wildlife.

Prediction of Land Use Change in Long Island Sound Watersheds Using Nighttime Light Data

The Long Island Sound Watersheds (LISW) are experiencing significant land use/cover change (LUCC), which affects the environment and ecosystems in the watersheds through water pollution, carbon emissions, and loss of wildlife. LUCC modeling is an important approach to understanding what has happened in the landscape and what may change in the future. Moreover, prospective modeling can provide sustainable and efficient decision support for land planning and environmental management. This paper modeled the LUCCs between 1996, 2001 and 2006 in the LISW in the New England region, which experienced an increase in developed area and a decrease of forest. The low-density development pattern played an important role in the loss of forest and the expansion of urban areas. The key driving forces were distance to developed areas, distance to roads, and social-economic drivers, such as nighttime light intensity and population density. In addition, this paper compared and evaluated two integrated LUCC models—the logistic regression–Markov chain model and the multi-layer perception–Markov chain (MLP–MC) model. Both models achieved high accuracy in prediction, but the MLP–MC model performed slightly better. Finally, a land use map for 2026 was predicted by using the MLP–MC model, and it indicates the continued loss of forest and increase of developed area.

Zoos and public health: A partnership on the One Health frontier

Today, accredited zoos are not just places for entertainment, they are actively involved in research for conservation and health. During recent decades in which the challenges for biodiversity conservation and public health have escalated, zoos have made significant changes to address these difficulties. Zoos increasingly have four key areas of focus: education, recreation, conservation, and research. These key areas are important in addressing an interrelated global conservation (i.e. habitat and wildlife loss) and public health crisis. Zoo and public health professionals working together within a One Health framework represent a powerful alliance to address current and future conservation and public health problems around the world. For researchers, practitioners, and students, the collaboration between zoos and public health institutions offers the opportunity to both teach and operationalize this transdisciplinary approach. Using examples from our programs, we give a template for moving forward with collaborative initiatives and sustainable solutions involving partners in both zoos and public health institutions. We provide examples of cooperative programs and suggest a model for consideration in the development of further activities in this area.

Consumption-Based Conservation Targeting: Linking Biodiversity Loss to Upstream Demand through a Global Wildlife Footprint.

Although most conservation efforts address the direct, local causes of biodiversity loss, effective long‐term conservation will require complementary efforts to reduce the upstream economic pressures, such as demands for food and forest products, which ultimately drive these downstream losses. Here, we present a wildlife footprint analysis that links global losses of wild birds to consumer purchases across 57 economic sectors in 129 regions. The United States, India, China, and Brazil have the largest regional wildlife footprints, while per‐person footprints are highest in Mongolia, Australia, Botswana, and the United Arab Emirates. A US$100 purchase of bovine meat or rice products occupies approximately 0.1 km2 of wild bird ranges, displacing 1–2 individual birds, for 1 year. Globally significant importer regions, including Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and France, have large footprints that drive wildlife losses elsewhere in the world and represent important targets for consumption‐focused conservation attention.

Extreme Wildlife Declines and Concurrent Increase in Livestock Numbers in Kenya: What Are the Causes?

There is growing evidence of escalating wildlife losses worldwide. Extreme wildlife losses have recently been documented for large parts of Africa, including western, Central and Eastern Africa. Here, we report extreme declines in wildlife and contemporaneous increase in livestock numbers in Kenya rangelands between 1977 and 2016. Our analysis uses systematic aerial monitoring survey data collected in rangelands that collectively cover 88% of Kenya’s land surface. Our results show that wildlife numbers declined on average by 68% between 1977 and 2016. The magnitude of decline varied among species but was most extreme (72–88%) and now severely threatens the population viability and persistence of warthog, lesser kudu, Thomson’s gazelle, eland, oryx, topi, hartebeest, impala, Grevy’s zebra and waterbuck in Kenya’s rangelands. The declines were widespread and occurred in most of the 21 rangeland counties. Likewise to wildlife, cattle numbers decreased (25.2%) but numbers of sheep and goats (76.3%), camels (13.1%) and donkeys (6.7%) evidently increased in the same period. As a result, livestock biomass was 8.1 times greater than that of wildlife in 2011–2013 compared to 3.5 times in 1977–1980. Most of Kenya’s wildlife (ca. 30%) occurred in Narok County alone. The proportion of the total “national” wildlife population found in each county increased between 1977 and 2016 substantially only in Taita Taveta and Laikipia but marginally in Garissa and Wajir counties, largely reflecting greater wildlife losses elsewhere. The declines raise very grave concerns about the future of wildlife, the effectiveness of wildlife conservation policies, strategies and practices in Kenya. Causes of the wildlife declines include exponential human population growth, increasing livestock numbers, declining rainfall and a striking rise in temperatures but the fundamental cause seems to be policy, institutional and market failures. Accordingly, we thoroughly evaluate wildlife conservation policy in Kenya. We suggest policy, institutional and management interventions likely to succeed in reducing the declines and restoring rangeland health, most notably through strengthening and investing in community and private wildlife conservancies in the rangelands.

Hope for Tropical Biodiversity After All.

Much as Mark Twain famously stated that reports of his death were greatly exaggerated, it turns out that land animals in tropical protected areas may be better off than we thought. Current assessments warn of widespread biodiversity loss in the tropics—which is home to half of species globally—and put declines as high as 56% over the last four decades. But now, in this issue of PLOS Biology, Lydia Beaudrot, Jorge Ahumada, and colleagues report that tropical forest preserves around the world may be helping after all: at the community level, ground-dwelling mammals and birds are holding their own. Why the difference? Tropical forests are understudied, and most of the animals living there are rare and elusive, so existing biodiversity assessments rely heavily on aggregated secondary data and expert opinion. In contrast, the new findings are based on standardized primary data from camera traps in the Tropical Ecology Assessment and Monitoring (TEAM) Network, which give close-to-real-time snapshots of wildlife status and trends (Fig 1). Fig 1 Camera traps in remote tropical forests around the world provide insight into the status of rare and endangered wildlife, such as these African bush elephants (Loxodonta africana). Beaudrot, Ahumada, and colleagues determined biodiversity trends for more than 500 populations of nearly 250 species of mammals and birds, using half a million images per year from tropical forest preserves on three continents. The distribution of the 15 study sites reflected the proportion of tropical forest cover on each continent: half were in South and Central America, and the remainder were split between Africa and Southeast Asia. Each of the protected areas studied had a camera trap every square kilometer or two, for a total of 60 to 90 per site. Even so, camera sightings were infrequent—five per year for a given population was not uncommon—and the researchers used occupancy as a proxy for abundance. Analysis of the sightings showed that occupancy declined in 22%, increased in 17%, and did not change in 22% of the populations during the study period, which ranged from three to eight years depending on the site. Further analysis of the camera trap images revealed encouraging news: despite the variability in occupancy trends, biodiversity did not decline systematically at the community level in the protected areas studied. Importantly, occupancy trends did not vary significantly between mammals and birds, or by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List status. The latter suggests that, at least in the study sites, populations of Threatened and Near Threatened species are doing as well as those of Least Concern. However, sightings were too low to determine trends for nearly two-fifths of the populations studied, leading the researchers to caution that the observed community-level stability could mask wildlife losses in protected areas. The researchers also underscore that their findings do not apply to the many unprotected tropical forests worldwide. Today's extinction rates are estimated to be 1,000 times faster than the average over the history of life on Earth, and this catastrophic species loss occurs disproportionately in the tropics. These caveats aside, this work gives hope that species loss in protected tropical forests is less severe than we feared. Moreover, for the first time, conservation decisions can be based on real-time changes in wildlife populations. Some 200 nations have committed to a suite of protection measures—increasing protected areas, preventing extinctions, and reversing wildlife declines—by 2020. This work provides governments and nonprofits with tools for identifying successful strategies to preserve the biodiversity that remains while we still can.

New Rodenticide on the Block: Diagnosing Bromethalin Intoxication in Wildlife

Bromethalin is being used more widely for commensal rodent control because of increased regulation on second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides. Wildlife losses in California are tracked by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Bromethalin is a neurotoxicant which is not thought to cause secondary poisoning. From August 2014 to January 2016, 24 cases of bromethalin intoxication were investigated in California. These include 11 raccoons, 11 striped skunks, one gray fox, and one fox squirrel. Most of these occurred in Marin County, where active surveillance of wildlife for rodenticide exposure is occurring. Bromethalin exposure should be evaluated when a wild animal that may have accessed bait is showing neurological signs. Trauma and distemper should be ruled out. Histological changes may be found in the central nervous system but are not always present. The tissue of choice for toxicological analysis is adipose. It is likely that bromethalin intoxication is under-reported in the rest of the state and may be mistaken for distemper infection or trauma. Primary exposure of wildlife to bromethalin could be prevented by placing baits in tamper-resistant bait stations.

Averting Wildlife - Train Interaction Using Thermal Image Processing and Acoustic Techniques

The most heartening news for nature lovers and wildlife conservationists is the accidental loss of wild life by the passing vehicles. Heavy vehicles and trains carrying goods pass through the heart of the forest rich in flora and fauna. Normally, wild animals shy away on hearing the noise of a roaring engine, but, at times mainly because of the shock or misjudging the speed they are hit by the vehicles. Of late, it has been reported that, trains are the major cause for accidental deaths among the jungle community. Animals, being the integral part of our biodiversity, need to be preserved with our immediate response and immense responsibility. The basic idea of this paper is to suggest some remedial measures by adopting advanced technology with a novel approach. This paper proposes a tangible solution for the above said problem by combining thermal image processing techniques with acoustic warning system. As soon as the image of an animal is captured by the thermal imaging camera, a signal is sent to the microcontroller. Which in turn generates an appropriate frequency of sound for which that particular animal is highly sensitive?

Roads, roads everywhere

Ecology Over the past century, an ever-expanding network of roads has spread over our planet. In a Perspective, Haddad considers the environmental impacts of this network. Roads often lead to land-use change as people clear newly accessible land for agriculture or housing. Roads also fragment ecosystems and cause widespread wildlife losses through collisions with vehicles. Road planning and construction can help to protect wildlife from the worst effects of roads; for example, through the construction of wildlife corridors. However, these measures are not enough to prevent the habitat fragmentation and land-use change that accompany the growing global road network. Science , this issue p. [1166][1] [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.aad5072

Land-use and land-cover changes in the Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia: Assessment of perception and adaptation of stakeholders

Understanding the perception of land-use and land-cover (LULC) change and the adaptation strategies of different stakeholders is very important for the development and implementation of appropriate LULC policies. This study explores the perception and the adaptation strategies followed in response to undesired LULC changes in two districts of the Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia, Adami Tulu Jido Kombolcha and Arsi Negele by comparing perceived LULC changes with observed LULC changes according to the interpretation of remote sensing data. Between 1973 and 2014, cropland expanded at the expense of all other land-cover types. The area covered with forest, woodlands, grasslands and water have declined from 10.0%, 33.0%, 30.0% and 16.0% to 4.4%, 18.3%, 17.2% and 13.4% of the total study area, respectively, while the area cover for cropland increased from 11.0% to 46.7%. Population growth, drought, social unrest, government change, and land tenure policy were perceived as the major drivers underlying these changes. Drought, decline in productivity, loss of wildlife and birds, and land degradation are the most widely perceived impacts of these LULC changes. Older farmers and farmers with a higher education have taken more measures to adapt to LULC changes. Stakeholders have a comprehensive understanding of the LULC change in the study area but very low adaptive capacity due to lack of financial resources, lack of information on best practices and lack of technical knowledge.

Large wildlife removal drives immune defence increases in rodents

Summary Anthropogenic disturbances involving land use change, climate disruption, pollution and invasive species have been shown to impact immune function of wild animals. These immune changes have direct impacts on the fitness of impacted animals and, also, potentially indirect effects on other species and on ecological processes, notably involving the spread of infectious disease. Here, we investigate whether the selective loss of large wildlife can also drive changes in immune function of other consumer species. Using a long‐standing large‐scale exclosure experiment in East Africa, we investigated the effects of selective removal of large wildlife on multiple measures of immune function in the dominant small rodent in the system, the East African pouched mouse, Saccostomus mearnsi. We find support for a general increase in immune function in landscapes where large wildlife has been removed, but with some variation across immune parameters. These changes may be mediated in part by increased pathogen pressure in plots where large wildlife has been removed due to major increases in rodent density in such plots, but other factors such as changes in food resources are also likely involved. Overall, our research reveals that the elimination of large‐bodied wildlife – now recognized as another major form of global anthropogenic change – may have cascading effects on immune health, with the potential for these effects to also impact disease dynamics in ecological communities.

Using DNA Barcodes to Identify Road-Killed Animals in Two Atlantic Forest Nature Reserves, Brazil.

Road mortality is the leading source of biodiversity loss in the world, especially due to fragmentation of natural habitats and loss of wildlife. The survey of the main species victims of roadkill is of fundamental importance for the better understanding of the problem, being necessary, for this, the correct species identification. The aim of this study was to verify if DNA barcodes can be applied to identify road-killed samples that often cannot be determined morphologically. For this purpose, 222 vertebrate samples were collected in a stretch of the BR-101 highway that crosses two Discovery Coast Atlantic Forest Natural Reserves, the Sooretama Biological Reserve and the Vale Natural Reserve, in Espírito Santo, Brazil. The mitochondrial COI gene was amplified, sequenced and confronted with the BOLD database. It was possible to identify 62.16% of samples, totaling 62 different species, including Pyrrhura cruentata, Chaetomys subspinosus, Puma yagouaroundi and Leopardus wiedii considered Vulnerable in the National Official List of Species of Endangered Wildlife. The most commonly identified animals were a bat (Molossus molossus), an opossum (Didelphis aurita) and a frog (Trachycephalus mesophaeus) species. Only one reptile was identified using the technique, probably due to lack of reference sequences in BOLD. These data may contribute to a better understanding of the impact of roads on species biodiversity loss and to introduce the DNA barcode technique to road ecology scenarios.

Planetary health: a new science for exceptional action

Planetary health: a new science for exceptional action

Tidal Marsh Susceptibility to Sea-Level Rise: Importance of Local-Scale Models

Abstract Increasing concern over sea-level rise impacts to coastal tidal marsh ecosystems has led to modeling efforts to anticipate outcomes for resource management decision making. Few studies on the Pacific coast of North America have modeled sea-level rise marsh susceptibility at a scale relevant to local wildlife populations and plant communities. Here, we use a novel approach in developing an empirical sea-level rise ecological response model that can be applied to key management questions. Calculated elevation change over 13 y for a 324-ha portion of San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge, California, USA, was used to represent local accretion and subsidence processes. Next, we coupled detailed plant community and elevation surveys with measured rates of inundation frequency to model marsh state changes to 2100. By grouping plant communities into low, mid, and high marsh habitats, we were able to assess wildlife species vulnerability and to better understand outcomes for habitat resiliency. Starting study-site conditions were comprised of 78% (253-ha) high marsh, 7% (30-ha) mid marsh, and 4% (18-ha) low marsh habitats, dominated by pickleweed Sarcocornia pacifica and cordgrass Spartina spp. Only under the low sea-level rise scenario (44 cm by 2100) did our models show persistence of some marsh habitats to 2100, with the area dominated by low marsh habitats. Under mid (93 cm by 2100) and high sea-level rise scenarios (166 cm by 2100), most mid and high marsh habitat was lost by 2070, with only 15% (65 ha) remaining, and a complete loss of these habitats by 2080. Low marsh habitat increased temporarily under all three sea-level rise scenarios, with the peak (286 ha) in 2070, adding habitat for the endemic endangered California Ridgway’s rail Rallus obsoletus obsoletus. Under mid and high sea-level rise scenarios, an almost complete conversion to mudflat occurred, with most of the area below mean sea level. Our modeling assumed no marsh migration upslope due to human levee and infrastructure preventing these types of processes. Other modeling efforts done for this area have projected marsh persistence to 2100, but our modeling effort with site-specific datasets allowed us to model at a finer resolution with much higher local confidence, resulting in different results for management. Our results suggest that projected sea-level rise will have significant impacts on marsh plant communities and obligate wildlife, including those already under federal and state protection. Comprehensive modeling as done here improves the potential to implement adaptive management strategies and prevent marsh habitat and wildlife loss in the future.

Context-dependent effects of large-wildlife declines on small-mammal communities in central Kenya.

Many species of large wildlife have declined drastically worldwide. These reductions often lead to profound shifts in the ecology of entire communities and ecosystems. However, the effects of these large-wildlife declines on other taxa likely hinge upon both underlying abiotic properties of these systems and on the types of secondary anthropogenic changes associated with wildlife loss, making impacts difficult to predict. To better understand how these important contextual factors determine the consequences of large-wildlife declines on other animals in a community, we examined the effects of three common forms of large-wildlife loss (removal without replacement [using fences], removal followed by replacement with domestic stock, and removal accompanied by crop agricultural use) on small-mammal abundance, diversity, and community composition, in landscapes that varied in several abiotic attributes (rainfall, soil fertility, land-use intensity) in central Kenya. We found that small-mammal communities were indeed heavily impacted by all forms of large-wildlife decline, showing, on average: (1) higher densities, (2) lower species richness per site, and (3) different species assemblages in sites from which large wildlife were removed. However, the nature and magnitude of these effects were strongly context dependent. Rainfall, type of land-use change, and the interaction of these two factors were key predictors of both the magnitude and type of responses of small mammals. The strongest effects, particularly abundance responses, tended to be observed in low-rainfall areas. Whereas isolated wildlife removal primarily led to increased small-mammal abundance, wildlife removal associated with secondary uses (agriculture, domestic stock) had much more variable effects on abundance and stronger impacts on diversity and composition. Collectively, these results (1) highlight the importance of context in determining the impacts of large-wildlife decline on small-mammal communities, (2) emphasize the challenges in extrapolating results from controlled experimental studies to predict the effects of wildlife declines that are accompanied by secondary land-uses, and (3) suggest that, because of the context-dependent nature of the responses to large-wildlife decline, large-wildlife status alone cannot be reliably used to predict small-mammal community changes.

Threats to the Teknaf Wildlife Sanctuary of Bangladesh

Loss of wildlife, encroachment on forest lands and illegal cutting of trees are the major culprits of management of protected areas (PAs) of Bangladesh. To increase support from local communities and ensure long-term sustainability for Forest PAs in Bangladesh, including Teknaf Wildlife Sanctuary (TWS), community-based conservation approach was introduced by Bangladesh Forest Department. In this study, the effectiveness of forest co-management approach for reducing threats was assessed through key informant interviews, and focus group discussions (FGDs) at TWS. Secondary data were also collected from official document reviews, project reports, journals, books. The study found six direct threats at TWS. Among these, wood collection was the most severe threat. The findings also revealed that, through threat reduction indices, illegal logging, encroachment and hunting, grazing was reduced at a great extent in TWS. We suggest that continuation of co-management of TWS can conserve its natural resources in a sustainable way.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jesnr.v7i1.22176 J. Environ. Sci. & Natural Resources, 7(1): 233-239 2014

Context‐Dependent Effects of Largewildlife Declines on Small‐Mammal Communities in Central Kenya

Many species of large wildlife have declined drastically worldwide. These reductions often lead to profound shifts in the ecology of entire communities and ecosystems. However, the effects of these large-wildlife declines on other taxa likely hinge upon both underlying abiotic properties of these systems and on the types of secondary anthropogenic changes associated with wildlife loss, making impacts difficult to predict. To better understand how these important contextual factors determine the consequences of large-wildlife declines on other animals in a community, we examined the effects of three common forms of large- wildlife loss (removal without replacement (using fences), removal followed by replacement with domestic stock, and removal accompanied by crop agricultural use) on small-mammal abundance, diversity, and community composition, in landscapes that varied in several abiotic attributes (rainfall, soil fertility, land-use intensity) in central Kenya. We found that small- mammal communities were indeed heavily impacted by all forms of large-wildlife decline, showing, on average: (1) higher densities, (2) lower species richness per site, and (3) different species assemblages in sites from which large wildlife were removed. However, the nature and magnitude of these effects were strongly context dependent. Rainfall, type of land-use change, and the interaction of these two factors were key predictors of both the magnitude and type of responses of small mammals. The strongest effects, particularly abundance responses, tended to be observed in low-rainfall areas. Whereas isolated wildlife removal primarily led to increased small-mammal abundance, wildlife removal associated with secondary uses (agriculture, domestic stock) had much more variable effects on abundance and stronger impacts on diversity and composition. Collectively, these results (1) highlight the importance of context in determining the impacts of large-wildlife decline on small-mammal communities, (2) emphasize the challenges in extrapolating results from controlled experimental studies to predict the effects of wildlife declines that are accompanied by secondary land-uses, and (3) suggest that, because of the context-dependent nature of the responses to large-wildlife decline, large-wildlife status alone cannot be reliably used to predict small-mammal community changes.

The Enhancement of Sustainable Tourism Education and Training to Primary School Level and Rural Communities in Zimbabwe

In a bid to mitigate adverse long term effects in biodiversity and loss of wildlife and to prepare communities for the challenges arising out of tourism and hospitality developments in their vicinity, it is vital that communities living next to tourist attractions be educated so that they practice eco-tourism or sustainable tourism as a matter of priority. This study postulates a model for the development of a curriculum for the education of primary school learners in Zimbabwe and for the training of rural communities living within or neighboring tourism resorts and attractions. Such a curriculum should equip primary school learners and communities with the requisite knowledge to preserve and protect their environment effectively. Introducing tourism and hospitality education at primary school and community level augments benefits for school learners and rural communities.