Summary The COVID-19 pandemic has brought humanity’s strained relationship with nature into sharp focus, with calls for cessation of wild meat trade and consumption, to protect public health and biodiversity. 1 , 2 However, the importance of wild meat for human nutrition, and its tele-couplings to other food production systems, mean that the complete removal of wild meat from diets and markets would represent a shock to global food systems. 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 The negative consequences of this shock deserve consideration in policy responses to COVID-19. We demonstrate that the sudden policy-induced loss of wild meat from food systems could have negative consequences for people and nature. Loss of wild meat from diets could lead to food insecurity, due to reduced protein and nutrition, and/or drive land-use change to replace lost nutrients with animal agriculture, which could increase biodiversity loss and emerging infectious disease risk. We estimate the magnitude of these consequences for 83 countries, and qualitatively explore how prohibitions might play out in 10 case study places. Results indicate that risks are greatest for food-insecure developing nations, where feasible, sustainable, and socially desirable wild meat alternatives are limited. Some developed nations would also face shocks, and while high-capacity food systems could more easily adapt, certain places and people would be disproportionately impacted. We urge decision-makers to consider potential unintended consequences of policy-induced shocks amidst COVID-19; and take holistic approach to wildlife trade interventions, which acknowledge the interconnectivity of global food systems and nature, and include safeguards for vulnerable people.
Protected areas have become a vital conservation strategy to protect wildlife; however, illegal activities performed by local people within and around protected areas may undermine their conservation goals. We used information from 169 direct interviews with rural residents in order to understand the factors affecting illegal behaviors related to hunting and deforestation in three protected areas and a buffer zone of the Southern Bahian Atlantic Forest. We explored correlations between background factors, attitudes, norms, perceived behavioral control and behaviors toward different motivations for hunting (hunting for consumption, killing animals in retaliation for damage to crops or livestock, and keeping wildlife in captivity as pets), and deforestation based on insights from the Theory of Planned Behavior. Our results suggest that a combination of demographic factors, values held for protected areas and location influenced respondents’ attitudes, descriptive norms, and perceived behavioral control in the study region. We also found that components of the Theory of Planned Behavior such as attitudes and descriptive norms may be good predictors of the studied behaviors. Increasing local support for and compliance with policies of the protected areas is necessary for the long-term efficacy of these areas and for protection of species. Our findings suggest that to change behaviors of residents toward conservation in the study area, management actions should consider people’s attitudes and norms and the combination of background factors that influence these variables.
To investigate the practice of hunting by local people in the southern Bahia region of Brazil and provide information to support the implementation of the National Action Plan for Conservation of the Central Atlantic Forest Mammals, we conducted 351 interviews with residents of three protected areas and a buffer zone. Thirty-seven percent of respondents stated that they had captured an animal opportunistically, 16% hunted actively and 47% did not hunt. The major motivation for hunting was consumption but people also hunted for medicinal purposes, recreation and retaliation. The most hunted and consumed species were the paca Cuniculus paca, the nine-banded armadillo Dasypus novemcinctus and the collared peccary Pecari tajacu; threatened species were rarely hunted. Opinions varied on whether wildlife was declining or increasing; declines were generally attributed to hunting. Our findings suggest there is illegal hunting for consumption in and around protected areas of the region. Management efforts should prioritize fairness in the expropriation process for people who must be relocated, and adopt an approach to wildlife management that involves residents living around the protected areas, and considers their needs.
The thin-spined porcupine, Chaetomys subspinosus, is an endemic mammal of the Atlantic forest of northeastern Brazil. With its population declining, it has been listed as "vulnerable" in the Brazilian Red List. Its National Action Plan, published in 2011, intended to develop awareness projects about the species in local communities, to implement alternative income projects and protein consumption, and to evaluate hunting pressure. This study investigates rural residents' knowledge of the thin-spined porcupine and its uses within two protected areas. We also examine residents' behaviour and perceptions about wildlife conservation. One hundred twenty-five semi-structured interviews were conducted with rural residents of the Una Wildlife Refuge and the Serra do Conduru State Park. Local knowledge was higher among males with lower levels of formal education who were current or past hunters. Negative behaviour occurs among residents in both protected areas. There is a need for greater control of potential threats such as hunting, use of fire and deforestation, which are inconsistent with the existence of protected areas and conservation of the thin-spined porcupine. Information provided by this study can improve and promote actions within the National Action Plan for the conservation of C. subspinosus.Key words: Human Behaviour; Hunting; Local people; Perception of rural residents; Thin-spined porcupine. ResumoO ouriço-preto, Chaetomys subspinosus, é um mamífero endêmico da Mata Atlântica do nordeste brasileiro. Devido ao declínio populacional da espécie, ele tem sido listado como "vulnerável" pela IUCN. O Plano de Ação Nacional da espécie foi publicado em 2011 e tem como objetivos desenvolver projetos de conscientização sobre a espécie, implementar projetos de renda alternativa e fonte de proteína alimentar e avaliar a pressão da caça. Esse estudo investiga o conhecimento de moradores rurais sobre o ouriço-preto e seus usos em áreas protegidas. O comportamento e percepções dos moradores com relação à conservação da fauna também foram investigados. Foram conduzidas 125 entrevistas semi-estruturadas com moradores rurais do Refúgio de Vida Silvestre de Una e do Parque Estadual Serra do Conduru. O conhecimento local sobre a espécie foi maior em homens com pouca escolaridade e que estavam envolvidos com a atividade de caça. Comportamentos negativos são realizados pelas pessoas em ambas as áreas. É necessário que haja um maior controle sobre as potenciais ameaças a espécie como caça, uso do fogo e desmatamento, pois tais práticas são inconsistentes com a existência das áreas protegidas e com a conservação do ouriço-preto. As informações fornecidas por esse estudo visam melhorar e direcionar as ações do Plano de Ação Nacional para conservação da espécie.
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