Evaluating the use of local ecological knowledge to monitor hunted tropical-forest wildlife over large spatial scales

Abstract

C. A. Peres. 2015. Evaluating the use of local ecological knowledge to monitor hunted tropical-forest wildlife over large spatial scales. ABSTRACT. Monitoring the distribution and abundance of hunted wildlife is critical to achieving sustainable resource use, yet adequate data are sparse for most tropical regions. Conventional methods for monitoring hunted forest-vertebrate species require intensive in situ survey effort, which severely constrains spatial and temporal replication. Integrating local ecological knowledge (LEK) into monitoring and management is appealing because it can be cost-effective, enhance community participation, and provide novel insights into sustainable resource use. We develop a technique to monitor population depletion of hunted forest wildlife in the Brazilian Amazon, based on the local ecological knowledge of rural hunters. We performed rapid interview surveys to estimate the landscape-scale depletion of ten large-bodied vertebrate species around 161 Amazonian riverine settlements. We assessed the explanatory and predictive power of settlement and landscape characteristics and were able to develop robust estimates of local faunal depletion. By identifying speciesspecific drivers of depletion and using secondary data on human population density, land form, and physical accessibility, we then estimated landscape-and regional-scale depletion. White-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari), for example, were estimated to be absent from 17% of their putative range in Brazil's largest state (Amazonas), despite 98% of the original forest cover remaining intact. We found evidence that bushmeat consumption in small urban centers has far-reaching impacts on some forest species, including severe depletion well over 100 km from urban centers. We conclude that LEK-based approaches require further field validation, but have significant potential for community-based participatory monitoring as well as cost-effective, large-scale monitoring of threatened forest species.

Rainforest metropolis casts 1,000-km defaunation shadow

“…Tropical inland fisheries have also been overexploited (8), yet evidence is based on local effects of rural-subsistence fishing (8,15), so the impacts of overfishing inland waters to supply urban markets are unclear. Modeled bushmeat market data suggesting that rainforest defaunation shadows exist around urban areas (16)(17)(18) are supported by recent empirical evidence that in situ terrestrial wildlife population impacts are greatest nearer small towns (19). Although forest degradation has been observed spreading from a tropical forest metropolis to meet demand for wood (20), the role of emerging metropolises (>1 million people) in driving large-scale wildlife overharvesting in rainforests and/or inland waters is unknown.…”

“…To keep response variables spatially associated with each community's location, each response variable concerned only fishing trips that had occurred within a 2-h rabeta motorized canoe journey from the fisher's home in the community. This is a measure that local people can relate to and that is fairly standard, as most harvesting is undertaken using motorized canoes of similar power (generally 5.5 horsepower) that travel at around 9 km·h −1 (19). Community was used as a random variable in all models.…”

Integrating traditional knowledge when it appears to conflict with conservation: lessons from the discovery and protection of sitatunga in Ghana

“…Hunters' abilities to spot secondary evidence of sitatunga has been key in mapping the species' local distribution, with hunter-aided surveys yielding considerably more data per effort than camera traps (data points/hour of effort: 174/225 = 0.773 versus 34/34,848 = 0.001, respectively). Other authors have similarly found that the efficiency of hunter-led surveys often exceeds that of more conventional survey techniques (Parry and Peres 2015).…”

“…It is thus best combined with scientific data collection that corroborates local knowledge and puts it into broader contexts (Gilchrist et al 2005). If done in collaboration with locals, akin to hunter-aided surveys and camera trapping in Avu, such data collection provides opportunities to build mutual trust and respect (Gratani et al 2011) and can instill local communities with a sense of pride, ownership, and financial benefit in the conservation effort (Drew 2005, Parry andPeres 2015). The resulting local motivation for conservation may be the most valuable outcome of engaging in the process of incorporating TEK in conservation management (Fig.…”

“…Group interviews contextualized information gathered from individuals and helped illuminate the common, negotiated understanding of cultural customs and beliefs. Overlap in the topics covered during interviews with different stakeholders allowed for both cross-validation and clarification (Meijaard et al 2011, Parry andPeres 2015).…”