Human and Non-Human Primate Coexistence in Argentina: Conflicts and Solutions

Abstract

There are five different primate species inhabiting widely distinct ecoregions in Argentina. Each of them faces various threats in terms of conservation and conflicts that hamper their ability to coexist with human populations. We present here some of the drivers known to be the causes of conflicts between humans and primates in the southernmost area of distribution of Latin American primates. We focus our synthesis on two of the biggest sources of conflict: the effects of different anthropogenic disturbances, and human misconceptions concerning the role of primates in the ecosystem. In each section, we briefly characterize the conflicts worldwide and then provide specific cases and examples from Argentina. In the last part of the manuscript, we further describe some ongoing national and regional educational, research, and conservation approaches to mitigate those effects.

Restoration of Alouatta guariba populations: building a binational management strategy for the conservation of the endangered brown howler monkey of the Atlantic Forest

“…Particular attention must be given whether there is strong evidence that the threat(s) that caused population reduction or local extinction have been correctly identified and removed or sufficiently reduced, without which it should not proceed, and alternative conservation solutions should be sought (IUCN, 2013). In a local perspective, much of the success of such reintroductions will depend on minimizing typical conflicts with humans (Garcıá de la Chica et al, 2023), so working with the community in areas where conservation translocations will be implemented is indispensable. At another extreme of the spatial scale, the effectiveness of this strategy must depend on the continuous binational integration and some type of international formalization of the initiative.…”