Improving Conservation Outcomes with Insights from Local Experts and Bureaucracies

Abstract

We describe conservation built on local expertise such that it constitutes a hybrid form of traditional and bureaucratic knowledge. Researchers regularly ask how local knowledge might be applied to programs linked to protected areas. By examining the production of conservation knowledge in southern Mexico, we assert local expertise is already central to conservation. However, bureaucratic norms and social identity differences between lay experts and conservation practitioners prevent the public valuing of traditional knowledge. We make this point by contrasting 2 examples. The first is a master's thesis survey of local experts regarding the biology of the King Vulture (Sarcoramphus papa) in which data collection took place in communities adjacent to the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve. The second is a workshop sponsored by the same reserve that instructed farmers on how to monitor endangered species, including the King Vulture. In both examples, conservation knowledge would not have existed without traditional knowledge. In both examples, this traditional knowledge is absent from scientific reporting. On the basis of these findings, we suggest conservation outcomes may be improved by recognizing the knowledge contributions local experts already make to conservation programming.

Using local ecological knowledge to determine status and threats of the Critically Endangered Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) in Hainan, China

“…In this study, we use this LEK dataset to provide the first detailed assessment of current regional status of Chinese pangolins across Hainan and between different protected areas on the island, to determine past and present pangolin abundance and threats and to understand local beliefs and attitudes about pangolins, all of which are essential for effective conservation management (Jim and Xu, 2002;Redford et al, 2011;Kelbessa, 2015;Weber et al, 2015). We also use these data to determine the extent to which LEK is able to provide novel insights into key pangolin conservation parameters, and we consider the potential strengths and limitations of an LEK-based survey approach for informing pangolin conservation (Olsson and Folke, 2001;Schulman, 2007;Haen et al, 2014). Table A1).…”

“…Open questions about special characteristics of each species were also included to provide an opportunity for respondents to discuss personal beliefs, attitudes and opinions on the species (cf. White et al, 2005;Haen et al, 2014;Kelbessa, 2015). Regional conservation status of pangolins was further investigated by including specific questions about patterns of exploitation.…”

Using classification assignment rules to assess land-use change impacts on forest biodiversity at local-to-national scales

“…Representation of forest alliances and associations from local to national scales Sometimes policy must be formulated and management decisions made rapidly using expert opinion and traditional knowledge (Martin et al 2012;Haenn et al 2014) Ultimately, however, robust, quantitative evidence is essential to underpin conservation decision making (Pullin and Knight 2009;Magurran and McGill 2011). There are several quantitative advantages to assessing ecosystem representation using the approach introduced in this paper.…”

Governança ambiental em áreas de proteção da biodiversidade: uma revisão sistemática

“…conservação, ou em seu entorno, quanto ao seu processo administrativo, o que inclui a tomada de decisões. Destacaram-se: Bockstael et al (2016), com o artigo "Participation in protected area management planning in coastal Brazil", que trataram da qualidade dessa representação social na governança ambiental de áreas protegidas; Richardson (2015), com "On the limits of liberalism in participatory environmental governance: Conflict and conservation in Ukraine's Danube Delta", onde averiguou a governança ambiental participativa em reserva de biosfera na Ucrânia, valendo-se de uma abordagem ontológica; Haenn et al (2014), com "Improving conservation outcomes with insights from local experts and bureaucracies", onde enfatizou a importância do conhecimento tradicional ou local para a preservação de áreas protegidas, bem como o de Stringer & Paavola (2013), com "Participation in environmental conservation and protected área management in Romania: a review of three case studies", onde examinaram os desafios para a adoção de um modelo de governança ambiental participativa em áreas protegidas, pautado por uma abordagem abrangente e integrada, tomando, como exemplos, as experiências verificadas na Romênia.…”