Understanding Community Perceptions of the St. Kitts’ “Monkey Problem” by Adapting Harm Reduction Concepts and Methods

Abstract

Wicked problems in One Health are associated with dynamicity and uncertainty that require experts, authorities and community members to reach for innovative means of collective inquiry, and collaborative interventions to address the deep social issues at the root of interspecies problems. In this study we explore the value of harm reduction concepts to understand a hundreds of year old issue, the St. Kitts’ “monkey problem,” which involves the invasive African green monkey (Chlorocebus sabaeus) as the cause of deleterious effects on agriculture, but concurrent positive effects on tourism and biomedical research. The harm reduction approach, a systems and settings-based approach with decades of success in public health, can serve as a framework to produce action on persistent societal problems. Harm reduction concepts and methods and participatory epidemiology were used to uncover local perceptions about human-monkey interactions and “meet people where they are” by asking the research question: Are there commonalities in perceptions and values linked to the St. Kitts’ “monkey problem” that are shared across diverse representatives of society that can act as a common starting place to launch collaborative responses to this invasive species? Through a series of focus group activities and interviews we found that the Kittitian “monkey problem” is a contentious and dichotomous problem pervasive in most of society that has no single stakeholders nor one solution. Harm reduction helped to map the island’s human-monkey system and elucidated an entry point toward tackling this problem through the identification of shared values, and also provided a model for incremental gains that may be achieved. Likening the St. Kitts “monkey problem” to a wicked problem enabled stakeholders to seek more options to manage the problem rather than to conclusively solve it. Frequently mentioned shared values including the protection of farmer crops and backyard harvests likely represent strong entry points to this problem and a jumping-off point to begin collective action toward future improvements.

Molecular Detection and Genetic Diversity of Cytomegaloviruses and Lymphocryptoviruses in Free-Roaming and Captive African Green Monkeys (Chlorocebus sabaeus)

“…Although the St. Kitts AGMs come in contact with humans, there is no evidence for direct transmission of CMV/LCV between humans and NHPs [ 2 , 3 , 11 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 ]. Therefore, it is likely that CMV and LCV were introduced in St. Kitts during the importation of AGMs from West Africa in the 1600s [ 27 , 28 ], and since then, have evolved in the isolated NHP population, which made it interesting to study the genetic diversity of these viruses. Cospeciations (co-divergence of the virus and host) have been proposed to play important roles during the evolution of CMVs and LCVs, although in this regard, phylogenetically, the branching patterns of OWM LCVs are not always well defined, indicating additional/complex evolutionary events [ 2 , 3 , 11 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 ].…”

“…The Caribbean Island of St. Kitts (surface area of 176 square km) is inhabited by a large population of free-roaming AGMs (estimated to be ~30,000) that often come in contact with humans, companion animals, livestock, and other wildlife, providing an ideal environment for interspecies transmission of pathogens, as reported in previous studies [ 27 , 28 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 ]. The AGMs on St. Kitts destroy local agricultural production, impacting the island economy, and have been shown to negatively influence the island ecosystem [ 28 , 47 , 48 ]. As a result, these animals have been designated as alien invasive species, requiring efforts to control their growing population [ 27 , 47 , 48 ].…”

“…The green monkey/African green monkey (AGMs, genus Chlorocebus sabaeus , family Cercopithecidae ) are members of the OWMs [ 27 , 28 , 29 ]. AGMs are native to Western parts of Africa and were introduced in the Caribbean islands during the 1600s [ 27 , 28 ].…”

“…The green monkey/African green monkey (AGMs, genus Chlorocebus sabaeus , family Cercopithecidae ) are members of the OWMs [ 27 , 28 , 29 ]. AGMs are native to Western parts of Africa and were introduced in the Caribbean islands during the 1600s [ 27 , 28 ]. Although members of the species Chlorocebus aethiops (related to C. sabaeus ) have also been referred to as AGMs in previous publications on simian herpesviruses ([ 4 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ] and several others), taxonomically, these NHPs are commonly known as grivet monkeys [ 29 ].…”

Telemetry-Based Assessment of Home Range to Estimate the Abundance of Invasive Green Monkeys on St. Kitts

“…In the new tourism economy, this infrastructure is no longer present, and the agricultural community is seeking assistance with what they consider to be a serious environmental issue impacting the island's food security. Within the theoretical framework of One Health, the second author is currently gathering data from relevant stakeholders as part of a research project which aims to apply the concepts and principles of harm reduction to assist with “the monkey problem” (Gallagher 2020; Gallagher et al 2022).…”