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Conservation & Communities
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In his book, Rise & Fall of the Emerald Tigers, WII scientist Raghunandan Singh Chundawat is of the view that we should protect tigers and not tigers inside the protected areas, as there’s a need for a more inclusive conservation model where local communities and the public at large become partners in the conservation effort.
He discusses the larger threats to Indian wildlife beyond Critical Habitats that are tiny core areas within protected reserves, only 3% of the countries land area—and the possible solutions. In his portrait of the tendu leaf gatherers and herders, he shows an empathy for the tiger’s human neighbors. Drawing on his own experiences of running a specialist wildlife lodge, The Sarai At Toria, he argues private public partnerships can generate revenues which he is particular should be shared with local communities. He discusses protected areas during the later part of the book where he states that ‘it is risky to entirely depend entirely on the protected area network for conservation’. Here one agrees with him but in a few pages he moves on to say ‘at present, all our conservation eggs are in one, old, basket; protected area network’. For a culture with conservation ethos (albeit with conservation values disappearing fast like he has pointed out) protected areas are fairly recent and surely not the only practice – we have a long-standing culture of community conservation areas, for example. Also i should mention that the idea for this thread came from @Jimmy's Chitwan National Park Visit thread. Quote:(11-30-2018, 02:36 PM)Rishi Wrote: India should start this kind of trekking & foot safari along forest trail in the buffers of our tiger reserves. That'll be reasonably safe & would create livelihood for the local forest dwellers. To reduce forest dependency of the forest dependent communities living in the buffers & fringes/multiple-use forests, it's not enough to simply compensate them for a cattle killed by predators, or crops destroyed by raiding deers, antelopes, pigs, elephants... We must strive to make them stakeholders in conservation. Because outside the protected areas only thing that is keeping an animal alive is the goodwill & tolerance of the locals. Attempts are being made worldwide, this thread is for all such steps taken in the right direction!
Source: www.nepalitimes.com
Near the Indian border villagers has fortified their cattle sheds, but still fearnpredator attacks.  *This image is copyright of its original author Both India and Nepal are now getting communities on both sides of the border involved in conservation. The two governments, with the help of World Wildlife Fund (WWF), have installed solar-electric fences to stop animals from entering villages, distributed biogas and LPG gas to reduce use of firewood, promoted livestock management to reduce encroachment into forests, and formed Rapid Rescue Teams (RRT) and Community-Based Anti-Poaching Units (CBAPU). Women in India’s Valmiki Tiger Reserve cutting tall grass last week to attract deer to support the tiger population.  *This image is copyright of its original author Last year, when several rhinos from Chitwan were swept into India by a flood, residents of Binwaliya village in Bihar rescued some and returned them to Nepal. “The rhino was in the field, and we called the Forest Department which tranquilised it and sent it back. Previously, if we saw wild animals in our villages, we would try to shoo it away, injure it, or kill it.”  This Animal planet series is shot in Kaziranga, Andaman, Pakke, Hemis, Sundarbans and Elephant corridors of Assam. 
An article providing insight into the contemporary challenges facing Ethiopia's wildlife
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/...iopia-park
Use of surrogate species to cost‐effectively prioritize conservation actions
Abstract: Conservation efforts often focus on umbrella species whose distributions overlap with many other flora and fauna. However, because biodiversity is affected by different threats that are spatially variable, focusing only on the geographic range overlap of species may not be sufficient in allocating the necessary actions needed to efficiently abate threats. We developed a problem‐based method for prioritizing conservation actions for umbrella species that maximizes the total number of flora and fauna benefiting from management while considering threats, actions, and costs. We tested our new method by assessing the performance of the Australian federal government's umbrella prioritization list, which identifies 73 umbrella species as priorities for conservation attention. Our results show that the federal government priority list benefits only 6% of all Australia's threatened terrestrial species. This could be increased to benefit nearly half (or 46%) of all threatened terrestrial species for the same budget of AU$550 million/year if more suitable umbrella species were chosen. This results in a 7‐fold increase in management efficiency. We believe nations around the world can markedly improve the selection of prioritized umbrella species for conservation action with this transparent, quantitative, and objective prioritization approach. 
" As reported today by China’s state news agency Xinhua, a study led by South China Agricultural University suggests that #pangolins were the vector for the new strain of coronavirus currently paralyzing China and responsible for hundreds of deaths.
The #pangolin a scaly anteater, is the most heavily trafficked wild mammal in the world, with its meat considered a delicacy in parts of Asia and its scales used in traditional medicine. In one such dish, raw blood is poured over rice. The animals are also consumed in Africa as bushmeat. Benin-born actor Djimon Hounsou, @djimon_hounsou , who investigated wildlife markets with WildAid this past November to rescue live pangolins, stated: “Africa needs to heed the lessons from China and close down these markets immediately. As well as a massive risk to health, they endanger species and are inhumane.” " There are many health risks to handling and consuming pangolins. A few years ago we made this PSA with Asian mega-star @JayChou. Its time to ban all live wildlife markets and all pangolins products. This is not just an animal welfare issue. It's a public health one too. " I strongly hope that the wildlife markets will be definitely banned ! Thank to the pangolins...
Crabbing in Sundarbans
 *This image is copyright of its original author A great hunt is underway for the Mudcrabs in the Sundarban, world largest mangrove forest. A another scavenger in the forest, but the mudcrabs flesh fetch good money & lack of employment opportunities is pushing fishermen in West Bengal’s Sundarban to the risky - often fatal - business of catching crabs in the core areas of the tiger reserve. The severity of the situation comes to the fore of one takes a look at the frequency of fatal tiger attacks in the end of 2019, as at least 6 people perished due to tiger attacks in the last 6 months. According to locals the lucrative market price of crabs in the domestic and international market are pushing the fishermen to crab catching, a much more dangerous job that you'd have to do on foot washing in shallow waters. Sources in the Forest Department said that majority of the fishermen enter the core area without permission from the state authorities. On the Bangladeshi side, there's not even any regulation. The crab-catchers simply need to go in with a permit from Forest Department and collect literally whatever they can get. Much of it is unprotected & accessible to all. Forest Department officials said that despite repeatedly cautioning fishermen, imoposing hefty fines on them and even temporarily seized their boats for entering the core area without permission, the trend of entering the core area for crab catching has not died down yet. Despite most of them having been in listed on MGNREGA job schemes, people are risking their lives for better money.  *This image is copyright of its original author In 2009 Cyclone Alia broke embankments & flooded the fields, making them saline, most residents turned to prawn cultivation following the trend since the late 1970s across much of coastal Bangladesh. Fuelled entirely by overseas demand, particularly from China, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan etc. thelis practice has caught on though not being in huge demand locally & are cultivated solely for export. Some units of the local authority are coming up with farming of mangrove mudcrabs & saltwater tiger-prawns as a solution. But fisheries in the area is mostly done by trapping flood water in embankments on which used to agricultural fields. But this is coming at the cost of the regional soil salinity & Sundarban's ecosystem. Mud crab farming is still dependent on wild resources though some hatcheries have recently been established. In addition, prematurely gathering crabs that have not reached their adult age for fattening has contributed to the depletion of adult crabs as breeders.  *This image is copyright of its original author After one cultivate prawns in a field for a few years, it becomes so saline that it is only fit for growing crabs. Some villagers say those shallow ponds of depths of two-three feet become unsuitable for cultivating anything else once mud crabs are grown for a few years because the soil becomes exceedingly saline, too salty even for brackish water shrimps. Most of the studies done on prawn and crab fisheries are socio-economic in nature and there is more research needed to say for sure that shrimp and crab aquaculture leads to increased salinity, according to Pavel Partha the Coordinator, Diversity, Interdependency and Pluralism at non-profit development organisation called Bangladesh Resource Center for Indigenous Knowledge or BARCIK that works with local communities to incorporate indigenous knowledge and local practices into contemporary development interventions. “What is certain, however, is that these recent changes in farming practices are having an impact on the local mangrove ecosystem,” Partha said. “The extent of impact can only be ascertained through detailed scientific research.”
Villagers develop a protective ring around Ranthambore tiger reserve
BY MAYANK AGGARWAL 20th March 2020  *This image is copyright of its original author
 *This image is copyright of its original author “A tiger was here…and it was not very long ago,” exclaimed Dharm Singh Gurjar looking at pugmarks on the ground, just a kilometre away from village Khohara, on the outskirts of Ranthambore tiger reserve in Rajasthan. He observed a few more pugmarks to gauge the direction the tiger must have taken and immediately clicked a picture with his phone. He then shared it with Dharmendra Khandal of Tiger Watch, a non-governmental organisation working on the issue of wildlife protection and welfare. Gurjar is among the 50 people, living around the Ranthambore tiger reserve, who have been trained by Khandal and his team at Tiger Watch. These 50 people are part of Tiger Watch’s Village Wildlife Volunteers programme. Under this programme, Khandal, over the years, has brought together a group, mostly belonging to the Van Gujjar community, who are nomadic buffalo-herders. This group, which now stands at 50 people, acts as the eyes and ears of the forest department by monitoring and reporting tiger movement in and around Ranthambore. They have set up about 50 camera traps on the periphery of the tiger reserve to monitor the movement of tigers going in and out of the reserve. This monitoring is key as the reserve, being small in size, witnesses a lot of tigers moving outside towards human-dominated areas and sometimes killing livestock. “These volunteers have become a kind of protective ring around the tiger reserve. They set camera traps in and around the reserve to monitor the tiger movement and thus provide invaluable information to the forest department. They have helped in controlling poaching as they have a very strong information network. They also help villagers in getting compensation for cattle killed by tigers and thus they prevent incidents of revenge killing as well,” explained Khandal to Mongabay-India. The Village Wildlife Volunteers programme was started in 2013 to involve the community in the conservation process, according to Khandal. A tiger caught in a camera trap set by the Village Wildlife Volunteers programme. ©Tiger Watch  *This image is copyright of its original author “We give a monthly stipend to the volunteers and that adds to their income. They work for the protection of the tiger reserve as well as bring forth the problems of the villagers. For instance, we tried to streamline their issues regarding compensation for the cattle killed by wildlife. The reason behind involving villagers was that people would listen when they know that someone from amongst them is involved,” said Khandal. He revealed that due to the efforts of the volunteers and the information provided by them, in the past few years, the authorities have caught about 40 poachers. “But one important fact, which often receives less attention, is that they have taught us a lot about wildlife in the area and provided information which no one had. For instance, we discovered a breeding population of about 30 gharials, a critically endangered animal, in a river near Ranthambore because of them. They even assist researchers in fieldwork. They have their own network of villagers and thus they have created a larger decentralised group making more people involved in the conservation process,” informed Khandal. He informed that Tiger Watch often hosts informal social events, where they invite these volunteers and their network of villagers, to keep them involved and give them a sense of belonging. “These people educate us about things that we had never imagined. For example, we came to know that Kailadevi wildlife sanctuary, which is part of the tiger reserve, is one of the best and safest wolf habitats of India. They give us invaluable information about the behaviour and movement of wild animals. No wildlife conservation can take place without involving the local communities and these people prove it,” said Khandal, who is a conservation biologist. Villagers being trained under Tiger Watch’s Village Wildlife Volunteers programme.  *This image is copyright of its original author Gurjar had joined the programme after he had finished his graduation. “Dharmendra sir told us about the need and importance of protecting wildlife and forests. It was the first time that someone had spoken to us about this. I did some camera trapping work too as part of the programme,” said Gurjar.Now Gurjar visits schools around Ranthambore tiger reserve to spread awareness among the students about the importance of wildlife, forests and environment. “We tell students as well as villagers about environment protection. We even showed them the pictures of pollution in Delhi to show them the importance of a clean environment and forests,” Gurjar told Mongabay-India. Apart from funding by Tiger Watch, the Village Wildlife Volunteers programme is financially supported by some of the hotel owners in the Ranthambore area. “This programme is unique in that sense because it involves NGO, the community at large, the forest department and local businesses. It is truly a programme that is run by all the stakeholders in the area,” said Khandal. Local hunting/poaching community too brought into the fold Khandal further informed that there is a hunting community in the Ranthambore area and over the years they have brought in the programme too. “The Mogyas are a specialised traditional hunting tribe. They are small in number but their impact (from hunting) is huge. Their economic condition is very bad. Once when we were in the forest we met a family of Mogyas and found that they were only able to have their first meal of the day in the afternoon when the man came back after doing some work. People who are hungry for bare necessities can’t be taught conservation. So, what we have done is to tackle their issues one by one. For instance, we started healthcare programmes for them and involved the women of that community in handicraft work to ensure a steady income,” said Khandal. Children from the Mogya community, a traditional hunting tribe, are provided formal education at a hostel formed by Tiger Watch. Photo by Mayank Aggarwal/Mongabay  *This image is copyright of its original author Tiger Watch has now opened a small hostel for around 40 children of the Mogya community where the children are staying and are given a formal education. “These children are studying in different schools and pursuing their interests like painting and music. We are trying to find whatever opportunities we can for these families to ensure livelihood,” he said. On a query as to what’s next after the Village Wildlife Volunteers programme, Khandal said they want to take the model to other parts of Rajasthan. “But we won’t run those programmes. We will only share our experience and support individuals or organisations intending to run similar programmes. A start has already been made by an individual in the villages inside the Desert National Park in Jaisalmer,” said Khandal.
Top 10 countries best at conservation according to the megafauna conservation index
1 - Bostwana 2 - Namibia 3 - Tanzania 4 - Bhutan 5 - Zimbabwe 6 - Norway 7 - Central African Republic 8 - Canada 9 - Zambia 10 - Rwanda https://www.worldatlas.com/amp/articles/which-countries-are-the-best-in-wildlife-conservation.html?__twitter_impression=true  (03-21-2020, 10:48 AM)Rishi Wrote: Villagers develop a protective ring around Ranthambore tiger reserve RISHI First time I read a bit more about initiatives to solve problems between locals and tigers in India. The Ranthambore program resulted in new information, less poaching and better conditions in general. It could be one of the best methods to involve locals interested in the natural world in projects that benefit both animals and humans. Very interesting post. Good find. (08-22-2020, 10:14 PM)Sully Wrote: Top 10 countries best at conservation according to the megafauna conservation index SULLY Interesting list. Africa is well represented, but the efforts of some countries in Asia seem to have been underestimated. Using tigers as an example, India, Russia and China did and do quite well. Yes, China is included. At least, in my dictionary. In spite of the much-discussed cultural tradition that resulted in destruction of the natural world and wildlife (both in China and quite a few neighbouring countries), the Chinese try to change the tide. Reforestation is taken serious. In the northeastern part of China, a very large reserve will be created soon. China now has a small, but breeding, population of Amur tigers. We would like to hear a bit more about the dozen tigers in central parts of China (referring to the situation in 2011), but in some regions conservation is on the agenda. Talking about Amur tigers. In the first decade of the 20th century, Arseniev (in 'Dersu the trapper', published in 1941, renewed in 1968 and reprinted by McPherson & Company in 1996) thought the great wilderness of Sichote-Alin would be gone in a few decades only. Such was the destruction he (and Dersu) saw. Just before the outbreak of World War Two, as they predicted, tigers had all but disappeared. Kaplanov rang the bell again. Fortunately, his advice was taken serious. After World War Two, conservation became a priority. At least, in the Russian Far East (in southwestern Russia, like in central China, tigers were eradicated in the fifties and sixties of the previous century). In spite of the odds and the set-backs, the Russians were able to change the tide. Today, there are about 600 Amur tigers in the Russian Far East. Against all odds, they even succeeded in creating a 'rehabilitation' program. A program that yielded results as well: tigers (and other orphaned big cats), in contrast to what many thought, can be 'rewilded'. Is this something that deserves special attention? Most definitely. If you want an apex-predator as a neighbour, you need to restore a complete ecosystem. You also need to overcome (often tough) opposition and, on top of that, you need room. Lots of room. In the Russian Far East, Amur tigers now have the room they need. Corridors have been created as well. Russia and China are co-operating and locals have been involved. It was, and still is, something special. In India, tigers were on their way out as well. In the late sixties of the last century, when only a few thousand were left in isolated patches of forest, a program was started to save them. In spite of the enormous population and countless issues many consider to be much more important in a country in which hundreds of millions struggle to make a living, they, too, succeeded. Same for Nepal. And Bhutan. A great achievement without doubt. But surely this conclusion is a bit, ehh, exaggerated no? Absolutely not. Tigers and humans compete for space just about everywhere. Where they co-exist, tigers not seldom kill domestic animals. In India in particular, they kill dozens of humans every year. Every biologist knows tigers and humans don't mix. But in regions that have pristine forests, room and protection, incidents are few and far between. In most countries in western Europe, massive reforestation, depopulation of isolated regions and the re-introduction of wolves, let alone lynxes and other 'dangerous' predators, is close to undebatable. In Russia, India, northeastern China, Nepal and Bhutan, humans, not seldom struggling with poverty, and tigers are neighbours. Once again. Quite something, I think. In my dictionary, these countries are in the top ten as well. Most unfortunately, only few of us will be able to travel to a faraway paradise. A pity, as the natural world is a place of great beauty. Thanks to the internet, however, those unable to realize their goal always have the opportunity to visit a forum like Wildfact. Quite a few members are able to find great pictures taken by people who know when to be where. Visitors, if interested, can also read interviews, articles, studies and books. A room with a view then? In a way, it is. The reason we're able to offer you something special is it's still there. For this, we need to thank the people of Russia, China, India, Nepal and Bhutan. They decided to give it a try. Yes, it was a decision. Same for the people of Botswana, Namibia, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, the Central African Republic, Zambia and Rwanda. Thanks to them, those interested in the natural world still have an opportunity to see something most of us only saw in books published a long time ago.
About the @Sully list:
Criterion Quote:The study classifies 152 countries in a Megafauna Conservation Index (MCI), composed of three elements: the proportion of land occupied by megafauna in a country; the percentage of megafauna habitat that is strictly protected; and the percentage of GDP devoted to financing national and international conservation efforts. In this list there is a country totally out of the curve - Central African Republic. Dzanga Sanhga together with the lobéké parks in Cameroon and Nouabalé-Ndoki in the Republic of the Congo, is part of the great Sangha landscape, a trinational effort, whose economic effort resulting from tourism is measured by the tireless efforts promoted by the couple who has run Sangha Lodge since 2009, facing extremely difficult maintenance logistics. Another positive point is the Chinko project, managed by the NGO African Parks, the region's largest employer and contributor to the eastern CAR. Its project has recently been extended to the entire Chinko basin - over 5 million hectares. The biggest challenge is transhumance, poverty, security, political instability (the central government only controls 18% of the territory, optimistically). But it doesn't have the major problems of habitat loss that plague conservation in other countries around the globe. It has most of its vegetation intact, without human groupings and other human exploitations. On the other hand, Manovo Gouda, Bamingui-Bangoran, André Félix and other hunting areas are without monitoring or any fauna management, an unknown factor and, as far as we know from André Felix, everyone is "suffering" from the empty forest syndrome. There are no animal counts or conservation projects in progress. There is no rationality to putting this country on this list - it must have been a statistical analysis, or myopic. @peter As you well noted in the countries you mentioned, I would add: South Africa for its strong tourism industry and the amount of land allocated to economic fauna management projects (there are 20 million hectares in the hands of the private sector), only the Kruger National Park receives two million people a year; Brazil for having wonderful biodiversity and has legislation among the best in the world - it suffers from the "burned Amazon syndrome" undermining every conservation effort that the country produces; Kenya with its broad role of tourism in its GDP, supported by the millions of tourists that visit. The big difference of advantage that I see from Tanzania on the list is its realistic policy of promoting the consumption of wildlife - as a consequence, more than 30% of its territory is national parks, WMA, GMA, effectively inserting communities into the wide economic possibilities of use of wildlife. SADC countries have a broad advantage over any others in Africa. Belize and Costa Rica does a wonderful job of conservation both on land and in its coastal areas. My father is very fond of the film Dersu Uzala (1975). Canada came in strong, because the US does not ... there is certainly a political criterion involved. Amount of unoccupied land? North America's efforts to recover its megafauna are recognized worldwide, with populations fully recovered from wolves, bears, elk, white-tailed deer, lynx, puma and many of these animals have their carrying capacities exceeded - managed through regulated hunting (perhaps the point of contention be politically incorrect). Many underdeveloped countries are rich in biodiversity, in contrast many rich countries are poor in biodiversity due to the extinction of their megafauna through historical time.
Below, a very common story for the local inhabitants of Africa, but little known and even less divulged to westernized peoples. Taking notice is a step ... even at a time, towards a perspective of regulated hunting within its real possibility of conserving the land, wildlife and its people.
"The recovery of a people and their wildlife. A history in progress, a seed for the future." Quote:Three years ago, a filmmaker set out to document the attempt to restore a neglected Zambian game reserve and its people. Then he was drawn personally into this holistic approach to conservation, a combination of agriculture and aquaculture, micro-capitalism, female empowerment, primary education, wildlife biology, policing and sustainable hunting, all fueled by creativity, perseverance, generosity, teamwork and one family’s investment. For complete reading visit: Saving Wildlife—and People—One Snare at a Time The Great Elephant Balancing Act
Namibian Chamber of Environment
By Gail C. Thomson
21st September 2020
Quote:Elephants are amazing animals. Besides being the largest land animal on our planet, they have relatively complex societies and appear to have individual personalities. Watching elephants in their natural habitat is a joy for those of us who can do so at our leisure, from a safe distance or with a knowledgeable guide. For those who face the real danger of meeting an elephant on foot at night while walking home, elephants can be terrifying.
Evidence for increasing human‐wildlife conflict despite a financial compensation scheme on the edge of a Ugandan National Park
Abstract The conflict of large carnivores and agro‐pastoral communities is a key driver of carnivore decline globally. The East African state of Uganda relies heavily on tourism as a GDP contributor and large carnivores are important for generating visitor revenue in its national parks. African leopards, spotted hyenas and African lions are three species that draw significant tourist attention but also cause damage to the livestock of human communities living on Ugandan national park edges. A private safari lodge in the Lake Mburo National Park has been using a financial compensation scheme in an attempt to stem conflict between these species and human communities living in the region since 2009. Financial compensations have produced mixed results with some studies reporting successes in reducing carnivore deaths, while others warn against their use, citing moral hazard, financial unsustainability and weakened protection of livestock by farmers. We sought to assess the characteristics of this compensation scheme and the patterns of conflict between Bahima pastoralist communities and carnivores that the scheme aims to mitigate. Using a dataset of 1,102 leopard and hyena depredation events (January 2009–December 2018) we found that spotted hyenas were responsible for the overwhelming majority of livestock depredation (69%) around Lake Mburo. Depredations occurred mostly at night (97% and 89% of all depredation for spotted hyenas and leopards respectively) and inside livestock protective pens (bomas). Depredation was more likely to occur in rugged areas, closer to human settlements, and the national park border, and further away from water. We could find no evidence of seasonality in depredation events. Our most important, albeit worrying result was that conflict had increased dramatically over time and the number of depredation claims had tripled in the period from 2014–2018 when compared to 2009–2013, risking financial unsustainability of the scheme. Our results are important for future conservation stakeholders attempting to implement financial compensation in the broader Ugandan landscape. They suggest that careful thought needs to be placed into fund sustainability, increasing claims over time and the development of clear rules that underpin compensation claims. |
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