Characterization and management of human-wildlife conflicts in mid-hills outside protected areas of Gandaki province, Nepal

With the intent to better management human wildlife conflict (HWC) and wildlife conservation in mid-hills outside protected areas of Gandaki province, Nepal, we analyzed the patterns and drivers of HWC. Using data collected from literature, government records and questionnaire survey, we investigated temporal, seasonal and spatial distribution of human casualties caused by wildlife attacks. We also appraised the perception of local people towards wildlife conservation. We have recorded 77 cases (69 human injuries and 8 mortalities) during the period of nine year between 2011 and 2019. The number of wildlife attacks increased over this period. Wildlife attacks were more frequent in winter with 50% (42) of attacks occurred between September and December. Common leopard (Panthera pardus) and Himalayan black bear (Ursus thibetanus laniger) were the major species involved in these conflicts. Common leopard was the most feared species that causes highest number of human mortalities (87%, n = 67); the most severe type of HWC outcome. Forty-eight percent (n = 37) attacks were reported at human settlement areas followed by 27% attacks in agriculture land (n = 21) and 24% (n = 19) in forest. Generalized linear model analysis on spatial variables showed that the probability of human attacks increases with decreasing elevation (β = -0.0021, Z = -1.762, p = 0.078) and distance from the forest (β = -0.608, Z = -0.789, p = 0.429). We recommend to decrease habitat degradation / fragmentation, carry out habitat management program within forest to increase prey availability to decrease the wildlife invasion into human settlement area, and decrease dependency of people on forest resources by providing alternative livelihood opportunities. Simplified relief fund distribution mechanism at local level also helps alleviate the impact of HWC. The knowledge obtained by this study and management measures are important for better human-wildlife co-existence.

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Expert knowledge assessment of threats and conservation strategies for breeding Hen Harrier and Short-eared Owl across Europe

Bird Conservation International ◽

10.1017/s0959270920000349 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-18

Author(s):

DARÍO FERNÁNDEZ-BELLON ◽

JOHN LUSBY ◽

JULES BOS ◽

TONIO SCHAUB ◽

ALAN MCCARTHY ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Protected Areas ◽

Habitat Management ◽

Expert Knowledge ◽

Prey Availability ◽

Active Management ◽

Conservation Strategy ◽

Conservation Strategies ◽

Conservation Threats ◽

The Impact ◽

Hen Harrier

Summary Hen Harrier Circus cyaneus and Short-eared Owl Asio flammeus are open-country birds of prey with overlapping distributions. Although both species face similar conservation threats across their ranges, work to date has largely been undertaken at a national scale with few attempts to collate and assess factors relevant to their conservation at an international scale. Here we use an expert knowledge approach to evaluate the impact of conservation threats and the effectiveness of conservation strategies for each species across Europe. We report results of responses to a questionnaire from 23 Hen Harrier experts from nine countries and 12 Short-eared Owl experts from six countries. The majority of responses for both species reported declines in breeding numbers. The perceived impact of threats was broadly similar for both species: ecological factors (predation, extreme weather and prey availability), changes in land use (habitat loss and agricultural intensification) and indirect persecution (accidental nest destruction) were considered to be the greatest threats to breeding Hen Harrier and Short-eared Owl. Short-eared Owl experts also highlighted lack of knowledge and difficulties associated with monitoring as a major conservation challenge. Despite broad-scale similarities, geographical variation was also apparent in the perceived importance of conservation threats, with some threats (such as direct persecution, large-scale afforestation or habitat degradation) requiring country-specific actions. Implementation of different conservation strategies also varied between countries, with the designation of protected areas reported as the most widespread conservation strategy adopted, followed by species and habitat management. However, protected areas (including species-specific protected areas) were perceived to be less effective than active management of species and habitats. These findings highlight the overlap between the conservation requirements of these two species, and the need for collaborative international research and conservation approaches that prioritise pro-active conservation strategies subject to continued assessment and with specific conservation goals.

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Financing Protected Areas: The Social and Environmental Impact Bond's Role in Terrestrial Protected Area Sustainability

Journal of Park and Recreation Administration ◽

10.18666/jpra-2021-10870 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Louise O'Flynn ◽

Stephen Schweinsberg ◽

Stephen Wearing

Keyword(s):

Environmental Impact ◽

Protected Areas ◽

Protected Area ◽

Wildlife Conservation ◽

Effective Management ◽

Global Challenge ◽

The Social ◽

Potential Applicability ◽

Alternative Finance ◽

The Impact

Insufficient funding for terrestrial protected areas is a global challenge, and the ability of a protected area management agency to secure sustainable financing is an obstacle in the effective management of these important areas. While the role of public sector agencies in establishing, financing, and managing protected areas, and in providing a supportive legislative and policy environment will remain essential into the future; the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) recommends that alternative finance mechanisms be adopted to help achieve financial sustainability. With this recommendation in mind, one approach is to look to other policy areas which traditionally rely on governments as their primary funding source, to understand the alternative finance mechanisms they have adopted and appraise the suitability of these mechanisms for terrestrial protected areas. One alternative finance mechanism is the social and environmental impact bond which is a subset of impact investment and an example of a pay for success or results-based contract. This paper reviews literature on the social and environmental impact bond with a view to assessing its potential applicability to assist in the effective management of terrestrial protected areas that fall within the management categories defined by the IUCN. Three examples of existing and proposed impact bonds with an environment focus are explored, including the world’s first environmental impact bond in Washington D.C., the publicly offered Atlanta environmental impact bond and the proposed wildlife conservation bond in South Africa. The selected impact bonds will help to illustrate the establishment, operation, and evaluation of impact bonds in a real-world context. It will be argued that the social and environmental impact bond can be a useful finance model for a range of uses in a variety of social sectors and conservation settings, including terrestrial protected areas. The paper further considers how the impact bond might result in both improved social and/or environmental outcomes as well as the perceived challenges associated with this alternative finance mechanism. While the focus of this paper is on terrestrial protected areas, the lessons discussed may also be applicable to marine protected areas.

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Protected areas and community incentives in savannah ecosystems: a case study of Tanzania’s Maasai Steppe

Oryx ◽

10.1017/s0030605310000499 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 44 (3) ◽

pp. 390-398 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

Hassan Sachedina ◽

Fred Nelson

Keyword(s):

Protected Areas ◽

Wildlife Conservation ◽

Local Level ◽

Economic Benefits ◽

Direct Payment ◽

Benefit Sharing ◽

Private Lands ◽

Direct Income ◽

Maasai Steppe

AbstractTwo issues of central importance to conservation are developing an improved understanding of the relative roles of state protected areas and local institutions and developing effective strategies for creating community-based incentives for conservation. We provide a case study of northern Tanzania’s Maasai Steppe to explore these issues in the context of a savannah ecosystem where wildlife is mobile and depends extensively on community lands for seasonal habitats. We compare the impacts and outcomes of four approaches to developing local incentives for wildlife conservation on community lands: protected area benefit-sharing, trophy hunting donations, village–private tourism concession contracts, and a direct payment scheme for habitat conservation. Tourism and direct payment concession areas have resulted in large areas of community land being protected for wildlife by villages as a result of the conditional and contractual nature of these ventures. By contrast, other approaches that provide economic benefits to communities but are not conditional on defined conservation actions at the local level demonstrate little impact on wildlife conservation on community lands. In spatially extensive ecosystems where protected areas cover limited areas and wildlife relies heavily on community and private lands, strategies based on maximizing the direct income of communities from wildlife are fundamental to the sustainability of such systems.

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Tolerance of Wildlife in Protected Area Borderlands

10.1101/2021.03.27.436188 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Leandra Merz ◽

Elizabeth F Pienaar ◽

Timothy Fik ◽

Shylock Muyengwa

Keyword(s):

Protected Areas ◽

Financial Incentives ◽

Wildlife Conservation ◽

Habitat Degradation ◽

Hot Spot ◽

Research Literature ◽

Community Members ◽

Buffer Zones ◽

Sustainable Solutions ◽

Shared Spaces

Increases in human-wildlife conflict globally threaten human wellbeing and biodiversity conservation. Sustainable solutions that promote coexistence of people and wildlife are needed, especially in human-dominated landscapes surrounding protected areas. People′s attitudes toward wildlife influence their behaviors, including tolerance for human-wildlife interactions, poaching, and habitat degradation. Better understanding of how to improve people′s attitudes toward wildlife is instrumental to promoting coexistence between people and wildlife in shared spaces. Efforts to promote coexistence often fail because they are based on the inaccurate assumption that people′s attitudes towards wildlife are directly and proportionally related to wildlife-based financial incentives and costs. In reality, people′s attitudes towards wildlife are far more complex. We analyzed surveys (n=237) from Mozambique to examine people′s attitudes toward wildlife in the buffer zones surrounding protected areas using logistic regression and Getis-Ord hot-spot analysis (GI*). Mozambique, which is under-represented in the wildlife-based research literature, is characterized by extreme poverty and rewilding efforts. We found that most respondents were tolerant of wildlife and tolerance was positively correlated with people′s age, gender, and agreement with rules governing wildlife conservation. People′s tolerance for wildlife was also reinforced if they receive benefits from wildlife and are situated further from the park fence. Predation, human harm, and crop loss were not significant predictors of tolerance. We found no evidence of spatial patterns in tolerance for wildlife. Our results suggest that wildlife conservation programs are more likely to be successful if benefits are distributed equitably and community members are actively involved in decision making.

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Spatial-temporal Changes in Land Use Land Cover and its Impacts on Wildlife Conservation in Meru Conservation Area, Kenya

Asian Journal of Environment & Ecology ◽

10.9734/ajee/2019/v10i330120 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 1-10

Author(s):

Kiria Edwin ◽

Magana Adiel ◽

Njue Cyprian

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Land Cover ◽

Protected Areas ◽

Wildlife Conservation ◽

Satellite Images ◽

Anthropogenic Activities ◽

Wildlife Habitat ◽

Land Use Patterns ◽

Conservation Area ◽

The Impact

Habitat conversion can be a major threat to biodiversity. Recent and current levels of human activities on landscapes appear to be overriding the natural changes to ecosystems brought about by climate variations in the past millennia. The impact of anthropogenic activities on wildlife habitat and species vary depending on the spatial and temporal scales considered and the persistence of the activities in the landscape. This study was carried out in Meru Conservation Area (MCA) to examine land use and land cover changes (LULC) that have taken place within and around the Protected Area (PA) from 1985 with an emphasis of anthropogenic activities which have altered wildlife habitat and species. The distribution of land use types within and around MCA has produced land use patterns which this study seeks to establish the extent and effects in relation to wildlife conservation. To establish the LULC, Landsat satellite images of medium resolution were acquired and interpretation done using ArchGIS. Four satellite images with a span of three decades from 1985 to 2015 were acquired for analysis. The results revealed significant changes in MCA ecosystem over the study period, accounting for 9.9% and 6.1% increase in grassland and bareland respectively. This means that agricultural activities are encroaching towards the protected areas in the land that was formerly used as wildlife corridors and dispersal areas. It is also an indication that there is a significant change in the forestland and shrubland which has reduced by 2.3% and 15.7% respectively resulting to bareland and grassland. The results of the study provide an insight on the threat to the future survival of wildlife in their ecosystems due to declining ecosystems productivity as well as socioeconomic livelihood of communities living around the MCA. The results of this study therefore call for an integrated planning approach towards management of protected areas in order to meet wildlife and human needs in view of the changing climate regimes.

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Protected Area Versus People Conflict and a Co-Management Programme: A Case Study from the Dhudpukuria-Dhopachari Wildlife Sanctuary, Bangladesh

Environment and Natural Resources Research ◽

10.5539/enrr.v7n2p87 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 7 (2) ◽

pp. 87

Author(s):

A. H. M. Raihan Sarker ◽

Amir Hossen ◽

Ma Suza ◽

Eivin Roskaft

Keyword(s):

Natural Resources ◽

Protected Areas ◽

Protected Area ◽

Wildlife Conservation ◽

Management Program ◽

Management Programme ◽

Management Approach ◽

Wildlife Sanctuary ◽

Human Welfare ◽

Almost All

Conflicts over the conservation of natural resources at the community level occur in different forms and at various levels of severity. These conflicts can be defined as situations in which the allocation, management or use of natural resources results in attacks on human rights or denial of access to natural resources to an extent that considerably diminishes human welfare. However, the conflict between the authorities of the Dhudpukuria-Dhopachari Wildlife Sanctuary (DDWS) and local people over wildlife conservation is one of the most serious conservation issues in Chittagong region of Bangladesh. The DDWS is managed under a co-management programme, but there are many questions that have already been asked about the success of co-management in the study area. A total of 195 standardized, structured and semi-structured questionnaires were administered randomly to villagers. The majority of respondents reported that they did not receive any potential benefit from the DDWS, and almost one-third of respondents reported that they had problems with the DDWS. Almost all respondents reported that they were unable to control the damage caused by wildlife. More than 80% of respondents reported that the co-management approach was not effective in mitigating conflict between people and protected areas. More than 45% of the participants in co-management program reported greater effectiveness of the co-management approach than non-participants. Moreover, the respondents who received more benefits from the Protected Areas (PA) reported more effectiveness of the co-management approach than those who received less or no benefits from the protected area. Integration of local knowledge and preferences into the co-management process will ensure the sustainability of the co-management programme by minimizing the conflict between people and protected areas.

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A review of impacts of marine dredging activities on marine mammals

ICES Journal of Marine Science ◽

10.1093/icesjms/fsu187 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 72 (2) ◽

pp. 328-340 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Victoria L. G. Todd ◽

Ian B. Todd ◽

Jane C. Gardiner ◽

Erica C. N. Morrin ◽

Nicola A. MacPherson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Marine Mammals ◽

Habitat Degradation ◽

Prey Availability ◽

Suspended Sediments ◽

Nutrient Loads ◽

Short Term ◽

Positive Effects ◽

Management Procedures ◽

The Impact ◽

Eggs And Larvae

Abstract Marine dredging is an excavation activity carried out worldwide by many industries. Concern about the impact dredging has on marine life, including marine mammals (cetaceans, pinnipeds, and sirenians) exists, but effects are largely unknown. Through consulting available literature, this review aims to expand on existing knowledge of the direct and indirect, negative and positive impacts on marine mammals. In terms of direct effects, collisions are possible, but unlikely, given the slow speed of dredgers. Noise emitted is broadband, with most energy below 1 kHz and unlikely to cause damage to marine mammal auditory systems, but masking and behavioural changes are possible. Sediment plumes are generally localized, and marine mammals reside often in turbid waters, so significant impacts from turbidity are improbable. Entrainment, habitat degradation, noise, contaminant remobilization, suspended sediments, and sedimentation can affect benthic, epibenthic, and infaunal communities, which may impact marine mammals indirectly through changes to prey. Eggs and larvae are at highest risk from entrainment, so dredging in spawning areas can be detrimental, but effects are minimized through the use of environmental windows. Sensitive environments such as seagrass beds are at risk from smothering, removal, or damage, but careful planning can reduce degradation. Assessing impacts of contaminant remobilization is difficult, but as long as contaminated sediments are disposed of correctly, remobilization is limited in space and time. Effects of suspended sediments and sedimentation are species-specific, but invertebrates, eggs, and larvae are most vulnerable. Positive effects, including an increase in food, result from greater nutrient loads, but are often short term. Dredging has the potential to impact marine mammals, but effects are species and location-specific, varying also with dredging equipment type. In general, evidence suggests that if management procedures are implemented, effects are most likely to be masking and short-term behavioural alterations and changes to prey availability.

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Long-term population dynamics of the red deer and European roe deer at the protected and not-protected areas in Mountain Crimea

Ukrainian Journal of Ecology ◽

10.15421/2017_88 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 7 (4) ◽

pp. 65-72

Author(s):

V. N. Shmagol' ◽

V. L. Yarysh ◽

S. P. Ivanov ◽

V. I. Maltsev

Keyword(s):

Population Dynamics ◽

Protected Areas ◽

Red Deer ◽

Nature Reserve ◽

Roe Deer ◽

Precipitation Amount ◽

Annual Precipitation ◽

Population Number ◽

The Impact

The long-term population dynamics of the red deer (Cervus elaphus L.) and European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus L.) at the mountain and forest zone of Crimea during 1980-2017 is presented. Fluctuations in numbers of both species are cyclical and partly synchronous. Period of oscillations in the population of red deer is about 25 years, the average duration of the oscillation period of number of roe deer is 12.3 years. During the fluctuations in the number the increasing and fall in population number of the red deer had been as 26-47 %, and roe deer – as 22-34 %. Basing on the dada obtained we have assumed that together with large-scale cycles of fluctuations in population number of both red deer and roe deer the short cycles of fluctuations in the number of these species with period from 3.5 to 7.5 years take place. Significant differences of the parameters of cyclical fluctuations in the number of roe deer at some sites of the Mountainous Crimea: breaches of synchronicity, as well as significant differences in the duration of cycles are revealed. The greatest deviations from the average values of parameters of long-term dynamics of the number of roe deer in Crimea are noted for groups of this species at two protected areas. At the Crimean Nature Reserve the cycle time of fluctuations of the numbers of roe deer was 18 years. At the Karadag Nature Reserve since 1976 we can see an exponential growth in number of roe deer that is continued up to the present time. By 2016 the number of roe deer reached 750 individuals at a density of 437 animals per 1 thousand ha. Peculiarity of dynamics of number of roe deer at some sites proves the existence in the mountain forest of Crimea several relatively isolated groups of deer. We assumed that "island" location of the Crimean populations of red deer and European roe deer, their relatively little number and influence of permanent extreme factors of both natural and anthropogenic origination have contributed to a mechanism of survival of these populations. The elements of such a mechanism include the following features of long-term dynamics of the population: the reduction in the period of cyclic population fluctuations, while maintaining their amplitude and the appearance of additional small cycles, providing more flexible response of the population to the impact of both negative and positive environmental factors. From the totality of the weather conditions for the Crimean population of roe deer the recurring periods of increases and downs in the annual precipitation amount may have relevance. There was a trend of increase in the roe deer population during periods of increasing annual precipitation.

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Effectiveness of Protected Areas in Conserving the Highly Hunted Mammal Species as Bushmeat in Southern Benin

The Open Ecology Journal ◽

10.2174/1874213001811010014 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 14-24

Author(s):

Chabi A.M.S. Djagoun ◽

Etotépé A. Sogbohossou ◽

Barthélémy Kassa ◽

Christian B. Ahouandjinou ◽

Hugues A. Akpona ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Protected Areas ◽

Habitat Degradation ◽

Habitat Type ◽

Cell System ◽

Anthropogenic Factors ◽

Mammal Species ◽

Occupancy Model ◽

Habitat Occupancy ◽

Anthropogenic Habitat ◽

Lama Forest

Background: The habitat degradation together with fragmentation and illegal hunting represent a major threat for biodiversity conservation in Lama protected areas. Method: We used a combination of questionnaire survey with local communities for ranking the hunted mammal species as bushmeat and track surveys in gridded-cell system of 500x500 m2 (n=268) to assess at what extend the management design, the anthropogenic factors and habitat type affect the occupancy model of those mammal species. Results: Twenty mammal species have been predominantly reported by the local inhabitants to consume bushmeat species and 5 of them have been identified as the most preferable as hunted game mammals. The selection of the preferred habitat among the swampy forest, the dense forest, the tree plantations and cropland for the prioritized game species varies between species but looks similar when grouping in different orders. Some bushmeat species were found to select the more secure habitat (natural forest); suggesting the zoning system in the Lama forest can passively protect those species. However, some species such as T. swinderianus although highly hunted showed preference to anthropogenic habitat, avoiding the well secured core zone in Lama Forest. Conclusion: Our findings highlighted the importance of the zoning system with different management objectives in the habitat occupancy model of the highly hunted wildlife species.

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Impact of Elected Women Representatives of Panchayati Raj in Physical and Financial and Business Assets Development of Rural Women: A Study among the Rural Women’s of Tiruvannamalai District, Tamil Nadu[1]

Scholarly Research Journal for Humanity Science & English Language ◽

10.21922/srjhsel.v4i24.10323 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 4 (24) ◽

Author(s):

Kalaichelvi Sivaraman ◽

Rengasamy Stalin

Keyword(s):

Rural Women ◽

Rural Areas ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Direct Democracy ◽

Tamil Nadu ◽

Local Level ◽

Rural And Urban Areas ◽

The Government ◽

The Impact ◽

Panchayati Raj

This research paper is the part of Research Project entitled “Impact of Elected Women Representatives in the Life and Livelihood of the Women in Rural Areas: With Special Reference to Tiruvannamalai District, Tamil Nadu” funded by University of Madras under UGC-UPE Scheme.The 73rd and 74th amendments of the Constitution of India were made by the government to strengthen the position of women and to create a local-level legal foundation for direct democracy for women in both rural and urban areas. The representation for women in local bodies through reservation policies amendment in Constitution of India has stimulated the political participation of women in rural areas. However, when it’s comes to the argument of whether the women reservation in Panchayati Raj helps or benefits to the life and livelihood development of women as a group? The answer is hypothetical because the studies related to the impact of women representatives of Panchayati Raj in the life and livelihood development of women was very less. Therefore, to fill the gap in existing literature, the present study was conducted among the rural women of Tiruvannamalai district to assess the impact of elected women representatives in the physical and financial and business development of the women in rural areas. The findings revealed that during the last five years because of the women representation in their village Panjayati Raj, the Physical Asset of the rural women were increased or developed moderately (55.8%) and Highly (23.4%) and the Financial and Business Asset of the rural women were increased or developed moderately (60.4%) and Highly (18.7%).

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