A manifesto for predictive conservation Travers, Henry; Selinske, Matthew; Nuno, Ana ...
Biological conservation,
September 2019, 2019-09-00, Letnik:
237
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
If efforts to tackle biodiversity loss and its impact on human wellbeing are to be successful, conservation must learn from other fields which use predictive methods to foresee shocks and pre-empt ...their impacts in the face of uncertainty, such as military studies, public health and finance. Despite a long history of using predictive models to understand the dynamics of ecological systems and human disturbance, conservationists do not systematically apply predictive approaches when designing and implementing behavioural interventions. This is an important omission because human behaviour is the underlying cause of current widespread biodiversity loss. Here, we critically assess how predictive approaches can transform the way conservation scientists and practitioners plan for and implement social and behavioural change among people living with wildlife. Our manifesto for predictive conservation recognises that social-ecological systems are dynamic, uncertain and complex, and calls on conservationists to embrace the forward-thinking approach which effective conservation requires.
•Conservation practice relies on being able to understand human behaviour.•Predictive science can inform conservation decision-making and practice.•Effective use of prediction can anticipate problems before they arise.•Predictive approaches can be used to test interventions prior to implementation.•The impact of interventions can be evaluated against predicted performance.
In this paper, we demonstrate how predictive methods can be used to investigate the effectiveness of conservation interventions prior to their implementation and ensure that limited resources are ...invested in those interventions that will achieve the strongest outcomes for conservation. Too often, operational, financial and logistical constraints lead to the design of interventions based on past experience and expert opinion, without an assessment of the probable outcomes of alternative approaches. Here, we employ a simple method that can be used by conservation managers to evaluate a range of credible alternatives and select the intervention predicted to have the greatest impact. We apply scenario-based interviews to investigate the effectiveness of interventions aimed at reducing household forest clearance at a REDD+ site in Cambodia. In this context, we show that collective performance payments, structured either as payments to individual households or to village development funds, have the greatest potential to reduce household clearance. In comparison, greater enforcement effort and individually contracted performance payments – options that might otherwise have been considered credible choices – are predicted to perform poorly, with only negligible reductions in forest clearance.
•Collective benefit sharing options offer the greatest reductions in forest clearance.•Exogenous changes may undermine conservation interventions.•Scenario-based interviews can be used to navigate contextual complexity.•Predictive approaches provide opportunity to improve intervention design.
Natural resources in and around protected areas in many countries in Africa are under intense pressure as a result of illegal behaviour, such as fishing, hunting and logging. A better understanding ...of local people's perceptions of the nature of illegal behaviour and the relevance of conservation actions would be useful in informing conservation decisions. We gathered information on the attitudes and perceptions of communities in the vicinity of Ugalla Game Reserve in western Tanzania regarding illegal behaviour and the effectiveness of conservation practices, using household surveys, key informants, and focus groups. We found that local people use the Reserve illegally, especially for hunting (28 ± SE 6%) and logging (20 ± SE 5%). We explored behaviours that are problematic for conservation in the partially protected areas around Ugalla. Local communities reported feeling isolated, harassed and intimidated by approaches used to protect Ugalla. They were angered by the conservation of Ugalla as a trophy hunting site for foreigners, and the excessive force and beatings used by game rangers to keep them away from the Reserve. Improving local livelihoods (17%), participatory conservation (16%), and giving people land for agricultural activities (16%) were among the ways that local communities felt would reduce illegal activities. Our findings suggest the need for conservation measures to benefit local communities around Ugalla transparently and equitably. Outreach programmes would help to raise conservation awareness and attract positive attitudes towards conservation. To encourage local support for conservation, we also suggest that conservation authorities create and maintain good relations with people living near the Reserve.
Cooperation among humans is highly dependent on social and institutional conditions, with individual incentives playing a key role in determining the level of cooperation achieved. Understanding the ...conditions under which cooperation can emerge has important implications for the design of resource management and wildlife conservation interventions. Incentive-based conservation approaches are being widely implemented, yet very few studies test the role of incentives in promoting cooperation in relevant developing country contexts. Using a common pool resource game, in four villages in Cambodia, we investigated how the level of within-group cooperation varies under different institutional arrangements, including opportunities for social approval, external enforcement of rules and individual and collective incentive payments. Our results demonstrate the significance of self-organisation, the ability to devise, monitor and enforce a set of rules, among resource users. Treatments which promoted self-organisation had the greatest effect in reducing individual extraction, achieved the greatest efficiencies and had the strongest interaction with group decision-making in reducing extraction. The effects of these treatments carried over to reduce extraction in subsequent treatments, irrespective of their institutional arrangements. These results suggest that policies designed to incentivise certain behaviour in local stakeholder groups may be more successful if they create opportunities for local decision-making.
► We use a common pool resource game to investigate resource appropriation behaviour. ► Promotion of self-organisation reduces individual extraction from a CPR. ► Incentive-based conservation policies should encourage local decision-making.
Hunting is a primary driver of biodiversity loss across South-east Asia. Within Cambodia, the use of wire snares to capture wildlife is a severe threat in protected areas but there have been few ...studies of the behaviour of hunters from local communities. Here, we combine the unmatched count technique with direct questioning to estimate the prevalence of hunting behaviours and wildlife consumption amongst 705 households living within Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary, Cambodia. We assessed respondents’ knowledge of rules, and their perceptions of patrols responsible for enforcing rules. Estimates of hunting behaviour were variable: results from the unmatched count technique were inconclusive, and direct questioning revealed 9% of households hunted, and 20% set snares around farms to prevent wildlife eating crops. Hunting with domestic dogs was the method most commonly used to catch wildlife (87% of households owned dogs). Wild meat was consumed by 84% of households, and was most frequently bought or caught, but also gifted. We detected a high awareness of conservation rules, but low awareness of punishments and penalties, with wildlife depletion, rather than the risk of being caught by patrols, causing the greatest reduction in hunting. Our findings demonstrate the challenges associated with reliably estimating rule-breaking behaviour and highlight the need to incorporate careful triangulation into study design.
•We analyse household land use and compliance with land use plans in two villages.•Shift observed away from traditional land use towards commercial agriculture.•Compliance highly correlated with ...total land holdings and participation in reform.•Understanding of reforms greater in village with higher rates of compliance.•Support for local resource management institutions required.
In this paper, we present an analysis of the change in household land use following a conservation-driven process of indigenous land titling reform in a Cambodian protected area. In each of the two study villages, we investigated how household land use had changed and the extent of compliance with both legal boundaries of titled areas and community regulations created to govern land use within these areas. A comparison of current household land holdings in each village with those at the start of the tenure reform process indicated a significant increase in household land holdings. Changing land use practices were also revealed, as households shift away from traditional subsistence based land use towards more commercialised agriculture. Household compliance was observed to be strongly correlated with total land holdings and participation in the tenure reform process, with compliance levels significantly higher in the village that had experienced lower levels of external land grabbing and immigration. Similarly, understanding and perceptions of the tenure reform process was found to differ dramatically between the two study villages. The importance of supporting local resource management institutions created through tenure reform, particularly in the face of strong external drivers of change, and of engaging with immigrant households are highlighted as key to the continuing effectiveness of participatory land use planning approaches.
Making Messy Data Work for Conservation Dobson, A.D.M.; Milner-Gulland, E.J.; Aebischer, Nicholas J. ...
One earth (Cambridge, Mass.),
05/2020, Letnik:
2, Številka:
5
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Conservationists increasingly use unstructured observational data, such as citizen science records or ranger patrol observations, to guide decision making. These datasets are often large and ...relatively cheap to collect, and they have enormous potential. However, the resulting data are generally “messy,” and their use can incur considerable costs, some of which are hidden. We present an overview of the opportunities and limitations associated with messy data by explaining how the preferences, skills, and incentives of data collectors affect the quality of the information they contain and the investment required to unlock their potential. Drawing widely from across the sciences, we break down elements of the observation process in order to highlight likely sources of bias and error while emphasizing the importance of cross-disciplinary collaboration. We propose a framework for appraising messy data to guide those engaging with these types of dataset and make them work for conservation and broader sustainability applications.
Conservationists increasingly use unstructured observational data to guide decision making. These datasets have enormous potential, but the resulting data are generally "messy," and their use can incur considerable costs, some of which are hidden. We present an overview of these opportunities and limitations and propose a framework for appraising messy data to guide those wishing to make these datasets work for conservation and broader sustainability applications.
We comment on five aspects of Gray et al.’s (Biodivers Conserv,
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-017-1365-1
,
2017a
) framework for assessing the readiness of sites for tiger reintroductions. ...Clarifications in numbers of tigers, available habitat and prey requirements indicate that more land and additional recovery of preferred prey species will be critical for a successful reintroduction. A focus on threat assessments and mitigations will be more important than a focus on site management tools. Local attitudes and levels of poaching require more attention than in the current assessment, as they are likely to be major obstacles to successful large carnivore reintroductions in Asia. Given the limited resources for rangewide tiger conservation, the value of such long-term initiatives must be weighed relative to the urgent need to recover and secure existing tiger populations before they also become extinct.
Abstract
As recipients of tissue and medical specimens, pathologists and other medical specialists regard themselves as stewards of patient tissues and consider it their duty to protect the best ...interests of both the individual patient and the public. The stewardship of slides, blocks, and other materials includes providing, under appropriate circumstances, patient materials for research, education, and quality control. The decision to provide human tissue for such purposes should be based on the specific (ie, direct patient care) and general (ie, furthering medical knowledge) interests of the patient and of society. The same standards of responsibility should apply to all medical professionals who receive and use specimens. This document proposes specific recommendations whereby both interests can be fostered safely, ethically, and reasonably.
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