Conservation attitudes

Public awareness is urgently needed to save biodiversity from the increasing threats of global extinction. This study examined the knowledge gap and conservation attitudes of 248 students from science and nonscience departments of the Islamia University of Bahawalpur in southern Punjab, Pakistan. The study revealed a discrepancy in literacy attitudes. Both groups of students recognized that human activities are causing various declines. Social science students consider their fields irrelevant with respect to these issues. This gap in agency reinforces disciplinary silos in higher education. Global biodiversity loss is becoming a serious environmental problem. Public awareness and educational awareness play a crucial role in the survival of local life, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. This study aimed to understand the relationship between knowledge and conservation attitudes of biodiversity among students of the Islamia University of Bahawalpur in southern Punjab, Pakistan. For this purpose, information was obtained from 248 students of the Islamia University of Bahawalpur through a survey. The results showed that science students have relatively more scientific and technical knowledge about the regional fauna. In contrast, the knowledge of social science students was found to be limited. The attitudes of both groups towards environmental protection were very similar. Most students supported the ban on hunting and acknowledged that human activities are a major cause of species decline. Importantly, an important aspect of this study was that many social science students consider environmental protection primarily the responsibility of scientific disciplines and consider their field to be less relevant to this process. This situation points to the departmental division existing in the higher education system. Which means that environmental knowledge is probably mostly limited to the realm of life sciences. The study emphasizes that a multidisciplinary educational strategy is necessary for the protection of a unique arid ecosystem like Cholistan. Regional ecology should be included in the general curriculum to instill a shared environmental responsibility among all students. This will bridge the gap between the scientific and social sciences and in the future, such knowledgeable individuals will be prepared who can play an effective role in conserving biodiversity in South Punjab.

As human population grows and globalization disrupts local and traditional communities everywhere in the planet, there are stronger and wider threats to wildlife and biodiversity. In spite of all the humanity’s achievements, difficulties in providing well-being to many human communities are increasing. The world’s natural forests, whose rich ecosystems support wildlife and human populations, are declining and facing unprecedented changes. Perceptions and attitudes towards wildlife and biodiversity are also culturally constructed and it is important to known these so that environmental national action plans may be feasible and reliable. An attitude can be seen as a relatively enduring organization of beliefs about an object or a situation predisposing one to respond favourably or unfavourably to a commodity, person, institution or event. Hence, attitude is an antecedent or determinant of behaviour. And, ultimately, it will be people’s behaviour who will determine the survival of wild...

Rainforest biodiversity is particularly vulnerable to loss, since the distribution of forests is limited and the vertebrate species that live within these forests have a limited potential to re-colonize deforested areas, especially when their abundance declines to critical levels. ...

The lesser spot-nosed monkey (Cercopithecus petaurista) is a widely distributed West African guenon, which is generally considered less vulnerable to local extinctions than many sympatric primate species. Guinea-Bissau harbours the westernmost populations of the species, which is thought to be very rare or even extinct on the mainland, but to have putative populations on some islands of the Bijagós Archipelago. However, due to a lack of regional studies, baseline information on these insular populations is missing. We collected baseline data on the anthropogenic activities that possibly threaten the long-term conservation of this primate by using non-systematic ethnographic methodologies. The species was reported to be decreasing in number or rare by locals on two of the islands, and we identified two main conservation threats to it: generalised habitat loss/ degradation, and hunting. While subsistence hunting has been recorded before in these areas, we report, to the best of our knowledge for the first time for these islands, the presence of a semi-organised commercial wild meat trade. The carcasses of western lesser spot-nosed monkeys were observed being stored and shipped from seaports to be sold at urban hubs (Bissau and Bubaque Island). The effect of commercial trade on the species could be severe, considering the small, naturally occurring, carrying capacities typical of insular ecosystems. The results of this study highlight the importance of understanding the leading social drivers of wild meat hunting of lesser spot-nosed monkeys on the Bijagós Archipelago, and the need to conduct baseline research on these insular populations, for which qualitative and quantitative methods could be combined.

With this paper we invite the reader to join us to a field trip to Guinea-Bissau through our eyes as primatologists and to explore the entanglements between humans and non-human primates. The first time we went to the field was in 2003. After staying with an NGO for a while, we set up a field station in a protected area that was home to chimpanzees (Madina Field Station). However, soon we realized that «protected areas», «high-quality forest», or «suitable habitat for chimpanzees» would not make any difference for research-and, most importantly, for this ape's conservation-without taking into consideration the locals' attitudes. Humanized landscapes most probably will become the rule in the future, so finding a way for a peaceful coexistence is urgent.

Rural women living in poor countries are often more vulnerable to the effects of extreme poverty than men (Ellis 1999; Moser 2007). This may be due to a variety of cultural and socioeconomic factors-they may be less educated than men (UNDP 2006: 9-12; UNDP 2012: 21-25); have lower social status; lack access to or ownership of land; are excluded from decision-making processes and are expected to play a submissive role in the community (Ellis 1999; Moser 2007). Men may control income from sale of cash crops and harvests of commercially valuable natural resources (Sunderland et al. 2014). Thus, women and men may differ in the way they perceive and interact with their surrounding natural resource contexts (Flinton 2003; Kanji 2003; Mukadagi and Nabalegwa 2007; Stringer et al. 2007; Bandiaky 2008). Many of these cultural and socioeconomic factors also influence the way rural men and women relate to wildlife conservation activities and initiatives (Gadd 2005; Stringer

Studying people and wild animals based only on their strict and present-day interactions is not enough to develop a comprehensive understanding of social constructions of animal species. People encounter other species (and other people) from within particular historical, social, ecological and economic settings. In 13 months of fieldwork, I adopted a multidisciplinary perspective, using qualitative ethnographic tools alongside quantitative ecological and interviewing approaches to seek for an in-depth understanding that provides access to multiple views about nature and nature conservation. In southern Guinea-Bissau, space and its history, magic and religion, changes in the landscape and environment, local livelihoods and trade, as well as local relations of power for accessing resources, all shape the social and cosmological terrain of the interactions between people and other living and non-living things. On the one hand, magical territories, the role animal figures play in witchcraft, local knowledge and its management, all portray nature as part of society, both as an element and an actor in society. On the other hand, when nature conservation initiatives based on fines and fences are emphasised, the social appropriation of nature envisions people and nature as separate, even antagonistic entities that negotiate each other's existence. Land is the most important component of livelihoods as it is tightly connected to labour allocation and knowledge exchange. Therefore, by constraining people's access to land, nature conservation policies are largely seen as affecting local people's ability to secure their livelihoods. Consequently, constraints and benefits bestowed by conservation are negotiated locally through complex mechanisms of storytelling, witchcraft, meetings, and protests. These all play a role in challenging standing agreements, as well as expressing social tension and marking out morality. The chimpanzee, the flagship species of Cantanhez National Park, appears as a multifaceted character capable of shape-shifting into various forms and signifiers that challenge existing power asymmetries, including those inherent within local nature conservation.

METHODS Seven visits, of approximately four hours each, were made to Bandim market, the largest market in Bissau, the capital, during two weeks in September 2008 and a similar period in June 2010. Some 10–15 men were found to be offering wild animal body parts ...

Rural women living in poor countries are often more vulnerable to the effects of extreme poverty than men (Ellis 1999; Moser 2007). This may be due to a variety of cultural and socioeconomic factors-they may be less educated than men (UNDP 2006: 9-12; UNDP 2012: 21-25); have lower social status; lack access to or ownership of land; are excluded from decision-making processes and are expected to play a submissive role in the community (Ellis 1999; Moser 2007). Men may control income from sale of cash crops and harvests of commercially valuable natural resources (Sunderland et al. 2014). Thus, women and men may differ in the way they perceive and interact with their surrounding natural resource contexts (Flinton 2003; Kanji 2003; Mukadagi and Nabalegwa 2007; Stringer et al. 2007; Bandiaky 2008). Many of these cultural and socioeconomic factors also influence the way rural men and women relate to wildlife conservation activities and initiatives (Gadd 2005; Stringer

The Cacheu Mangroves Natural Park (PNTC) was established in the year 2000 with the objective of protecting the coastal forests of Northern Guinea-Bissau, which have been subject to deforestation and are at risk. Concomitantly, the need to find sustainable financial revenues to support forest conservation motivated the development of projects that explore avoidance of deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) as a potential income possibility. The 886,150 ha of forest in the PNTC include a mosaic of different villages where communities with different cultural and socioeconomic habits reside. In addition to the uncontrolled expansion of subsistence agriculture with the associated shortening of fallow periods, forests may have also been subject to degradation from selective logging, fuel wood collection, and charcoal production. To contribute to a forest degradation baseline forest uses for household fuel consumption (wood and charcoal) were surveyed using questionnaires, interviews and focus groups. The data were collected from a representative sample of circa 200 households within a 2 km buffer of the PNTC. These data are analyzed and the results are discussed according to a scenario of ethnic diversity,

Studying people and wild animals based only on their strict and present-day interactions is not enough to develop a comprehensive understanding of social constructions of animal species. People encounter other species (and other people) from within particular historical, social, ecological and economic settings. In 13 months of fieldwork, I adopted a multidisciplinary perspective, using qualitative ethnographic tools alongside quantitative ecological and interviewing approaches to seek for an in-depth understanding that provides access to multiple views about nature and nature conservation. In southern Guinea-Bissau, space and its history, magic and religion, changes in the landscape and environment, local livelihoods and trade, as well as local relations of power for accessing resources, all shape the social and cosmological terrain of the interactions between people and other living and non-living things. On the one hand, magical territories, the role animal figures play in witchcraft, local knowledge and its management, all portray nature as part of society, both as an element and an actor in society. On the other hand, when nature conservation initiatives based on fines and fences are emphasised, the social appropriation of nature envisions people and nature as separate, even antagonistic entities that negotiate each other's existence. Land is the most important component of livelihoods as it is tightly connected to labour allocation and knowledge exchange. Therefore, by constraining people's access to land, nature conservation policies are largely seen as affecting local people's ability to secure their livelihoods. Consequently, constraints and benefits bestowed by conservation are negotiated locally through complex mechanisms of storytelling, witchcraft, meetings, and protests. These all play a role in challenging standing agreements, as well as expressing social tension and marking out morality. The chimpanzee, the flagship species of Cantanhez National Park, appears as a multifaceted character capable of shape-shifting into various forms and signifiers that challenge existing power asymmetries, including those inherent within local nature conservation.

Rural women living in poor countries are often more vulnerable to the effects of extreme poverty than men (Ellis 1999; Moser 2007). This may be due to a variety of cultural and socioeconomic factors-they may be less educated than men (UNDP 2006: 9-12; UNDP 2012: 21-25); have lower social status; lack access to or ownership of land; are excluded from decision-making processes and are expected to play a submissive role in the community (Ellis 1999; Moser 2007). Men may control income from sale of cash crops and harvests of commercially valuable natural resources (Sunderland et al. 2014). Thus, women and men may differ in the way they perceive and interact with their surrounding natural resource contexts (Flinton 2003; Kanji 2003; Mukadagi and Nabalegwa 2007; Stringer et al. 2007; Bandiaky 2008). Many of these cultural and socioeconomic factors also influence the way rural men and women relate to wildlife conservation activities and initiatives (Gadd 2005; Stringer

METHODS Seven visits, of approximately four hours each, were made to Bandim market, the largest market in Bissau, the capital, during two weeks in September 2008 and a similar period in June 2010. Some 10–15 men were found to be offering wild animal body parts ...

One of the main challenges when integrating biological and social perspectives in primatology is overcoming interdisciplinary barriers. Unfamiliarity with subject-specific theory and language, distinct disciplinary-bound approaches to research, and academic boundaries aimed at Bpreserving the integrity^of subject disciplines can hinder developments in interdisciplinary research. With growing interest in how humans and other primates share landscapes, and recognition of the importance of combining biological and social information to do this effectively, the disparate use of terminology is becoming more evident. To tackle this problem, we dissect the meaning of what the biological sciences term studies in Bhuman-wildlife conflict^or more recently Bhuman-wildlife interactions^and compare it to what anthropology terms Bmultispecies ethnography.^In the biological sciences, human-wildlife interactions are the actions resulting from people and wild animals sharing landscapes and resources, with outcomes ranging from being beneficial or harmful to one or both species. In the

One of the main challenges when integrating biological and social perspectives in primatology is overcoming interdisciplinary barriers. Unfamiliarity with subject-specific theory and language, distinct disciplinary-bound approaches to research, and academic boundaries aimed at Bpreserving the integrity^of subject disciplines can hinder developments in interdisciplinary research. With growing interest in how humans and other primates share landscapes, and recognition of the importance of combining biological and social information to do this effectively, the disparate use of terminology is becoming more evident. To tackle this problem, we dissect the meaning of what the biological sciences term studies in Bhuman-wildlife conflict^or more recently Bhuman-wildlife interactions^and compare it to what anthropology terms Bmultispecies ethnography.^In the biological sciences, human-wildlife interactions are the actions resulting from people and wild animals sharing landscapes and resources, with outcomes ranging from being beneficial or harmful to one or both species. In the

In Cantanhez National Park in Guinea-Bissau the construction of meaning made upon encounters with chimpanzees is associated with local social life. If a chimpanzee makes an unprovoked attack on a person, its actions are often understood as those of a sorcerer. Chimpanzees are involved in two parallel accusation discourses, one is played in intimate spheres of sociability where sorcerers harm their kin to benefit from secret alliances, and the other addresses a wider audience perceived to benefit from chimpanzees which are being protected at the expense of other humans. Both narratives represent local criticism against transgressions to calculations of redistribution and reciprocity.

One of the main challenges when integrating biological and social perspectives in primatology is overcoming interdisciplinary barriers. Unfamiliarity with subject-specific theory and language, distinct disciplinary-bound approaches to research, and academic boundaries aimed at Bpreserving the integrity^of subject disciplines can hinder developments in interdisciplinary research. With growing interest in how humans and other primates share landscapes, and recognition of the importance of combining biological and social information to do this effectively, the disparate use of terminology is becoming more evident. To tackle this problem, we dissect the meaning of what the biological sciences term studies in Bhuman-wildlife conflict^or more recently Bhuman-wildlife interactions^and compare it to what anthropology terms Bmultispecies ethnography.^In the biological sciences, human-wildlife interactions are the actions resulting from people and wild animals sharing landscapes and resources, with outcomes ranging from being beneficial or harmful to one or both species. In the

Human-wildlife coexistence is possible when animals can meet their ecological requirements while managing human-induced risks. Understanding how wildlife balance these trade-offs in anthropogenic environments is crucial to develop effective strategies to reduce risks of negative interactions, including bi-directional aggression and disease transmission. For the first time, we use a landscape of fear framework with Bayesian spatiotemporal modelling to investigate anthropogenic risk-mitigation and optimal foraging trade-offs in Critically Endangered western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus). Using 12 months of camera trap data (21 camera traps, 6722 camera trap days) and phenology on wild and cultivated plant species collected at Caiquene–Cadique, Cantanhez National Park (Guinea-Bissau), we show that humans and chimpanzees broadly overlapped in their use of forest and anthropogenic parts of the habitat including villages and cultivated areas. The spatiotemporal model showed that chi...

Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus Boddaert, 1783), locally known as Banog, is a diurnal raptor extant in the Philippines. This species is an essential bioindicator of ecological health. However, due to human persecution and habitat loss, there is a rapid population decline in the Philippines. Interestingly, H. indus has been observed in a suburban town in Los Amigos, Tugbok District, Davao City, perching on trees alongside the Davao to Bukidnon national road. This study aims to determine the influence of human perception and values towards the conservation of H. indus through multiple linear regression. Seventy (70) households were interviewed on their perception, values, and conservation attitude. It was found that H. indus is considered a pest to aquaculture because it feeds on the fingerlings of Hito (Siluriformes sp.) and Tilapia (Oreochromis sp.). However, locals still support conservation due to existing laws. This result highlights the importance of laws in deterring criminal offenses against wildlife. There is a need to strengthen law enforcement and develop a conservation education program to foster positive perception, values, and conservation attitude. These are efficient and sustainable approaches to accomplish conservation goals.

In Cantanhez National Park in Guinea-Bissau the construction of meaning made after encounters with chimpanzees is associated with local social life. If a chimpanzee makes an unprovoked attack on a person, its actions are often understood as those of a sorcerer. Chimpanzees are involved in two parallel accusation discourses: one is played in intimate spheres of sociability where sorcerers harm their kin to benefit from secret alliances, and the other addresses a wider audience perceived to benefit from chimpanzees which are being protected at the expense of other humans. Both narratives represent local criticism against transgressions to calculations of redistribution and reciprocity.

The Cacheu Mangroves Natural Park (PNTC) was established in the year 2000 with the objective of protecting the coastal forests of Northern Guinea-Bissau, which have been subject to deforestation and are at risk. Concomitantly, the need to find sustainable financial revenues to support forest conservation motivated the development of projects that explore avoidance of deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) as a potential income possibility. The 886,150 ha of forest in the PNTC include a mosaic of different villages where communities with different cultural and socio-economic habits reside. In addition to the uncontrolled expansion of subsistence agriculture with the associated shortening of fallow periods, forests may have also been subject to degradation from selective logging, fuel wood collection, and charcoal production. To contribute to a forest degradation baseline forest uses for household fuel consumption (wood and charcoal) were surveyed using questionnaires, interviews and focus groups. The data were collected from a representative sample of circa 200 households within a 2 km buffer of the PNTC. These data are analyzed and the results are discussed according to a scenario of ethnic diversity,

Community-based conservation programmes need to engage the support of all its members. Gender is a key
component in shaping attitudes about conservation, and lack of attention to gender differences in perceptions can work against the aims of community-based conservation actions and initiatives. We present a study of the obstacles to women’s participation in conservation strategies associated with Cantanhez Forest National Park (CFNP), in Guinea-Bissau, West Africa.  Field-work took place in CFNP over two years, 2007-2008. Five women-only focus group interviews (N=47 participants) were conducted to understand the perceived effects of CFNP’s establishment on women’s daily activities, livelihoods and future expectations. The findings revealed that the women felt the Park was responsible for malnutrition in the communities due to damage of crops by wildlife. Although they were promised compensation, most of the farming households are still waiting for reimbursements for crop damage. Women expressed an unwillingness to directly participate in conservation efforts related to CFNP, but they believed that park researchers could help them to improve their lives.

As technologies develop, increasing opportunities for humans and non-human species to interact will
allow a greater understanding of each other. As wild populations decrease, quantitative knowledge
determining the effects of digital enrichment will assist in supporting its relevance as an effective
management tool in improving both animal welfare and conservation efforts. The effect of a novel digital
enrichment was studied in captive orangutans (Pongo abelii & P. pygmaeus & hybrids) and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) to see if the ability to choose from four digital activity types attributed to changes in their behaviour and hair cortisol levels, suggesting changes to their welfare.
In addition, we studied the effects of Human-Animal Interactions (HAIs) on orangutans from animal welfare and visitor effects perspectives, as well as the activity’s effect on human visitors (Homo sapiens) to see if direct interactivity leads to greater conservation awareness and changes in attitudes.
Comparative analysis of controlled phases against baseline data measured the changes in the animals’ behaviour and stress levels. Changes in visitor attitudes on observing these sessions, as well as those visitors who participated in HAI were also measured. The direct outcome data of the experiment are the percentage of time each animal spent conducting a specific activity and the measurement of hormonal level indicating the stress level of the animals.