Transformative change in the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve: Using nature as foundation of sustainable and resilient livelihoods

Ecosystems and their associated biodiversity are declining globally, endangering the very foundations for quality of life and security in food, water, and energy needs, particularly in the world’s poorest regions that are also the most vulnerable to global climate change impacts. Neotropical forests encompass some of the world’s poorest regions that are projected to experience the worst impacts from global changes in climate, biodiversity, ecosystem functions and associated degradation in nature’s contributions to people (IPBES, 2019). Yet sustainable development goals can still be achieved through transformative changes from local to global scales, if we start to leverage collaborative interventions now. The main aim of this PhD project is to understand how rural communities living in Neotropical forests perceive wellbeing, what factors shape and determine their relationship with nature, and what pathways they envisage to achieving economic and food security for their descendants. To this end, the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve (CBR) of Mexico, was selected as a case study to understand the links between biodiversity and human wellbeing, and the opportunities for transformative change to sustainable and resilient futures. Chapter 1 introduces the general context and background to the issue, along with the analytical framework and methodological strategy of the research. Chapter 2 provides a detailed assessment of hunting practices and patterns in the area, along with the socio-economic, cultural, and geographical drivers and their implications for the long-term sustainability of hunting in the CBR. Quantitative and qualitative data obtained through interviews in 124 households in communities with different ethnic backgrounds, vegetation types and distance to the main urban centre, showed that subsistence hunting is practiced intensively in the tropical forests of Southern Mexico, particularly in isolated communities surrounded by forest. Climate change has affected this practiced by reducing the availability of game species, and in some cases, hunters have modified their hunting strategies in response to scarcer game. Socio-economic, cultural, and geographical factors coinciding at a local scale, shape the hunting practices and patterns in the CBR. However, environmental factors, such as increasing droughts and unpredictable rainfall patterns, are increasingly playing a determinant role in hunting and game consumption in these villages. Impacts of global issues such as climate change can severely threaten the food security and wellbeing of rural people in the CBR, despite these communities having contributed little to the anthropogenic drivers. Context-relevant and well-informed measures at a community scale can support transformative changes towards more sustainable practices. Chapter 3 analyses the vulnerability to climate change of rural livelihoods based on arable farming and hunting. It uses qualitative interviews with 105 villagers, and focus group discussions with 35 participants, to assess the wellbeing of rural communities in relation to food security under climate change. Villagers in the CBR perceived droughts, changing rainfall patterns, and increasing temperatures as the main hazards impacting water availability, soil fertility, crop pests, and the distribution of wild mammals in the area, affecting their crop yields, economies, labour, traditional practices, diets, and human-wildlife conflicts. Villagers perceived increasing risks to their food security and wider wellbeing, with implications for their traditional knowledge and autonomy. Based on this, villagers designed adaptation strategies to enhance the resilience of their livelihoods. Opportunities for nature-based solutions to climate change and other societal challenges can foster transformative changes to reduce climate risks in tropical forest communities. Chapter 4 evaluates the costs and benefits of livestock ranching versus honey production to assess the potential for apiculture to enrich nature’s contributions to people through its forest resources. Through structured interviews, focus-group discussions, and scenario planning, it assessed the views, perspectives and desired development pathways of rural communities. Results showed that cattle ranching requires a higher initial investment and higher annual maintenance of both cattle and land, than honey production. The average annual production of organic honey from 20 beehives is estimated at 1,200 kg, which yields a revenue of MXN $60,000 (GBP £2,222) in the first year. This is much higher than the annual revenues obtained from 10 cattle in 10 ha, of MXN$16,800, which are only sold in times of need and therefore represent a capital investment. Focus-groups discussions showed ranchers’ willingness and potential for developing of honey production as an alternative sustainable livelihood. The uptake of honey production can benefit local and regional economies, the conservation and management of the reserve, and the wellbeing of these communities. To measure the long-term sustainability of forest livelihoods beyond the period of this PhD, I am monitoring the distribution of jaguars (Panthera onca) by systematic camera trapping in three sites with and without human activities in the CBR. This top predator makes a useful indicator of ecosystem health, because it thrives only in biodiverse forest containing abundant mammals that are also game to human hunters. I am building a picture of these predators confined to ever-more fragmented forest and increasingly competing with humans for food security, resulting in attacks on livestock that only bring hardship to ranchers. The local communities fully understand these issues and are proud to host the culturally significant jaguar in their forests, suggesting that this species could function well as an indicator of social-ecological health under transformative change to sustainable pathways

Neo-tropical felid activity patterns in relation to potential prey and intra-guild competitors in the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, Mexico

Predator behaviours influence, and are influenced by, prey and competitor behaviours. Jaguars (Panthera onca), pumas (Puma concolor) and ocelots (Leopardus pardalis) coexist throughout their geographic range as the three largest predators in a multi-predator community across diverse environments. This study tested for non-random segregation and overlap in the activity patterns of these felids and their shared prey in the southern buffer zone of the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, in southern Mexico, using camera traps during February to August 2019. We detected little temporal segregation between the nocturnal activities of jaguars, pumas, and ocelots, although pumas were more active closer to dawn. Jaguars had low activity overlap with species likely to be common prey, whereas ocelots had high overlap with their potential prey. Pumas displayed finer-scale similarities in activity with species likely to be common prey. In an understudied area of conservation importance, this study shows that temporal segregation is an unlikely mechanism of coexistence. Further research should incorporate spatio-temporal avoidance and dietary differences to improve our understanding of the mechanisms that drive coexistence between generalist species in a diverse assemblage of threatened felids