Social-ecological resilience of mangrove-shrimp farming communities in Thailand

Tropical coastlines are regions of extraordinary productivity and host a diversity of interlinked ecosystems which are vital for humanity, including mangrove forests. These environments provide a clear example of how societies and natural ecosystems interact to form complex ‘social-ecological systems’. Yet, although humans depend on mangrove forests in so many ways, these ecosystems are proving to be highly vulnerable under increased human pressures. This research focuses on the rapid social and ecological change brought about by the expansion of shrimp aquaculture in coastal mangrove areas of Thailand. Like in many other parts of the world, the intensification of shrimp aquaculture along the coast of Thailand over the past few decades has come with high social and ecological costs, including widespread conversion of mangrove forests, negative biophysical changes, and loss of coastal livelihood. The overarching aim of this research was to show how studying shrimp farming in mangrove areas as a social-ecological system can advance understanding of some selected drivers of resilient social-ecological systems, and how they are related. Integrating approaches from the natural and social sciences, the research draws on mixed methods combining biophysical sampling of mangrove ecosystem change, semi-quantitative household surveys, and qualitative participatory approaches. The first research chapter of this thesis (Chapter 4) assesses the influence of mangrove to shrimp pond conversion on ecosystem carbon storage on the southern Andaman sea coast of Thailand. The assessment was based on field inventories of forest structure and soil carbon stocks in mangrove forests and abandoned shrimp pond sites. While the results showed that mangrove conversion for shrimp farming results in a large land-use carbon footprint, the observed pattern of mangrove recovery in abandoned shrimp ponds demonstrates the high resilience capacity of mangrove forests. The second research chapter (Chapter 5) analyses shrimp farming diversity along the Gulf of Thailand coast. The research examines shrimp farmer behaviour in relation to production intensity, and its embeddedness in the wider socio-economic context of shrimp farming households. Shrimp farming intensity was found to be associated with a combination of technical, social, and ecological factors, and a range of different combinations of variables were important in influencing the adoption of farming at a particular intensity, relating to subjective culture and values, risk perceptions, and socio-economic conditions. The final research chapter (Chapter 6) uses participatory methods to explore the different forms of knowledge and perceptions of ecosystem health and ecosystem service delivery among mangrove-dependent communities on Thailand’s Andaman sea coast. The communities were shown to have high dependency on mangroves and hold a wealth of local ecological knowledge. Strong cultural and religious links among user-groups have facilitated greater communication and social cohesion and this could have a positive effect on community resilience by enabling collective synthesis and use of their ecological knowledge. The research also shows how periods of abrupt environmental change can bring coastal communities together, creating opportunity for self-organisation, environmental education, and capacity building, which plays a significant role in the sustainability of natural resources, livelihoods and social resilience. This thesis generates important contributions to the study of social-ecological systems and provides new findings that are relevant to inform sustainability and natural resource management decisions. The findings of this research are also timely to inform implementation of Thailand’s National Economic and Social Development Plan (2017- 2021), which calls for developing environmentally-friendly coastal aquaculture, and encouraging community forest management though creating participatory networks of forest restoration and protection

How is mangrove ecosystem health defined? A local community perspective from coastal Thailand

Mangroves, intertidal forests, are increasingly considered a high-priority ecosystem for international conservation efforts. Setting targets for future mangrove conservation and restoration requires understanding of the health of the ecosystem. However, the way ‘ecosystem health’ is defined varies across locations, users, and indices due to differences in knowledge of the ecosystem, scales of the ecosystem being assessed, perceptions of what is ‘healthy’, or because of differences in the way people use or benefit from ecosystems. This can result in misunderstandings which can undermine effective actions to protect and restore functioning ecosystems. Here, we use a case study of a mangrove fishing community in coastal Thailand to examine how local people assess and define mangrove ecosystem health. Through participatory workshops, we show that local people use at least 27 indicators to define mangrove ecosystem health, including biological, physical, and human indices. Mangrove ecosystem health is defined by both direct material benefits derived from the ecosystem, non-material aspects, and the relational value experienced through ‘bundles’ of benefits linked to people's livelihood activities. Our findings suggest that ecosystem health frameworks would be more useful if they incorporated social components and metrics, recognising both the interdependencies between ecosystems and human societies, and that ecosystems possess intrinsic value. Local communities that interact most closely with ecosystems can contribute to improving and operationalising frameworks for ecosystem health

Characterizing shrimp-farm production intensity in Thailand: beyond technical indices

This study examines shrimp farmer behaviour in relation to production intensity along the eastern coast of the Gulf of Thailand, and its embeddedness in the wider socio-economic context of shrimp farming households. The integrative agent-centred (IAC) framework was used as a basis for designing a structured survey to collect semi-quantitative data for a range of explanatory variables that potentially drive shrimp farmer behaviour. The results show that shrimp farming intensity is associated with a combination of technical (e.g. farm area, pond size, stocking density and production), economic (shrimp selling price, production costs and farm revenue), social (e.g. farm operating years, the use of family labour, engagement in shrimp farming and with other shrimp farmers), and ecological factors (e.g. farmer reliance on natural pond productivity, and constraints brought about by environmental change and fluctuations in productive areas). In addition, the results indicate that a number of external and internal socio-economic factors are related to the decision to adopt a certain level of production intensity, including training received on farming practices, access to technical equipment, proportion of total income from shrimp farming, season-specific changes in production, risk perception, and subjective culture (social norms and roles). This study therefore illustrates that levels of shrimp farming intensity are in fact an indicator of a diversity of socio-economic conditions and behavioural choices, which need to be targeted by sustainability policies differentially and beyond the technical sphere. In showing this, we conclude that national standards aimed at achieving aquaculture sustainability should be designed to reflect the diversity needed to support such a diverse sector, and should be adjustable to better represent different socio-economic contexts

Commercial trade of wild animals: examining the use of the IUCN Red List and CITES Appendices as the basis for corporate trade policies

Wildlife exploitation is considered a predominant factor driving global biodiversity loss and zoonotic disease transmission, in addition to a range of concerns for animal welfare and ecosystem health. One of the ways in which wild animals are exploited is for commercial trade as exotic pets, fashion products, luxury foods, traditional medicine, entertainment, ornaments and more. While the trade in some wildlife species is restricted or prohibited under various domestic and international laws, many species are not bound by legal protection and are traded in largely unmonitored numbers with the potential for severe consequences. Companies, particularly large e-commerce platforms, are increasingly adopting policies to restrict the legal trade in wild animals. Due to the absence of clear guidelines for corporate services of wildlife trade, these policies commonly adopt pre-determined species lists, such as the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species or the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Appendices, as the basis for ‘negative lists’ to guide which species to restrict trade in. However, these databases were not intended for this application and there has been no assessment of their use for this purpose. Here, we summarise and compare the scale and scope of species listed on the IUCN Red List and the CITES Appendices, to discuss how much additional protection these lists provide wild animals if used as policy instruments to guide corporate wildlife trade restrictions beyond the relevant legal bounds. Based on our results, we discuss why that using one list or another would likely omit taxa of conservation concern from protection, and using both lists in conjunction would still not comprehensively reflect all species vulnerable to extinction as a result of exploitation. Further, neither list can mitigate the animal welfare and public health concerns inherently associated with all commercial wildlife trade. We recommend that companies looking to develop policies relating to commercial wildlife trade consider going beyond the scope of predetermined species lists to help mitigate the harmful effects of commercial wildlife exploitation via trade for all wild animals

Going over the wall: insights into the illegal production of jaguar products in a Bolivian prison

As the largest felid in the Americas, the jaguar Panthera onca has both ecological and cultural significance in Bolivia. Yet jaguar populations are declining because of multiple pervasive anthropogenic pressures, including domestic and international demand for their body parts. Since 2013, Bolivia has become a centre of the illegal trade of jaguar body parts, driven by demand from Chinese markets. From 2021, there have been anecdotal reports of jaguar body parts being sold to prisons in north-western Bolivia, where inmates use them to make crafts to be sold at local markets. Here we provide further insights into this illegal wildlife trade activity. Specifically, we show that inmates at Mocovi prison in Trinidad purchase skins of jaguars and other wild animals directly from hunters and from vendors at local markets. Goods (wallets, hats and purses) produced from the skins are sold back to vendors by the inmates to provide income for their daily sustenance. Testimony from an inmate also stated that large bulk orders for wildlife products had been received from a non-Bolivian client base. The San Borja municipality in Beni was indicated as a key location where jaguars are being targeted for their skins to supply the illegal production of wildlife products in Mocovi prison. Further studies are required to determine the extent of this illegal activity in Mocovi prison and other prisons in Bolivia, and in other Latin American countries

Trade in African Grey Parrots for Belief-Based Use: Insights From West Africa's Largest Traditional Medicine Market

Over 1.2 million wild-sourced African Grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus) have reportedly been traded internationally since the 1970s, the majority of which were taken from the wild with serious implications for conservation, animal welfare, and biosecurity. While international trade has mostly been for the pet trade, in some West African countries, Grey parrots are also consumed for belief-based use. However, to date there has been little research into the scale and scope of this trade and its drivers. Here, we explore multiple facets of the trade in Grey parrots for belief-based use through interviews with five vendors at the largest “fetish” market of West Africa in Togo. We focus on understanding the purpose of medicinal and spiritual use of Grey parrots, and the socio-economic dimensions of this trade. Parrot heads were the most valuable and most frequently traded body part over the last year (2017), sold primarily for the medicinal purpose of helping to “improve memory.” Feathers were the most common transaction for spiritual use, largely purchased for “attracting clients”, “love”, and to “help with divorce”. Whole parrots and parrot heads had also been traded for spiritual use, mainly for “good luck” and “protection from witchcraft”. Our findings suggest ~900 Grey parrots were traded over the past 10 years in the market. Most vendors perceived an increase in the rarity of Grey parrot body parts over the past 5 years, which may reflect increased restrictions on international trade and/or the deteriorating state of wild populations. Although the sale of feathers collected from beneath roosting sites does not negatively impact wild populations, the relatively low value of these parts compared with other parrot derivatives and live parrots, suggests there may be minimal opportunity to leverage market mechanisms to protect wild populations through sustainable use. We identify a need for further investigations to examine the complex relationship between capture to supply the international pet market, a process in which many parrots die, and the local trade in belief-based use of derivatives

Seeking serpents: ball python trade in Benin, West Africa

Ball pythons are traded as bushmeat, leather and belief-based medicine in West Africa, and specimens are exported in large numbers for the exotic pet trade. Here, we focused on understanding the purpose and socio-economic context of this trade in Benin through interviews with 44 actors involved in the trade of this species. We provided a snapshot of trade dynamics during a period when hunters are not predominantly actively involved in supplying eggs, neonates and gravid females for ranching and export as exotic pets. Our findings revealed that hunters and traders were largely focused on supplying the bushmeat and medicine markets in West Africa during this time. We estimated that the 21 collectors engaged in hunting in our study collectively hunt between 576 and 5,083 ball pythons from the wild each year. Collection rates reported by some suggests that they could earn more than 15,000 USD from ball python sales in bushmeat markets annually. Ball pythons hunted in Benin were mainly sold to local customers as “bushmeat” (53%) or for belief-based uses (39%) (including “fetish”, “medicinal products” and “voodoo”). However, cross-border trade with neighboring countries of Togo, Nigeria, and Ghana (or even further) also occurred. Although profitable for some, the scale of this practice, together with the widely reported decline in ball python populations in Benin, raises concern about the sustainability and long-term economic viability of this type of large-scale commercial wildlife trade in West Africa, especially as it occurs alongside extensive ranching practices to support the exotic pet trade

On the Record: An Analysis of Exotic Pet Licences in the UK

Keeping exotic pets has become a popular habit in the UK in recent decades. Yet, information on the current scale of the trade and the diversity of animals involved is lacking. Here, we review the licensed sale of amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals as exotic pets in the UK, identifying current geographical hotspots of trader activity, data gaps, and compliance issues related to this trade. In terms of trade volume, records showed large numbers of individual wild animals, across a wide range of species groups, are being legally sold in the UK. Maximum numbers of exotic pets permitted for sale included 54,634 amphibians, 64,810 reptiles, 23,507 birds, and 6479 mammals. Moreover, nearly 2000 pet traders located in 283 different local authority areas had permission to sell exotic pets. The scope and scale of the trade draws additional attention to the substantial animal welfare challenges associated with it, and our review serves to highlight several shortcomings associated with the licensed exotic pet trade in the UK. Pet shop licences often lacked detailed information about the specific type and number of animals permitted for sale, which raises compliance concerns and hinders efforts to carry out adequate inspection and monitoring. Ninety-five pet traders in England had been given a one star rating, indicating ‘minor failings’ in animal welfare, and some local authorities in England were still operating under the old Pet Animals Act (1951). We recommend that resources should be prioritised and focused towards local authorities in England that are not operating under the new Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations (2018), and that local authorities should improve data reporting on all licenses issued to aid inspection and monitoring

Taking stock of wildlife farming: A global perspective

To meet the global demand for the commercial trade of wildlife and wildlife derived products, wild animals are captured from wild populations or farmed. ‘Wildlife farming’ refers to commercial captive breeding or ranching wild animals in captivity with the intent to generate financial profit. Many countries encourage farming of wild animals to capitalize from consumer demand for wildlife products alongside the belief that captive breeding practises help to protect wild populations by reducing the pressure on the number of animals captured directly from the wild. However, wildlife farming is associated with concerns relating to animal welfare, public health and biodiversity conservation, and case studies demonstrate that farming wildlife does not necessarily alleviate pressure on wild populations. The global scale of wildlife farming, and hence its impact, is currently unknown. Here, we obtained data from published literature to compile a database of wildlife farmed during the period 2000 – 2020. We also obtained data from Freedom of Information requests to a small number of countries for wildlife farmed during 2021 – 2022. Our results demonstrate that at least 487 wildlife species are farmed across the world, comprised of at least 27 amphibians, 133 reptiles, 249 birds, and 79 mammals. Of these documented species, 34% are considered either Near Threatened, Vulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, and 62% are listed on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Appendices. Data pertaining to the number of farmed individuals for each species was even more difficult to determine, but reports of between 936,321,047 and 963,711,547 individual farmed wild animals were recorded in the literature. Commercial breeding operations were recorded in 90 countries worldwide. We suggest that the true number of farmed wildlife is likely to be far higher than the data compiled in our database due to the paucity of publicly available information on this topic and the challenges we faced obtaining data from relevant authorities. We discuss the implications of the scale of the industry, its inadequate transparency, and its relevance for the trade of wild animals and their derivatives as commercial products. To our knowledge this is the first attempt in the literature to summarise the global scope and scale of commercial wildlife farming. We hope this initial inventory can provide insight into the full extent of this industry and its impact on wild animals globally

Elephant ‘selfies’: Evaluating the effectiveness of Instagram’s warning of the potential negative impacts of photo opportunities with wild animals

Wildlife tourist attractions offering opportunities to observe, touch, and interact with wild animals, are visited by millions of people every year. Wildlife tourism has considerable economic value in many countries and can have positive impacts on wild animal populations (e.g. through habitat protection); it can also have negative impacts on population conservation and individual welfare (due to, e.g. habitat encroachment, disturbance, or disease). The recent phenomenon of ‘wildlife selfies’ shared on social media may seem harmless but can involve animals illegally or unsustainably captured from the wild, kept in poor conditions, or subject to cruel treatment. To address this issue, Instagram introduced a pop-up alert system that is triggered when users search for wild animal selfie hashtags (e.g. #elephantselfie), warning of the potential negative impacts of wildlife selfies on wild animals. Using elephant selfies as a case study, we found that Instagram’s alert was triggered by only 2% of 244 elephant selfie-related hashtags tested. By comparing three pairs of similar hashtags (one of each pair that triggered the warning and one that did not), we were unable to detect a consistent difference in the type of post using each of the hashtags, the popularity of posts, or the sentiment of viewer comments. The warning is not shown when posting an image, or if a post is viewed directly by a follower, only if the post is encountered via a hashtag search. Currently, what is portrayed on social media appears to be inconsistent with apparent recent shifts in social acceptibilty regarding tourism, particularly as concerns direct contact between tourists and elephants. Instagram’s wildlife selfie initiative was commendable but given its apparent lack of effect, we urge Instagram and other social platforms to do more to prevent harmful content from being posted on their platforms and to promote fair, ethical and sustainable interactions between wild animals and people