Environmental psychology must better integrate local cultural and sociodemographic context to inform conservation

UID/ANT/04038/2013 EXPL/IVC-ANT/0997/2013publishersversionpublishe

Field Guide

UIDB/04038/2020 UIDP/04038/2020 UID/ANT/04038/2019With chimpanzees inhabiting increasingly anthropogenic landscapes, understanding the sustainability of their interactions with people is crucial for biodiversity conservation and human wellbeing. In depth understanding of the co-utilisation of wild resources by humans and chimpanzees can be incorporated into landscape, regional and national conservation policy that acknowledges the needs of both (Bersacola et al. 2018). This enables evidence-based recommendations for the sustainable exploitation of wild plants, especially those heavily used. For example, it can reveal which plant species should be prioritised for replanting in corridors between forest fragments and which should be afforded additional protection to ensure their persistence and long-term sustainable use by humans and chimpanzees. The western chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus) is classified as critically endangered by the IUCN and is an important flagship species for conservation in Guinea-Bissau (Sousa 2015). The diet of chimpanzees can consist of hundreds of different plant species, with inter-community differences in species consumed and their importance in diet. In addition to feeding, chimpanzees use wild plants for various other reasons, including to make tools, to access resources such as honey, and to construct nests whereby the branches and leaves of plants are broken and bent, then interwoven into a circular sleeping structure. Several chimpanzee communities are present in the central-southern forests of Cantanhez National Park (Hockings and Sousa 2013). This field guide focuses on one community of chimpanzees at Caiquene-Cadique with a home range of approximately 12.7 km 2 some of which lies in proximity to agricultural areas and human settlements (Bessa et al. 2015). 6 7 The human communities involved in this study were Nalu and Balanta from the villages of Caiquene, Cadique Nalu and Cabdaia. They possess in-depth botanical knowledge and have complex agroeconomic systems. The importance of wild plant resources is recognised by local people as they rely on these for reasons including their subsistence and medicinal needs, as well as for construction and fuel. Certain plants are also used in rituals and ceremonies. For this reason, plants are both vital to survival and hold cultural values (Parathian et al. 2018). Humans and chimpanzees at this site show extensive overlap in habitat selection, with both using areas inside and outside the main forest blocks. Up to now, the overlap in wild resource use by people and chimpanzees has received limited scientific attention. To examine this in shared landscapes is methodologically challenging, and requires knowledge of plants available in a habitat, and the systematic and simultaneous collection of empirical data on human and chimpanzee resource use. To do this accurately requires bridging disciplinary research approaches and expertisepublishersversionpublishe

Guia de Campo

UID/ANT/04038/2019 UIDB/04038/2020 UIDP/04038/2020Com os chimpanzés a habitarem territórios cada vez mais antropogénicos, é crucial compreender a sustentabilidade das suas interações com as pessoas para a conservação da biodiversidade e para garantir o bem-estar humano. Uma compreensão aprofundada da co-utilização de recursos vegetais por seres humanos e chimpanzés pode ser incorporada numa política de conservação, ao nível regional e nacional, que reconheça as necessidades de ambos (Bersacola et al. 2018). Isso permite elaborar recomendações, baseadas em evidências científicas, para a exploração sustentável de plantas silvestres, especialmente das espécies recorrentemente usadas. Por exemplo, pode revelar que espécies de plantas devem ser priorizadas para replantar os corredores entre fragmentos florestais e quais devem receber proteção adicional para garantir a sua persistência e uso sustentável a longo prazo por humanos e chimpanzés. O chimpanzé ocidental (Pan troglodytes verus) está classificado como ameaçado pela UICN e é uma espécie bandeira importante para a conservação na Guiné-Bissau (Sousa 2015). A dieta dos chimpanzés pode consistir em centenas de espécies vegetais diferentes, constatando-se diferenças entre comunidades nas espécies consumidas e na sua importância na dieta. Além da alimentação, os chimpanzés usam plantas silvestres por várias outras razões, inclusive para criar ferramentas para aceder a recursos como o mel, mas também para construir ninhos, para os quais os galhos e as folhas de árvores são quebrados, dobrados e entrelaçados, criando uma estrutura circular onde dormem. Várias comunidades de chimpanzés estão presentes nas florestas do centro-sul do Parque Nacional Cantanhez (PNC) (Hockings e Sousa 2013). Este Guia de Campo concentra-se na comunidade de chimpanzés de Caiquene-Cadique, que ocupa uma área de aproximadamente 12,7 km2, situando-se parte do seu território nas proximidades de áreas agrícolas e povoações humanas (Bessa et al. 2015). As comunidades humanas envolvidas no estudo, das povoações de Caiquene, Cadique Nalu e Cabdaia, são dos grupos étnicos nalu e balanta e detêm um profundo conhecimento botânico e complexos sistemas agro económicos. Os recursos vegetais são cruciais para a população local, uma vez que suprem as suas necessidades de subsistência e medicinais, sendo ainda usados na construção e como combustível. Algumas plantas são igualmente usadas em cerimónias e rituais religiosos. Assim, as plantas são vitais para a sobrevivência e detêm um significativo valor cultural (Parathian et al. 2018). Neste contexto, constata-se uma ampla sobreposição da seleção de habitats por seres humanos e chimpanzés, usando áreas dentro e fora das principais manchas florestais. Até ao momento, a sobreposição do uso de recursos selvagens por pessoas e chimpanzés recebeu pouca atenção científica. Estudá-lo em paisagens compartilhadas é metodologicamente desafiador e requer o conhecimento das plantas disponíveis nos diferentes habitats, além da recolha sistemática e simultânea de dados empíricos sobre o uso de recursos por humanos e chimpanzés. Para realizar de forma aprofundada este tipo de estudos é necessário cruzar abordagens e conhecimentos de diferentes disciplinas, ou seja, realizar uma pesquisa interdisciplinar.publishersversionpublishe

Developing an Evidence-Based Coexistence Strategy to Promote Human and Wildlife Health in a Biodiverse Agroforest Landscape

UIDB/04038/2020 UIDP/04038/2020Agroforest mosaics represent one of the most extensive human-impacted terrestrial systems worldwide and play an increasingly critical role in wildlife conservation. In such dynamic shared landscapes, coexistence can be compromised if people view wildlife as a source of infectious disease. A cross-disciplinary One Health knowledge base can help to identify evolving proponents and threats to sustainable coexistence and establish long-term project goals. Building on an existing knowledge base of human–wildlife interactions at Cantanhez National Park (NP), Guinea-Bissau, we developed a causal pathway Theory-of-Change approach in response to a newly identified disease threat of leprosy in the Critically Endangered western chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus). The goals of our project are to improve knowledge and surveillance of leprosy in humans and wildlife and increase capacity to manage human–wildlife interactions. We describe the core project activities that aim to (1) quantify space use by chimpanzees across Cantanhez NP and determine the distribution of leprosy in chimpanzees; (2) understand the health system and local perceptions of disease; and (3) identify fine-scale risk sites through participatory mapping of resources shared by humans and chimpanzees across target villages. We discuss the development of a biodiversity and health monitoring programme, an evidence-based One Health campaign, and a One Health environmental management plan that incorporates the sharing of space and resources, and the disease implications of human–non-human great ape interactions. We demonstrate the importance of multi-stakeholder engagement, and the development of strategy that fully considers interactions between people, wildlife, and the environment.publishersversionpublishe

A Case Study from the Colombian Amazon

UID/ANT/04038/2019It is now widely accepted that research about people and their interactions with wildlife provides unique and significant contributions that enhance our understanding of interspecies relationships in tropical forests. Studying human-nonhuman relationships involves not only the gaining of in-depth knowledge about local beliefs, values, and practices, but also the examination of the cosmopolitan identities of individuals as well as the impact of social and cultural processes of globalisation. Hence, it is imperative to explore the complexity of local communities living in protected areas. In this study, I consider the impact of community-based conservation (CBC) within Amazonianist societies and discuss how Western human-centred ideals of conservation can be made complementary to existing indigenous belief systems, sometimes resulting in unique and insightful outcomes. I present a case study showing how two Tikuna communities in the Colombian Amazon adopt transcultural beliefs and display innovation and resilience in the face of environmental and cultural change, and how these processes generate attitudes towards conservation initiatives and influence local livelihoods that are transformed by conservation efforts. I suggest that acknowledging indigenous populations as changing groups with dynamic, practical understandings of humans and nonhumans is a vital step towards identifying solutions to socioecological problems, where the needs of people and wildlife are met simultaneously.publishersversionpublishe