Tackling issues of coexistence between protected areas and communal lands: from a role playing game to an agent based model

Coexistence between actors living in a common environment is a recurrent issue throughout the world. In southern Africa, issues at the interface between agriculture and conservation are inescapable. Livestock herding for instance is a particularly relevant phenomenon to consider if one wants to study coexistence between protected areas and farming households leaving on their edges. Role playing games and agent based model can be used both to elicit local knowledge and strategies, and also to simulate the possible evolution of a given system. In this presentation we propose to describe a work conducted with farmers and livestock herders living in what we define as the Hwange National Park-Sikumi Forest SES (HNP-SF-SES), Zimbabwe. In our study area, cattle are driven within one of the protected areas (SF) throughout the year, resulting in (i) cattle predation by wild predators, and (ii) concerns about the capacity of the SF to effectively conserve wild herbivores. In order to better understand herders' strategies, we co-designed a role playing game with 10 members of this community. Such game is a tool that allows us to elicit herding practices, and to test different scenarios (e.g. climatic variations, alternative governance rules). We assume that a co-designed game will better represent players' reality, thus enhancing appropriation and finally allowing us to collect relevant data. The design process is already a direct first step towards an agent Based model as we co-formalized the local environment with the design team. Results of the playing sessions will be presented, so will the process of translating them into an autonomous agent based model used to simulate possible trajectories of our studied system

Interfaces faune-bétail dans les socio-écosystèmes de savane

Mon projet de recherches a pour but de comprendre les interactions entre les animaux sauvages et domestiques, afin de mieux gérer leurs conséquences épidémiologiques, écologiques et socio-économiques. Mes travaux ont associé plusieurs disciplines, notamment l'écologie et l'épidémiologie, mais également la parasitologie et les sciences humaines. J'ai travaillé sur ces questions à travers deux modèles : les ongulés sauvages et le bétail en Afrique australe (1993-98 puis 2007-2014), et les espèces animales envahissantes en Nouvelle-Calédonie (2000-2006). Mes recherches ont porté sur l'écologie des ongulés sauvages et domestiques, notamment les préférences alimentaires et la sélection de l'habitat, et sur les relations entre ces interactions écologiques et la transmission de parasites (tiques) entre la faune et le bétail. En parallèle, j'ai également participé à des études sur la perception de la faune par les populations locales et la fourniture de viande de brousse, au Zimbabwe et en Nouvelle-Calédonie, et sur la prise en compte des aspects culturels et nutritionnels associés aux espèces chassées dans la mise en place de plans de gestion pour les populations locales. De retour en Afrique australe, j'ai approfondi ces recherches sur l'écologie des interfaces faune-bétail, notamment par des suivis télémétriques simultanés de buffles et bovins sympatriques, mis en relation avec les niveaux d'infestation par divers parasites et pathogènes des animaux sauvages et domestiques, tels que la tuberculose bovine, la brucellose, la fièvre aphteuse et la fièvre de la vallée du rift. J'ai également eu l'occasion de m'intéresser à un système différent des grands ongulés, en travaillant sur la circulation de la grippe aviaire entre les oiseaux sauvages et domestiques. En adoptant une démarche comparative et interdisciplinaire focalisée sur l'analyse des mécanismes de transmission des maladies, mon ambition est d'appréhender les systèmes multi-hôtes par une approche fonctionnelle qui pourrait faciliter la compréhension des mécanismes épidémiologiques complexes en jeu au sein des systèmes socio-écologiques. Ces travaux m'ont permis de publier plus de 40 articles et 16 chapitres d'ouvrages, dont 1 ouvrage en tant que co-éditeur. (Résumé d'auteur

Transformation des herbivores sauvages africains en viande propre à la consommation pour les communautés locales. Utilisation durable de l'impala (Aepyceros melampus) dans le cadre du programme CAMPFIRE, Zimbabwe

La faune sauvage africaine a depuis longtemps été considérée comme une source potentielle de protéines animales pour les populations humaines. Mais les projets visant à la fourniture de viande de brousse se sont souvent heurtés à des contraintes majeures, notamment des problèmes liés à l'hygiène de la viande produite et au coût des mesures de santé publique. Le projet Nyama, qui opère dans le cadre du programme CAMPFIRE au Zimbabwe, avait pour but la fourniture régulière aux populations locales de la zone communale d'Omay (district de Nyaminyami, Zimbabwe) de viande d'impala (Aepyceros melampus) dans des conditions d'hygiène satisfaisant la réglementation nationale sur la santé publique. Le présent article décrit les innovations techniques (boucherie mobile et points de distribution de vente), la procédure suivie lors de l'abattage et de la préparation des carcasses et présente un bilan financier de ces activités durant la période de mise au point. En 1996, les moyens de production ont été transférés au Conseil du District qui assure depuis la continuité du projet. (Résumé d'auteur

Tackling issues of coexistence between protected areas and communal lands: Using Role playing games and participatory modeling to understand cattle herding strategies at the edge of a protected area

Coexistence and conflicts are common on the edges of protected areas. In our study area (Sikumi Forest, Zimbabwe), local communities use a protected area throughout the year to drive cattle. It results in (i) cattle predation by wild predators, and (ii) concerns about the capacity of the protected area to effectively conserve wild herbivores. To address the issue and better understand herders' strategies, we applied the companion modeling approach to co-design a role playing game with 10 members of this community. We demonstrate how such approach is adapted to the study of wicked environmental problems, and the benefits in terms of simulation of complex social-environmental dynamics. Through the co-design and implementation of the game, we obtained an endogenous formalization of the environment and human practices that can be used to simulate the interactions between the protected and the communal land. Based on this case study, we highlight the potential of participation at the edge of protected areas: addressing wicked problems and making research more robust by providing high quality information inputs; coping with incertitude; highlighting emerging properties of human/nature interactions. In terms of management, participatory processes should lead to higher quality decisions based on more complete information, and establish common trust and ground between local actors who have an opportunity to learn and appreciate each other's viewpoints. In the context of TFCAs, beyond their scientific value, such processes could participate to the transformation of adversarial relationships and help find new ways for local actors to work together. (Texte intégral

Community perceptions of free-roaming dogs and management practices in villages at the periphery of a protected area in Bhutan

In Bhutan, free-roamingdogs pose health hazards to human, livestock, andwildlife. Understanding the perceptions and practices of local communitiesregarding free-roaming dogs is important to mitigate negative impacts. A community-based study was conducted inthe buffer zone of Strict Nature Reserve, western Bhutan. The study was conducted in February-October 2018 using a household questionnairesurvey, 'free-listing'of dog diseases, group discussions and key-informantinterviews.A total of 140 householdsfromKatsho and Esuegeogs(sub-districts) were interviewed. People classify dogs under three categories: 'Gokhi'/petdog, 'Changkhi'/stray dog, and 'Shakhi'/feraldog. A higher proportion of rural people owned pet dogs, which were considered important to guard crops and livestock from wildlifeandprotect households'properties. Owning a dog also contributed significantly to the non-material well-beingof the respondents, especially in the rural villages. In contrast to the perceived positive impacts of the pet dogs,81%of the respondents considered stray and feral dogs a problem in thecommunity.The threats were attacks/bites by free-roaming dogs to humans, livestock and also wildlife. Rabies was the most frequently (69.7%) known dog diseases with the highest rank (1.46) in the list, followed by scabies (49.5%, rank1.52). The majority (56%) of the respondents indicated that stray and feral dogs originate from abandoned pet dogs. This study calls for a multi-sectorial/One Health approach to mitigate the threats posed by free-roaming dogs and more detailed ecological and epidemiological studies are required to control their impacts