Thora Martina Herrmann

Values, animal symbolism, and human-animal relationships associated to two threatened felids in Mapuche and Chilean local narratives

BackgroundThe Chilean temperate rainforest has been subjected to dramatic fragmentation for agriculture and forestry exploitation. Carnivore species are particularly affected by fragmentation and the resulting resource use conflicts with humans. This study aimed at understanding values and human-animal relationships with negatively perceived threatened carnivores through the disclosure of local stories and Mapuche traditional folktales.MethodsOur mixed approach comprised the qualitative analysis of 112 stories on the kodkod cat (Leopardus guigna) and the puma (Puma concolor) collected by students (9-14 years) from 28 schools in the Araucania region within their family contexts, 10 qualitative in-depth interviews with indigenous Mapuche people, 35 traditional Mapuche legends, and the significance of naming found in ethnographic collections.ResultsWe revealed a quasi-extinction of traditional tales in the current knowledge pool about pumas and kodkods, local anecdotes, however, were present in significant numbers. Values associated to both felids were manifold, ranging from negativistic to positive values. While pumas played an important role in people’s spirituality, negative mythological connotations persisted in kodkod stories. Four prominent relationships were derived: (1) Both felids represent threats to livestock, pumas even to life, (2) both felids are symbols for upcoming negative events, (3) pumas are spiritual creatures, and (4) kodkods are threatened by humans. Recommendations are provided for stimulating new ways of perceiving unpopular and threatened carnivores among those who live in vicinity to them.

Changing forest conservation and management paradigms: traditional ecological knowledge systems and sustainable forestry: Perspectives from Chile and India

This paper first explores the shift now occurring in the science that provides the theoretical basis for forest conservation and management. The paper then presents the concepts of traditional ecological knowledge and traditional management systems and practise to provide background for two case studies that examine traditional knowledge and forest management practices of tribal communities in the Sariska region (Rajasthan, India) and of the indigenous Mapuche Pewenhce communities in the Andean mountains of southern Patagonia in Chile, underlining the special relationship these tribal and indigenous communities maintain with the forest and their usefulness in community-based native forest conservation. These examples of traditional ecological knowledge and traditional management systems suggest that it is important to focus on managing ecological processes, instead of products, and to use integrated ecosystem management. Recommendations to move forest management paradigms beyond the current view of ‘timber’ or ‘reserves’ and toward one of truly integrated use that adapt conservation approaches to local cultural representations of the environment are made.

Effects of mining on reindeer/caribou populations and indigenous livelihoods: community-based monitoring by Sami reindeer herders in Sweden and First Nations in Canada

This paper explores the effects of human disturbances associated with mine development in the Arctic on habitat and populations of reindeer/caribou (both Rangifer tarandus), and implications for reindeer husbandry and caribou hunting of indigenous Sami people in Sweden and First Nations in Canada. Through three case studies, we illustrate how Cree and Naskapi communities develop community-based geospatial information tools to collect field data on caribou migration and habitat changes, and how Sami reindeer herders use GIS to gather information about reindeer husbandry to better communicate impacts of mining on reindeer grazing areas. Findings indicate impacts on the use of disturbed habitat by reindeer/caribou, on migration routes, and northern livelihoods. The three cases present novel methods for community-based environmental monitoring, with applications in hazards mapping and denote the active engagement of indigenous communities in polar environmental assessments, generating community-oriented data for land use management decisions. They also illustrate how technology can lead to better communication and its role for empowerment.

The role of digital data entry in participatory environmental monitoring

Many argue that monitoring conducted exclusively by scientists is insufficient to address ongoing environmental challenges. One solution entails the use of mobile digital devices in participatory monitoring (PM) programs. But how digital data entry affects programs with varying levels of stakeholder participation, from nonscientists collecting field data to nonscientists administering every step of a monitoring program, remains unclear. We reviewed the successes, in terms of management interventions and sustainability, of 107 monitoring programs described in the literature (hereafter programs) and compared these with case studies from our PM experiences in Australia, Canada, Ethiopia, Ghana, Greenland, and Vietnam (hereafter cases). Our literature review showed that participatory programs were less likely to use digital devices, and 2 of our 3 more participatory cases were also slow to adopt digital data entry. Programs that were participatory and used digital devices were more likely to report management actions, which was consistent with cases in Ethiopia, Greenland, and Australia. Programs engaging volunteers were more frequently reported as ongoing, but those involving digital data entry were less often sustained when data collectors were volunteers. For the Vietnamese and Canadian cases, sustainability was undermined by a mismatch in stakeholder objectives. In the Ghanaian case, complex field protocols diminished monitoring sustainability. Innovative technologies attract interest, but the foundation of effective participatory adaptive monitoring depends more on collaboratively defined questions, objectives, conceptual models, and monitoring approaches. When this foundation is built through effective partnerships, digital data entry can enable the collection of more data of higher quality. Without this foundation, or when implemented ineffectively or unnecessarily, digital data entry can be an additional expense that distracts from core monitoring objectives and undermines project sustainability. The appropriate role of digital data entry in PM likely depends more on the context in which it is used and less on the technology itself.

Biodiversity Conservation versus Rural Development: What Kind of Possible Harmonization? The Case Study of Alwar District, Rajasthan, India

Abstract The recent development in biodiversity conservation policy and the creation of protected areas in many developing countries have often brought about a conflict between local populations, their domestic government and development institutions. These policies have very often ignored the dependence of local communities on natural resources for their day-to-day lives and have contributed to their marginalization. The conservation of natural resources is closely linked to the sustainable development of rural communities. As a result, ecosystem conservation is not only important from an ecological point of view but also includes a dimension of equality and social justice. This article aims to explore the conditions that can enable the integration of conservation objectives with those of rural development. The Sariska Reserve presents an example of a successful community based on conservation initiative. The study of these local communities, their integration with forest ecosystem and their management and conservation system of natural resources, represents a case-in-point for the conception of new conservation approaches.

MAGELLANIC PENGUIN (SPHENISCIDAE) MONITORING RESULTS FOR MAGDALENA ISLAND (CHILE) 2000 - 2008

Los pinguinos de Magallanes (Spheniscus mageuanicus) se encuentran solo en Sudamerica, con poblaciones reproductivas en Chile, Argentina y las islas Malvinas (Falkland Is.). Uno de los sitios de cria de pinguinos de Magallanes mas grande de Chile esta situado en la isla Magdalena, en el estrecho de Magallanes. La isla ha sido designada como monumento natural por su importancia como sitio de cria de pinguinos; y es administrada por la Corporacion Nacional Forestal. La isla es un popular destino turistico, y el pinguino de Magallanes esta expuesto a las crecientes actividades humanas. Para poder proteger esta ave marina y para poder asegurar el uso sustentable de este monumento natural como recurso turistico, se establecio en la isla Magdalena un programa de monitoreo de pinguinos a largo plazo desde 1998. Dentro de este programa se realizan censos anuales de poblacion, se monitorea el exito reproductivo, tasas de sobrevivencia de huevos y polluelos, se cuantifican los efectos de las visitas y molestias humanas en el comportamiento y la reproduccion de la especie. En este articulo presentamos los resultados del monitoreo a largo-plazo efectuado entre 2000 y 2008.

Roost sites and communal behavior of Andean condors in Chile.

The Andean condor (Vultur gryphus) is an endangered species. Even southern Patagonia, home to the most stable and abundant populations of Andean condors, is witnessing increasing pressure from development and tourism. Taking the case of Torres del Paine National Park, in the Chilean Patagonia, we examine monitoring of condor populations at roosting sites and communal bird behavior in response to humans as an effective tool for bird conservation within protected areas. Based on field data collected throughout 2007, we identify new roosting places, explore activity patterns and population characteristics of free‐ranging and roosting Andean condors, examine bird behavior in response to humans, and analyze the current and likely future ecological impacts of tourism on the condor population and its habitat. Our results reveal that the impact of tourism is still low and that the Andean condors do not seem to be declining in numbers in the park but that the importance of roosts and animal behavior in response to humans must be considered for future monitoring, bird‐conservation planning, and ecotourism management.

Listening to Inuit and Naskapi peoples in the eastern Canadian Subarctic: a quantitative comparison of local observations with gridded climate data

For Inuit and Naskapi living in the eastern Canadian Subarctic, local meteorological and environmental conditions (e.g., snow and ice cover extent, thickness, and duration) play a key role as they affect subsistence activities such as fishing, hunting, trapping, and harvesting. In this study, we first documented locally observed changes in meteorological and environmental conditions made by members of the Inuit communities of Kangiqsualujjuaq (Québec) and Nain (Newfoundland and Labrador) and the Naskapi Nation of Kawawachikamach (Québec). We then examined spatiotemporal trends in gridded meteorological variables, most notably air temperature and precipitation, publicly available online. We compared Naskapi and Inuit observations with meteorological variables using a novel statistical approach to answer the question: how do locally observed changes in meteorological and environmental conditions relate to spatiotemporal trends in gridded meteorological variables? We used an adapted consensus index to measure the level of agreement in participants’ observations and assess the efficacy and utility of converting qualitative statements into quantitative measures for use in statistical models. Our results indicate that all three communities observed changes in meteorological and environmental conditions and that our consensus indices appropriately translated community observations. Participants from all three communities agreed that winter air temperatures are warmer, that the quantity of snow is diminishing, that freeze-up occurs later in the fall, and that precipitation patterns are changing. In contrast to Kangiqsualujjuaq and Kawawachikamach, participants from Nain observed that summer air temperatures have cooled. Through the analysis of gridded meteorological variables, we identified increases in annual mean and seasonal air temperatures and in total annual precipitation, particularly between 1990 and 2009. When analyzing both community observations and spatiotemporal trends in gridded meteorological variables, we found consensus regarding subjective changes and quantitative changes in mean air temperature and total precipitation.

Cree Hunters’ Observations on Resources in the Landscape in the Context of Socio-Environmental Change in the Eastern James Bay

Abstract This article examines the understanding of Cree hunters in relation to shifts in landscape resources and in particular the availability of two key subsistence wildlife species (i.e. Canada geese and woodland caribou) as a result of climatic and socio-environmental changes and their subsequent impacts on Cree subsistence activities and Cree culture. These results are based on questionnaires and interviews conducted among Cree hunters of the Eastern James Bay. Findings indicate that a number of Cree are concerned with changes in the physical landscape, in sociocultural and intergenerational dynamics as well as shifts in wildlife distribution, which are impacting their ability to use the land and to maintain traditional subsistence activities. This research provides a deeper understanding of current and future trends in the Crees relationship with landscape resources in the context of continuing change, necessary to future development of appropriate adaptation and landscape planning strategies to cope with occurring changes.

The environment of the Nunavimmiut as seen through their own eyes

abstract This article reports the views, feelings and day-to-day experience of the Arctic environment by the Inuit people of Nunavik (Quebec, Canada), looking at the multiple dimensions of their surroundings. It focuses on understanding and characterising contemporary Inuit relationships with the environment, the meaning and the values given to the latter, and how they are evolving. Adopting a methodology that combines multi-generational Inuit photography, two short films by Inuit youth, interviews, and group discussions at community screenings provides an understanding of Inuit-environment interlinkages and brings forward an Indigenous representation of the Arctic. Analyses highlight how different generations express: (i) the characteristics of the environment as defined and perceived from the Inuit point of view; (ii) how Inuit-environment interlinkages sustain well-being, and (iii) how Inuit-environment interlinkages evolve in response to socio-environmental changes. Despite the major environmental and social changes experienced by the Nunavik Inuit over the past 50 years, their link to the environment remains rooted in history and tinted by their holistic viewpoint.