Decolonizing Primate Conservation Practice: A Case Study from North Morocco

Primate conservation: A public issue?

Nonhuman primates (primates) are one of the most endangered mammalian taxa in the world. In the Global North, primates are considered exotic species and, as such, humans' impact on primate conservation and responsibility to protect primates is often ignored. This view differs from the spectrum of relations and attitudes of humans that live in connection to primates, which can include viewing these animals as culturally/religiously significant, cohabitors of forests, nuisances, or sources of protein. While conservationists argue that primates deserve our protection, the conservation crisis facing primates is rarely framed as a public issue, in contrast to other global crises, such as climate change. However, over half of the world's human population lives within 100 km of primate habitat. Thus, humans and primates share the same environments. We suggest leveraging a holistic approach, such as One Health, that considers the interconnectedness of primates, humans, and their shared environments, through the lens of public anthropology. By approaching primate conservation as an intersectional issue that affects and is affected by humans, researchers and conservationists can identify strategies that simultaneously protect primates and address global inequities that frequently affect people in primate range countries. Reflexive research practices further allow academics to consider the broader impact of their ecological research through means such as publicly accessible dissemination of results, equitable capacity-building of high-quality personnel in primate range countries, and social activism. The use of inter-, multi-, and transdisciplinary concepts and methodology can address the intersectional challenges associated with implementing ethical and sustainable primate conservation measures.

News and Perspectives: Words matter in primatology

Postings on social media on Twitter (now X), BioAnthropology News (Facebook), and other venues, as well as recent publications in prominent journals, show that primatologists, ecologists, and other researchers are questioning the terms "Old World" and "New World" due to their colonial implications and history. The terms are offensive if they result in erasing Indigenous voices and history, ignoring the fact that Indigenous peoples were in the Americas long before European colonization. Language use is not without context, but alternative terminology is not always obvious and available. In this perspective, we share opinions expressed by an international group of primatologists who considered questions about the use of these terms, whether primatologists should adjust language use, and how to move forward. The diversity of opinions provides insight into how conventional terms used in primatological research and conservation may impact our effectiveness in these domains.

Local Voices: Perspectives from the Local Community on the Primates of Kakamega Forest, Western Kenya

From the perspective of a field research team comprising members of the local community near a rain forest in western Kenya, we describe the relationship between local people and local primates. Local people generally have little knowledge about the natural history of the monkeys living nearby, with people living closer to the forest knowing more. Most have a negative attitude toward monkeys because they occasionally forage on agricultural crops. A few people value monkey meat, which they believe to enhance human health. Participating in research on the behavioral ecology of blue monkeys allowed the author team to learn a great deal about these animals, including their role in the forest ecosystem and their behavioral similarities to humans. This experience differentiates their attitudes from most other members of their local community. However, the attitudes of local people are changing along with lifestyles. With more children in school and adults finding paid work, local people today generally have less experience of the forest than previous generations. A more tolerant attitude toward monkeys, recognizing their role in the forest ecosystem and their similarities to humans, is emerging among those who have been taught about biodiversity. This perspective is likely to contribute to their successful conservation.

Mental health and well-being in primatology: Breaking the taboos

We hope to raise awareness of mental health and well-being among primatologists. With this aim in mind, we organized a workshop on mental health as part of the main program of the Winter meeting of the Primate Society of Great Britain in December 2021. The workshop was very well received. Here, we review the main issues raised in the workshop, and supplement them with our own observations, reflections, and reading. The information we gathered during the workshop reveals clear hazards to mental health and suggests that we must collectively acknowledge and better manage both the hazards themselves and our ability to cope with them if we are to avert disaster. We call on institutions and learned societies to lead in seeking solutions for the benefit of primatologists and primatology.

An overdue catalyst: Limitations imposed by COVID-19 improved capacity building in community-led environmental education in Madagascar

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus brought many primatology research programs and conservation efforts to a halt. After Madagascar closed its borders during March 2020, many on-site international project leaders and researchers returned to their home countries when their programs were delayed or canceled. Madagascar remained closed to travelers until November 2021, when it reopened to international flights. The 20-month absence of international researchers allowed many local Malagasy program staff, wildlife professionals, and community leaders to step into new leadership roles and responsibilities. Many programs that already had strong Malagasy leadership and meaningful collaborations with local communities flourished, while others either swiftly strengthened these attributes or faced challenges from pandemic-related travel restrictions. Here, we describe how the coronavirus pandemic events of 2020-2021 initiated long-overdue shifts in outdated models of internationally led primate research and education projects in communities living alongside primates at risk of extinction. We discuss the benefits and challenges of pandemic-induced changes within five primatological outreach projects, as well as how we can use these experiences to improve community-led environmental education and conservation awareness in the future.

"Not All Who Wander Are Lost": The Life Transitions and Associated Welfare of Pack Mules Walking the Trails in the Mountainous Gorkha Region, Nepal

Equids in general experience transient lives where ownership may change multiple times, for working equids this can be more extreme where ownership changes are not only numerous but abrupt, and situations encountered prove difficult, diverse and tough for equids to adapt. In this study, we investigate the life cycle of pack mules in Nepal, investigating the challenges they face during their lives through to end of life. To gain insight into the lives of mules, we conducted semi-structured interviews and livelihood surveys with 27 key informants, gathering the perspectives of the people working with mules. Welfare assessments of the mules were undertaken via the Equid Assessment Research and Scoping tool (EARS) by a trained assessor. Mules had to adapt swiftly to changes in industry type, enduring long distance transportation in overloaded vehicles and across country borders with no checks for biosecurity or welfare. Mules had to show swift adaptation to their new environment, to respond to and learn new tasks via inhumanely administered training, using inappropriate techniques, delivered by owners lacking in understanding of mule behaviour and learning. Environmental conditions were often hard; the negotiation of difficult terrain and challenging weather conditions during monsoon and subsequent high-altitude working without acclimatisation likely pushed mules to their biological limits. This study investigates the lives of a population of mules in the mountains of Nepal, developing a better understanding of their needs and their 'truth' or 'telos' informing what measures will help them to thrive.

Best practices are never best: Evaluating primate conservation education programs (PCEPs) with a decolonial perspective

Who do we aim to educate with primate conservation education programs (PCEPs)? In a commentary published in a recent AJP, Annette Lanjouw suggested that many efforts to "educate" habitat-country communities can be neocolonial in their approaches. Forest destruction and habitat loss are a result of global consumption and expansion. We therefore need to approach conservation education from many angles including local stakeholders, policy makers, government officials, and the humans living in industrialized nations who are major consumers of the items that shrink primate habitats. In this review, we investigate PCEPs to determine if the conservation education goals, education methods, and assessment processes are proceeding within a neocolonial context. We reviewed the last 20 years of primate conservation literature and looked for publications that were focused on education programs. We found that in 50 of 52 publications published between 2001 and 2021, the education programs take place in habitat-country local communities. We also reviewed primate field researcher and field site websites, and in most cases, education programs were also focused on educating local communities living near or in nonhuman primate habitats. Exceptions were student clubs, zoo programs, and a high school outreach program. Many PCEP providers presented a list of "lessons learned" and we compiled their wisdom in combination with our experience to provide a framework for moving forward. We conclude that as conservation primatologists, we must think beyond our field sites to create opportunities for educational outreach. We can reach global consumers by linking to zoos, television/motion picture, print media, social media, and working with schools on curricula. Primatologists can engage our undergraduates to establish clubs and create meaningful assignments that reach beyond the classroom. We encourage primatologists from the Global North to consider their positionality and the history of conservation exclusion in their attempts to conserve primates.

Is Yuan in China's Three Gorges a Gibbon or a Langur?

Clarifying the scientific identity of ancient biological names in historical archives is essential to understand traditional knowledge and literary metaphors of animals in human culture. Adopting a cross-disciplinary (Primatology, Linguistics, Historiography, Historical Sociology) analysis, we developed a theoretical framework for studies of the scientific identity of Chinese primate traditional names (e.g., Yuan _猿) throughout history, and interpret the historical evolution of the understanding of the Chinese word Yuan. Presently, the Chinese generally understand Yuan to be a gibbon (or “ape” in a broader sense), but this statement has many contradictions with the understanding of the word in relevant historical discourse. We review and comment on key evidence to support the traditional understanding of Yuan as a gibbon (Hylobatidae) and clarify the historical and current thought concerning Yuan. We find that the referent of the word Yuan has changed from “François’ langur (Trachypithecus francoisi) with long limbs” to the “long-armed ape or gibbon” known today through two major changes in the idea of Yuan. One transformation in the conceptualization of Yuan took place during the Tang-Song period, with the other beginning at the end of the nineteenth century and ending in the 1950s. An interaction between the conceptualization of animals and power (e.g., political opportunity; cultural movement toward learning western sciences in the semi-colonial era) played an important role in these two diachronic changes to the idea of Yuan. In contrast to the clear linear relation between a species and its Latin name, our study indicates that one traditional name can represent varying animal species in China. Our findings exemplify the implications of the sociocultural and linguistic basis for the species identification of primate names found in historical discourse for historical zoogeography, our understanding of the intricate cultural and religious connections between humans and primates, and efforts to decolonize primatology.

Guidelines to Facilitate Human-Wildlife Interactions in Conservation Translocations

Species reintroductions and translocations are widely used management interventions to restore locally extinct or augment severely depleted species. In such projects, the human dimension issues that influence the success of these conservation interventions are encountered at five different stages of the project life cycle: (1) planning, (2) initiation, (3) implementation, (4) ending stage, and (5) post-exit. Overlooking or failing to consider the human dimension in any of these phases could jeopardise the conservation translocation project's success. When the human dimensions are included there is greater possibility of community involvement, peers' acceptance and support from various interest groups and avoidance of conflict situations. The Human-Wildlife Interactions Working Group (HWIWG) was formed in 2018 by members of the IUCN Conservation Translocation Specialist Group (CTSG). HWIWG has facilitated online discussions and workshops with practitioners, researchers and academics from across the globe, on a range of aspects of human-wildlife interactions in conservation translocations, as well as leading discussion sessions during international research conferences. These events have provided a rich source of material from which to draw a series of recommendations. In this paper we discuss findings from the HWIWG that illustrate how, in each of the five stages of the project life cycle, human-dimensions influenced conservation translocation projects. Our aim is to provide useful and multidimensional insights for those working in species' reintroductions and translocations.

Working from the Inside Out: Fostering Intrinsic Motivation and Expanding Our Criteria for Conservation Success

Primatological research is often associated with understanding animals and their habitats, yet practical conservation depends entirely on human actions. This encompasses the activities of Indigenous and local people, conservationists, and NGOs working on the ground, as well as more remote funders and policymakers. In this paper we explore what it means to be a conservationist in the 2020s. While many primatologists accept the benefits of more socially inclusive dimensions of research and conservation practice, in reality there remain many challenges. We discuss the role primatologists can play to enhance interdisciplinary working and their relationships with communities living in and around their study sites, and examine how increased reflexivity and consideration of one’s positionality can improve primatological practice. Emphasis on education and stakeholder consultation may still echo colonial, top-down dialogues, and the need for greater emphasis on genuine knowledge-sharing among all stakeholders should be recognised. If we are sincere about this approach, we might need to redefine how we see, consider, and define conservation success. We may also have to embrace more compromises. By evaluating success in conservation we explore how reflexive engagements with our positionality and equitable knowledge-sharing contribute to fostering intrinsic motivation and building resilience.