Exploring Perceptions of Subsistence Farmers in Northwestern Zimbabwe Towards the African Lion (Panthera leo) in the Context of Local Conservation Actions

Towards equitable conservation: Social capital, fear and livestock loss shape perceived benefit from a protected area

Providing sufficient benefits to local people can be an important component of effective and equitable conservation, especially where local communities face substantial opportunity costs or disbenefits from conservation. However, the distribution of benefits to local people is often inadequate or inequitable. In this study we investigated the heterogeneity in the extent to which people living near Hwange National Park (HNP), Zimbabwe, perceive benefit from the presence of the park. Specifically, we examined the relationships between a diverse set of candidate predictor variables and perceived benefit from HNP. Our candidate predictor variables broadly relate to personal assets, social capital, value orientation, fear of lions, and belief and participation in human-wildlife conflict mitigation schemes. One third of respondents reported that their household experienced at least some benefits from HNP. Of all respondents, 6% perceived their household to benefit strongly from HNP and 2% very strongly. Livestock loss to wildlife was the most important factor for predicting perceived benefit, with those suffering more loss less likely to perceive benefit. Multiple demographic factors predicted perceived benefit with, for instance, older people and those with less education perceiving less benefit. Employment in conservation-related work positively affected perceived benefit, whereas fear of lions had a negative impact. Social capital appeared to have a positive influence on perceived benefit from HNP. The relationship between social capital and perceived benefit was positive and plateauing, which suggests that social capital is especially impactful on the benefit perceived by individuals reporting the least social capital. We also found a positive association between belief in compensation schemes and perceived benefit from HNP. We posit hypotheses for this association but are unable to determine the underlying drivers of this relationship. Finally, participation in the community guardians programme, a human-lion conflict mitigation programme, was positively related to perceived benefit from HNP. Thus, our findings emphasise the value of considering a diverse array of factors when investigating park-people relationships and yield insights for improving the equitability of conservation in and around HNP and similar systems.

An overview of reviews of conservation flagships: evaluating fundraising ability and surrogate power

The main role of flagship species in biodiversity conservation is to raise awareness and funds for conservation. Because of their marketing role, flagship species are often selected based on other than biodiversity related criteria, such as species charisma or aesthetic appeal. Nonetheless, funds raised through flagship species are often used to protect the species itself, making it important to evaluate the effectiveness of flagship species as conservation tools: For example, could superior fundraising ability outweigh the low biodiversity surrogate power of a flagship, justifying this ambivalent role in conservation? To assess flagship effectiveness from this dual perspective, we must synthesize evidence on a) the fundraising potential of flagship species vs. other conservation targets, such as ecosystems or biodiversity, and b) the biodiversity surrogate power of potential flagship taxa. We approached this broad topic through an overview of reviews on both subtopics. We found no evidence that charismatic flagship species were superior fundraisers over other conservation targets. In addition, studies evaluating the biodiversity surrogacy power of different taxa had mainly resulted in mixed findings, contesting the overall usefulness of the concept in conservation. The variability of study setups and methods made comparisons between studies difficult, highlighting the need to standardize future research (e.g., standardizing explanatory variables). Further possible reasons for lack of conclusive evidence on fundraising potential are the dominance of factors other than flagship identity (e.g., scope and conservation status) and differences in donor preferences. We recommend Environmental NGOs to develop and diversify their fundraising strategies based on best available knowledge, and rely less on mere species charisma.

Effectiveness of community-based livestock protection strategies: a case study of human–lion conflict mitigation

Conservation scientists are increasingly recognizing the need to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions to improve human–wildlife coexistence across different contexts. Here we assessed the long-term efficacy of the Long Shields Community Guardians programme in Zimbabwe. This community-based programme seeks to protect livestock and prevent depredation by lions Panthera leo through non-lethal means, with the ultimate aim of promoting human–lion coexistence. Using a quasi-experimental approach, we measured temporal trends in livestock depredation by lions and the prevalence of retaliatory killing of lions by farmers and wildlife managers. Farmers that were part of the Long Shields programme experienced a significant reduction in livestock loss to lions, and the annual number of lions subject to retaliatory killing by farmers dropped by 41% since the start of the programme in 2013, compared to 2008–2012, before the programme was initiated. Our findings demonstrate the Long Shields programme can be a potential model for limiting livestock depredation by lions. More broadly, our study demonstrates the effectiveness of community-based interventions to engage community members, improve livestock protection and ameliorate levels of retaliatory killing, thereby reducing human–lion conflict.

The importance of tangible and intangible factors in human-carnivore coexistence

Conflict with humans is one of the major threats facing the world's remaining large carnivore populations, and understanding human attitudes is key to improving coexistence. We surveyed people living near Hwange National Park about their attitudes toward coexisting with lions. We used ordinal regression models with the results of the survey to investigate the importance of a range of tangible and intangible factors on attitudes. The variables investigated included the costs and benefits of wildlife presence, emotion, culture, religion, vulnerability, risk perception, notions of responsibility, and personal value orientations. This was for the purpose of effectively tailoring conservation efforts but also for ethical policy making. Intangible factors (e.g., fear and ecocentric values) were as important as, if not more important than, tangible factors (such as livestock losses) for understanding attitudes, based on the effect sizes of these variables. The degree to which participants' fear of lions interfered with their daily activities was the most influential variable. The degree to which benefits accrue to households from the nearby protected area was also highly influential, as was number of livestock lost, number of dependents, ecocentric value orientation, and participation in conflict mitigation programs. Contrary to what is often assumed, metrics of livestock loss did not dominate attitudes to coexistence with lions. Furthermore, we found that socioeconomic variables may appear important when studied in isolation, but their effect may disappear when controlling for variables related to beliefs, perceptions, and past experiences. This raises questions about the widespread reliance on socioeconomic variables in the field of human-wildlife conflict and coexistence. To facilitate coexistence with large carnivores, we recommend measures that reduce fear (through education and through protective measures that reduce the need to be fearful), reduction of livestock losses, and ensuring local communities benefit from conservation. Ecocentric values also emerged as influential, highlighting the need to develop conservation initiatives tailored to local values.

Emotions and Cultural Importance Predict the Acceptance of Large Carnivore Management Strategies by Maasai Pastoralists

Management strategies to reduce human-carnivore conflict are most effective when accepted by local communities. Previous studies have suggested that the acceptance depends on emotions toward carnivores, the cultural importance of carnivores, and livestock depredation, and that it may vary depending on the types of strategies and carnivores involved. However, no study so far considered these factors simultaneously to compare their influence on the acceptance of management strategies. We quantified the predictive potential of these factors on the acceptance of three management strategies frequently applied to mitigate human-carnivore conflict: no action, relocation, and lethal control. We interviewed 100 members of the Maasai community in Ngorongoro Conservation Area in Tanzania. We used structured, closed questionnaires and focused on the three large carnivores involved in the most depredation regionally: spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta), lions (Panthera leo), and leopards (Panthera pardus). We found that the majority of respondents accepted no action and rejected relocation and lethal control for all three carnivores. The acceptance of the management strategies was strongly influenced by the emotion joy and by the cultural importance of carnivores, and the effects of joy and cultural importance were stronger than the effect of livestock depredation. We conclude that authorities should evaluate the emotions and cultural importance that local communities associate with carnivores when seeking to gain acceptance of management strategies and account for differences between species. Finally, we recommend that future human-carnivore coexistence studies should consider the socio-psychology of local communities and be done longitudinally to detect shifts in cultural, emotional, and ecological factors over time.