RESUMEN
Decades of illegal hunting (poaching) have adversely affected wildlife populations and thereby limited sustainable wildlife conservation in the Luangwa Valley, Zambia. Despite intervention efforts to address the problem, the illegal hunting of wildlife has persisted. Therefore, this study was conducted to understand the persistence of illegal hunting by investigating the drivers of poaching and intervention measures using a mixed methods approach. Stratified random sampling was used to collect data from 346 respondents through structured questionnaires. Purposive sampling was used to collect data through nine focus group discussions and three in-depth interviews with experts. The study revealed that persistent illegal hunting was mainly driven by people's critical need for survival and sustaining their livelihoods and not by inadequate law enforcement as presumed by resource managers. Although law enforcement was the most prevalent intervention measure, it did not deter local illegal hunters because their main motivations for poaching were not effectively addressed. The key implication of these findings is that where the illegal harvesting of natural resources in protected areas by local resource users is driven by people's critical need for survival and a livelihood, which is ineffectively addressed, illegal harvesting may persist even with increased law enforcement. This study provides empirical evidence, novel conceptual knowledge and an understanding of how prevalent drivers of poaching and other factors may have influenced persistent illegal hunting in the Luangwa Valley.
RESUMEN
The Old World Vultures (OWV), constituting 16 species primarily in Africa, Europe and Asia, are currently being driven to extinction mostly by anthropogenic activities, especially poisoning. The vulture losses from poisoning caused by human-related activities are en masse at a single mortality event-level and occur in complex social-ecological systems. There has been a growing body of knowledge on wildlife poisoning over the years. However, no review has been done to consolidate vulture poisoning studies in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), with a social lens of conservation planning. Here we present a review of the vulture poisoning research by re-contextualizing the problem of vulture poisoning across SSA. We employed stepwise Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) method to search for literature on vulture poisoning. The search yielded 211 studies which were trimmed to 55 after applying sets of eligibility criteria. Literature shows that efforts aimed at successful vulture conservation planning will require an understanding of the relational aspects of stakeholder social capital (assets) that are critical to the implementation of species recovery strategies. Strengthening relational social capital through multi-scale stakeholder evidence-based awareness creation and participation is necessary for addressing the African Vulture Crisis (AVC). Applying stakeholder social capital approaches to different vulture conservation scenarios at local, regional and international scales can enhance successful implementation of conservation strategies for the persistence of vultures in complex socio-ecological systems in African landscapes. Existing literature also showed the importance of stakeholder social capital as a countermeasure against vulture losses.
RESUMEN
Climate variability and climate change have negative impacts on fisheries ecosystems and people who derive livelihoods from them. Zambian climate is projected to increase 2⯰C in mean temperature by 2070, and further reports suggest that rainfall will drop by 8-30% of the normal average. This study was undertaken to determine the effects of rainfall, temperature and water level on fish yield. The study used both primary and secondary data sources. The major statistical techniques employed in this research include estimation of mean frequencies and correlation coefficients, as well as multivariate regression analyses, to determine the relationships among climate (temperature, rainfall), water level, and fish yield, using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences. The results showed an increase in temperature of 0.3⯰C, a decrease in rainfall of 3% and a water-level loss of 1.7â¯m since 1974. During the same period, fish yield increased by 53%, compared to increases in fishers and boats of 57% and 55%, respectively. The resultant Catch per Unit of Effort (CpUE) decreased from 12â¯kg/net/night to 1.5â¯kg/net/night. Findings indicate that there are significant correlations between temperature, rainfall (one-year lag), water level and fish yield. Based on the results, there is strong recommendation to incorporate climate variability and change in the modelling of fisheries management to reduce the impacts of climate variability and change on fisheries-based livelihoods.
