What's on the horizon for community-based conservation? Emerging threats and opportunities.

Community-based conservation can support livelihoods and biodiversity, while reinforcing local and Indigenous values, cultures, and institutions. Its delivery can help address cross-cutting global challenges, such as climate change, conservation, poverty, and food security. Therefore, understanding trends in community-based conservation is pertinent to setting and implementing global goals. We undertook a horizon scan to prioritize 15 emerging threats and opportunities expected to impact the future effectiveness of community-based conservation. Topics relate to global biodiversity policy; human rights; shifting human geography; inclusion, diversity, equity, and access; conservation finance and income; and economic reforms. Our findings offer guidance on strengthening community-based conservation to achieve global environmental and development goals.

Participatory development of incentives to coexist with jaguars and pumas.

Reducing costs and increasing benefits for rural communities coexisting with large carnivores is necessary for conservation of jaguar (Panthera onca) and puma (Puma concolor). To design acceptable incentives, stakeholders must be involved in the process. We conducted an innovative, structured, group communication process based on a Delphi technique as a template for identifying potential incentives. Community workshops with 133 members of 7 communities and surveys with 25 multidisciplinary experts from government, nongovernmental organizations, and academia provided iterative data to design a plan of incentives through 4 rounds of discussion. The final product integrated 862 ideas into 6 types of incentives: organization of communities, mechanisms for improved dialogue, citizen technical assistance, green labeling for community products, payment for the ecosystem service of biodiversity, and an assessment of financial alternatives. We used quantitative and qualitative techniques to indicate support for decisions about the design of incentives, which reduced researcher subjectivity. The diverse incentives developed and the cooperation from multiple stakeholders resulted in an incentive plan that integrated issues of governance, equity, and social norms.

Do attacks by jaguars Panthera onca and pumas Puma concolor (Carnivora: Felidae) on livestock correlate with species richness and relative abundance of wild prey? / ¿Se correlacionan los ataques de jaguares Panthera onca y pumas Puma concolor (Carnivora: Felidae) al ganado con la riqueza de especies y la abundancia relativa de presas silvestres?

Attacks by big cats on livestock are one of the major causes of human-felid conflicts and, therefore, an important factor in the conservation of these species. It has been argued that a reduction in natural prey abundance promotes attacks on domestic species, but few studies have tested this statement, and some have delivered contradictory results. We investigated whether the occurrence of attacks to livestock by jaguar and puma relates to the abundance and richness of their natural prey. In the rainy season 2009, we tracked potential prey species counting signs of presence along linear transects in 14 non-attacked cattle farms (control) and in 14 attacked cattle farms in NW Costa Rica. There was a negative relationship between the occurrence of attacks and both species richness (p=0.0014) and abundance (p=0.0012) of natural prey. Our results support the establishment of actions to promote support and recovery of natural prey, in order to diminish attacks on livestock, while maintaining jaguar and puma populations. Rev. Biol. Trop. 62 (4): 1459-1467. Epub 2014 December 01.

Los ataques de grandes felinos al ganado son una de las principales causas de conflicto entre humanos y felinos, siendo por ello un tema prioritario para la conservación de estas especies. Se ha argumentado que la reducción en abundancia de presas naturales incrementa la ocurrencia de ataques a las especies domésticas. Sin embargo son pocos los estudios que han evaluado esta afirmación, algunos con resultados contradictorios. Nosotros investigamos cómo la ocurrencia de ataques al ganado, por parte de puma o jaguar, se relaciona con la abundancia y la riqueza de sus presas naturales. Muestreamos las presas potenciales contando los rastros de presencia a lo largo de transectos lineales en 14 fincas sin ataques (control) y en 14 fincas con ataques en el Noroeste de Costa Rica durante la temporada lluviosa de 2009. Encontramos una relación negativa entre la ocurrencia de ataques al ganado y la riqueza (p=0.0014) y abundancia (p=0.0012) de presas naturales. Nuestros resultados respaldan la aplicación de medidas que promuevan el mantenimiento y recuperación de las presas naturales como medida para reducir los ataques al ganado y conservar las poblaciones de puma y jaguar.

Do attacks by jaguars Panthera onca and pumas Puma concolor (Carnivora: Felidae) on livestock correlate with species richness and relative abundance of wild prey?

Abstract: Attacks by big cats on livestock are one of the major causes of human-felid conflicts and, therefore, an important factor in the conservation of these species. It has been argued that a reduction in natural prey abundance promotes attacks on domestic species, but few studies have tested this statement, and some have delivered contradictory results. We investigated whether the occurrence of attacks to livestock by jaguar and puma relates to the abundance and richness of their natural prey. In the rainy season 2009, we tracked potential prey species counting signs of presence along linear transects in 14 non-attacked cattle farms (control) and in 14 attacked cattle farms in NW Costa Rica. There was a negative relationship between the occurrence of attacks and both species richness (p = 0.0014) and abundance (p = 0.0012) of natural prey. Our results support the establishment of actions to promote support and recovery of natural prey, in order to diminish attacks on livestock, while maintaining jaguar and puma populations.