The role of traditional beliefs in conservation of herpetofauna in Banten, Indonesia

Food taboos and animal conservation: a systematic review on how cultural expressions influence interaction with wildlife species

BACKGROUND

Human societies have food taboos as social rules that restrict access to a particular animal. Taboos are pointed out as tools for the conservation of animals, considering that the presence of this social rule prevents the consumption of animals. This work consists of a systematic review that aimed to verify how food taboos vary between different animal species, and how this relationship has influenced their conservation.

METHODS

For this systematic review, the search for articles by keywords took place in the databases "Science Direct," Scopus," "SciELo" and "Web of Science," associating the term "taboo" with the taxa "amphibians," "birds," "mammals," "fish" and "reptiles." From this search, 3959 titles were found related to the key terms of the research. After the entire screening process carried out by paired reviewers, only 25 articles were included in the search.

RESULTS

It was identified that 100 species of animals are related to some type of taboo, and segmental taboos and specific taboos were predominant, with 93 and 31 citations, respectively. In addition, the taxon with the most taboos recorded was fish, followed by mammals. Our findings indicate that the taboo protects 99% of the animal species mentioned, being a crucial tool for the conservation of these species.

CONCLUSIONS

The present study covered the status of current knowledge about food taboos associated with wildlife in the world. It is noticeable that taboos have a considerable effect on animal conservation, as the social restrictions imposed by taboos effectively contribute to the local conservation of species.

Snakebite Envenomation, Attitudes, and Behavior toward Snakes in Banten, Indonesia

Simple Summary

Globally, snake populations are in decline, with conservation efforts hindered by negative attitudes. Meanwhile, snakebite envenomation has been recognized as a serious public health issue, particularly in rural areas where humans and snakes coexist. This study reports the results of a survey conducted in Banten, Indonesia, with the aim of exploring relationships between respondents’ experiences, attitudes towards snakes, and behaviors towards snake populations. Our results indicate that snakebite envenomation presents a real threat in our study area, and that venomous snakes are regarded as highly dangerous. Individuals who had heard of others experiencing venomous snake bites were more likely to want populations of venomous snakes to decrease, and those with negative attitudes towards snakes were also more likely to engage in anti-conservation (“try to kill”) behavior. Women were more fearful than men, and women and those with lower education levels were more negative toward non-venomous pythons, suggesting that tailoring snake conservation efforts to specific groups based on experiences, education level, and attitudes may increase effectiveness. We propose that greater community knowledge of snakes and increases in local resources and preparedness can also contribute to accomplishing both snake conservation and improved public safety through prevention of snakebite envenomation.

Abstract

Snakes are commonly associated with feelings of anxiety or disgust, and snake conservation is often hindered by negative attitudes and perceptions. Although global snake populations are generally in decline, snakebite envenomation (SBE) continues to be recognized as a serious public health issue, particularly in rural areas of tropical and subtropical countries. Data on SBE, a neglected tropical disease, are lacking, and Indonesia, a hotspot of venomous snake diversity, has no snake bite reporting system. We analyzed 127 survey results in Banten, Indonesia with the aim of documenting SBE and exploring the relationships between respondents’ experiences, attitudes, and behaviors toward snakes. Nine percent of respondents had experienced SBE, and knowledge of SBE incidents was associated with negative attitudes toward snake populations, with negative attitudes toward snakes associated with a higher likelihood of anti-conservation behavior. Women were more fearful than men, and women and those with lower education levels were more negative toward pythons (Malayopython reticulatus), suggesting that increased knowledge may aid in snake conservation efforts. Universally negative risk beliefs and attitudes toward venomous snakes indicate a need to reduce the threat of SBE in our study area.

Coexistence for Whom?

This perspective essay considers ethical and conceptual questions around who coexistence is for, who it affects, and who is to make it happen. The introduction considers some approaches to thinking about human-wildlife coexistence, debates on the utility of the concept and reasons for its current emergence into the mainstream. It next outlines the preliminary conception of coexistence informing this essay. The discussion considers challenges for a narrow conservation-oriented framing of human-wildlife coexistence, and offers insights from the literatures on stewardship and relational values for tackling these.

Tolerating tigers: Gaining local and spiritual perspectives on human-tiger interactions in Sumatra through rural community interviews

Religious beliefs and spiritual connections to biodiversity have the potential to reduce animosity towards wildlife that might otherwise present a real or perceived threat to local people. Understanding this social dynamic can therefore be important for formulating locally-appropriate species-specific conservation strategies. Using semi-structured interviews which incorporated human-tiger conflict scenarios, we investigated how beliefs towards tigers varied between ethnic groups living around a large protected area that is home to the largest tiger population in Sumatra. We gathered this information to determine the degree to which cultural tolerance may contribute to the survival of the tiger in the Kerinci Seblat landscape, Indonesia. From 154 interviewees, 133 respondents came from three main ethnic groups, Minangkabau, Kerincinese and Melayu. The majority (73.5%) of Minangkabau interviewees cited that their ethnic group had customary laws regarding tigers, as did 52% of Melayu and 44% of Kerincinese. Irrespective of ethnicity, most participants did not perceive there to be a connection between Islam and tigers. All participants acknowledged the existence of zoological tigers and two groups (Minangkabau and Kerincinese) held a strong common belief that different types of spirit tigers also existed. From presenting different human-tiger conflict scenarios, with varying levels of severity towards livestock or human life, an unprovoked tiger attack in the village elicited the most calls for the tiger to be killed. Yet, if a village or family member was killed by a tiger whilst hunting in the forest then most respondents across all ethnic groups said to do nothing. The frequency of this response increased if a tiger killed someone in the village who had committed adultery, reflecting beliefs associated with the role of the tiger as an enforcer of moral rule. Our study highlights the importance of consulting with local communities who live in close proximity to large and potentially dangerous carnivores when developing conflict mitigation strategies, which hitherto has not been the case in Sumatra.

The roles of traditional knowledge systems in orang-utanPongospp. and forest conservation: a case study of Danau Sentarum, West Kalimantan, Indonesia

The orang-utanPongospp. is protected by national and international legislation, yet populations continue to decline. Many reports implicate local people in the poaching and illegal trade in orang-utans, yet community participation has been promoted as an alternative conservation strategy. To explore how community-based orang-utan conservation could be developed, we conducted a study to understand informal institutions, particularly local people's perceptions, traditional beliefs, taboos, norms and knowledge, related to orang-utan conservation within and around the wetlands of Danau Sentarum. The majority of Dayak communities interviewed practised traditional taboos, which supported the protection of orang-utans and their habitat. Statistical analysis using generalized linear modelling indicated that more orang-utan nests were found in areas with both good habitat condition and strong informal institutions. Despite applying traditional systems that are similar to conservation, local people have negative perceptions about the term ‘conservation’. We describe the underlying causes of these negative perceptions and highlight their implications for conservation programmes and policies. We conclude that conservation of orang-utans and other species should not focus on single species but on maintaining social and natural capital, cultural diversity and ecological functions at various institutional levels and across geographical scales.