Hunting of mammal species in protected areas of the southern Bahian Atlantic Forest, Brazil

Investigating the risks of removing wild meat from global food systems

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought humanity’s strained relationship with nature into sharp focus, with calls for cessation of wild meat trade and consumption, to protect public health and biodiversity.^1,2 However, the importance of wild meat for human nutrition, and its tele-couplings to other food production systems, mean that the complete removal of wild meat from diets and markets would represent a shock to global food systems.3, 4, 5, 6 The negative consequences of this shock deserve consideration in policy responses to COVID-19. We demonstrate that the sudden policy-induced loss of wild meat from food systems could have negative consequences for people and nature. Loss of wild meat from diets could lead to food insecurity, due to reduced protein and nutrition, and/or drive land-use change to replace lost nutrients with animal agriculture, which could increase biodiversity loss and emerging infectious disease risk. We estimate the magnitude of these consequences for 83 countries, and qualitatively explore how prohibitions might play out in 10 case study places. Results indicate that risks are greatest for food-insecure developing nations, where feasible, sustainable, and socially desirable wild meat alternatives are limited. Some developed nations would also face shocks, and while high-capacity food systems could more easily adapt, certain places and people would be disproportionately impacted. We urge decision-makers to consider potential unintended consequences of policy-induced shocks amidst COVID-19; and take holistic approach to wildlife trade interventions, which acknowledge the interconnectivity of global food systems and nature, and include safeguards for vulnerable people.

Using an occupancy approach to identify poaching hotspots in protected areas in a seasonally dry tropical forest

Poaching activity has been described in the literature as harmful due to impacts on biodiversity, especially in protected areas. Although the main reason for this activity is subsistence, in many regions motivation goes beyond the limits of food necessity. We applied single-species, single season occupancy models to evaluate the spatial distribution of poachers and identify potential poaching hotspots in a mosaic of protected areas in the Caatinga domain, northeastern Brazil. We used camera-traps over a period of 200 days at 60 sites randomly selected. We used distances from human settlements, roads and the nearest water holes, frequency of game species and sampling effort as covariables that could influence poachers' occupancy and detectability and to identify potential poaching areas. Occupancy poachers were higher in sites with higher frequency of game species. Frequency of game species and distance from roads had a negative effect on the detectability of poachers. Spatial analysis indicated three critical poaching areas within and around the Boqueirão da Onça National Park, associated with roads and some isolated cattle and goat farms. In this study, we provided an assessment of poaching spatial patterns in relation to different landscape elements and biotic influences, indicating critical areas where enforcement efforts should be focused. Hotspots are clearly concentrated within and on the edge of National Park. The approach presented here to identify poaching hotspots is effective and economical, and therefore may be applied in other protected and non-protected areas throughout the world.

Linking democracy and biodiversity conservation: Empirical evidence and research gaps

Increasing human pressure threatens plant and animal species with extinction worldwide. National political institutions constitute an important arena for biodiversity conservation. Yet, the relationship between how democratic these national institutions are and a country's efforts towards and track-record for biodiversity conservation remains poorly understood. In this review, we outline the theoretical links between democracy and biodiversity conservation and review the empirical literature testing them. While more studies reported a positive than a negative relation between democracy and biodiversity conservation (15 vs. 11), the most common result was a mixed relationship (28), often conditioned on economic factors. The use of different proxies to measure biodiversity, including deforestation, protected areas, threatened species, and fishery statistics emerged as a primary obstacle for synthesis. We suggest overcoming this caveat together with a consistent definition of democratic institutions and a standardized statistical framework as research priorities to improve policies against the global biodiversity loss.

Ecosystem services provided by armadillos

Awareness of the natural ecological processes provided by organisms that benefit human well-being has significantly progressed towards the goal of making conservation a mainstream value. Identifying different services and the species that provide them is a vital first step for the management and maintenance of these so-called ecosystem services. Herein, we specifically address the armadillos, which play key functional roles in terrestrial ecosystems, including as ecosystem engineers, predators, and vectors of invertebrates and nutrients, although these roles have often been overlooked. Armadillos can control pests, disperse seeds, and be effective sentinels of potential disease outbreaks or bioindicators of environmental contaminants. They also supply important material (meat, medicines) and non-material (learning, inspiration) contributions all over the Americas. We identify key gaps in the understanding of ecosystem services provided by armadillos and areas for future research required to clarify their functional role in terrestrial ecosystems and the services they supply. Such information will produce powerful arguments for armadillo conservation.

Of people and toads: Local knowledge about amphibians around a protected area in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

This study aimed to identify ethnozoological knowledge about amphibians of people living around a protected area, the Wildlife Refuge of Una (REVIS), located in the Atlantic Forest, in southern Bahia, Brazil. Semi-structured interviews were performed on a random sample of residents right outside the REVIS limits. Photos of several amphibians that live in the REVIS were also shown for recognition of the regional species. We analysed the use value (VU) of each species, calculating the ratio between the number of times that each species was mentioned and the total number of interviews. Biophilic relationships, using Kellert´s (1993) classification, were inferred from their statements. We interviewed 40 individuals (22 males and 18 females) with ages between 10 and 82 years. There was a gender-related bias regarding the recognised species (Chi Sq = 0.013, p < 0.05) with men having more knowledge than women. The Butter Frog, Leptodactylus latrans, had the highest VU of 0.73 and was the most mentioned overall, but especially amongst women. The most mentioned species amongst men was Burmeister’s Frog (Phyllomedusa burmeisteri). We identified 18 biophilic comments, classified as moralistic, symbolic, negativistic or utilitarian. It was possible to note that, in this community, the knowledge and use of amphibians is not deep, purely cognitive and without any direct utilitarian purpose (medicine or cooking, for example). This study can build a bridge between traditional anurofauna knowledge of the Una region and modern environmental education, by demystifying existing information and incorporating it in local conservation actions, becoming especially relevant in rural areas, such as this protected area.

The effectiveness of protected areas and indigenous lands in representing threatened plant species in Brazil

Abstract Brazil is signatory of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC), which provides guidelines and directions to existing national policies. This strategy aims to halt the continuing loss of plant diversity through the achievement of 16 outcome-based targets set for 2020. One of these targets (target 7) states that at least 75% of known threatened plant species should be preserved in situ. Here, we assessed the effectiveness of the Brazilian current network of protected areas (PAs) and indigenous lands (ILs) in representing all known threatened plant species. We found that the number of species represented inside PAs and ILs varied according to data type. When using occurrence records, we found that 699 (33%) threatened plant species lie completely outside PAs (and/or ILs) and that 1,405 species (67%) have at least one record inside at least one PA (and/or IL). The number of species unrepresented decreased when we considered polygons of distribution. In this case, only 219 (10%) are supposedly unprotected. Although Brazil is almost reaching GSPC Target 7 in terms of absolute numbers, the government still needs to allocate resources for properly managing and improving the conservation status of its imperiled flora and expand the network of PAs.