Traditional Knowledge Systems and the Conservation of Cross River Gorillas: a Case Study of Bechati, Fossimondi, Besali, Cameroon (original) (raw)
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We Must Change People in Order to Save Gorillas Conservation Values Education in Rural Cameroon
At best, 'communication' is the name for those practices that compensate for the fact that we can never be each other." ~ John Durham Peters (1999, p. 268). Worldwide, millions of people work in fields related to the social sciences. Psychology, anthropology, sociology, political science, history, and economics are basic disciplines which inform fields such as education, marketing, organization & community development, justice and law enforcement, communication and linguistics, politics and diplomacy, military strategy, and many others. Basic and applied social science research enhances our academic understanding and our practical ability to predict and control attitudes and behaviors, interpersonal dynamics, and social change. Sadly, the involvement of social scientists in the wildlife conservation arena is minimal, even though it is accepted by most conservationists that the job of saving wildlife "has more to do with clothed people than hairy animals" (Rose, 2001c). Our intention in this chapter is to initiate a process that merges social science and conservation agendas. We shall do this by exploring the fascinating discoveries that have emerged from our efforts to study and inspire conservation values in people who live in some of the most challenging biodiversity hotspots in west and central Africa. Among the many powerful theories in social science which have been tested during the past 100 years, there are two which we find especially useful in our work to develop enduring conservation values. Carl Rogers' person-centered principles have been honored over sixty years as a solid psychological foundation on which to influence human development (Rogers, 1942). Since their first appearance in scientific journals nearly fifty years ago, Leon Festinger's theories of cognitive dissonance have been used extensively to explain people's attitudes and actions (Festinger, 1957). We have seen cognitive dissonance at work in the conservation arena, and have applied person-centered approaches in conservation values education efforts for almost a decade. A familiar example of cognitive dissonance is found in a famous fable: "Aesop tells a story about a fox that tried in vain to reach a cluster of grapes that dangled from a vine above his head. The fox leapt high to grasp the grapes, but the delicious-looking fruit remained just out of reach of his snapping jaws. After a few attempts the fox gave up and said to himself, ''These grapes are sour, and if I had some I would not eat them." (Griffin, 1997) The concept of "sour grapes" exemplifies a mental process people follow when attempts at achievement fail. Rather than suffer the discomfort of having sought something we could not get, we reduce our cognitive dissonance by rationalizing that the objective was not worth pursuing. Perhaps the most vital example of this in the field of conservation is the postulate that trying to save most of the gorillas still living in Africa is not worth the trouble. Intricate cost benefit analyses are constructed to show that a few thousand wild gorillas are all we need to "save the species." Ironically, those gorillas that are deemed worth saving are usually the ones that field conservationists are studying and trying to protect. We value the grapes we can reach, and let the others go sour (Rose, 1998d).
Environmental Management, 2020
Illegal activities and use of park resources are the main challenges facing mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei) conservation and the protection of their habitats in the East Africa's Greater Virunga Transboundary Landscape (GVTL). Indigenous residents around GVTL are considered the primary illegal users of park resources. Despite this, there is limited understanding of the current and past perceptions of indigenous residents living in communities adjacent to two GVTL parks; Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda. Equally, there is also limited understanding regarding the actual incidences of illegal activities inside both parks. This paper addresses these gaps. Perception data were collected from indigenous residents living adjacent to both parks. Further, Ranger-based Monitoring (RbM) data from both parks were analyzed to determine actual numbers and types of illegal activities over the 9-year period. Interestingly, findings indicated that residents perceived the prevalence of illegal activities to be decreasing across GVTL. To the contrary, RbM findings indicated that the number of actual illegal activities was increasing significantly, particularly in Volcanoes National Park. The discrepancy found between the two perspectives provides for a discussion of the social biases potentially present in these data, and their implications for management. Results also illuminated the subsistence-related nature of most illegal behaviors and suggest that to reduce illegal activities and local dependency on park resources, park management must work with communities and support them in tapping into alternative livelihoods and finding ways to address community household subsistence needs.
2018
The Cross River Gorilla (gorilla gorilla dielhi) is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Due to hunting fewer than 300 individuals survive today, restricted to the mountainous forests straddling the border between Nigeria and Cameroon. The main threats to these gorillas are hunting and habitat loss mainly from farming and logging. To complement law enforcement efforts to address these threats, the Wildlife Conservation Society launched the “My Gorilla My Community” program, a weekly radio magazine program that combines entertainment and education to influence attitude and behavior change. This program debuted on both stations of Cross River Broadcasting Cooperation (CRBC) Calabar and Ikom in April 2015 with a target audience of over seventy thousand people living in and around the Cross River gorilla landscape. A survey was conducted in 2014 to establish a baseline of knowledge, and attitudes and behaviours in the target communities. The survey...
Ethnobiology and Conservation
Several studies investigate the human dimension of human-wildlife conflicts, but human attitudes towards forest-dependent animals such as primates in the context of competition for forest resources are still under-researched. We used a semi-structured questionnaire and conducted ethnozoological surveys in order to identify the uses of Kinda baboons (Papio kindae Lönnberg) and the main factors associated with local people's attitudes towards this frugivorous primate, at the periphery of the Kundelungu National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo. This study indicates that Kinda baboons are important to community members, essentially for consumptive uses, namely as bushmeat and medicinal animals. The association between local peoples' anti-conservation attitudes towards these baboons and observation of the depletion of co-used indigenous trees has been confirmed statistically, suggesting the perception of baboons as competitors. Also, even though the majority of respondents recognized the vulnerability of baboons to the depletion of co-used indigenous trees, against our hypothesis, most of them were not inclined to use these resources sustainably. However, an association between the frequency of encounters with Kinda baboons and park-adjacent dwellers' willingness to conserve baboon-edible trees has been established. We therefore support the view that improving the availability of co-used trees through reforestation or agroforestry is likely to alleviate the prevalence of negative attitudes towards tree-dependent animals. Also, in order to gain community support to protected areas and wildlife, pro-conservation campaigns in similar settings should not merely highlight the vulnerability of animals to the depletion of their resources, but also promote the responsible access of local people to protected areas.
Society and Natural …, 2011
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