Traditional Ecological Knowledge of Wildlife: Implications for Conservation and Development in the Wuyishan Nature Reserve, Fujian Province, China
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TRADITIONAL ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE OF WILDLIFE: IMPLICATIONS FOR CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE WUYISHAN NATURE RESERVE, FUJIAN PROVINCE, CHINA By Madeleine Boyd, Zhuge Ren, Terry De Lacy and Johannes Bauer RESEARCH REPORT SERIES The primary aim of CRC Tourism’s research report series is technology transfer. The reports are targeted toward both industry and government users and tourism researchers. The content of this technical report series primarily focuses on applications, but may also advance research methodology and tourism theory. The report series titles relate to CRC Tourism’s research program areas. All research reports are peer reviewed by at least two external reviewers. For further information on the report series, access the CRC website, [www.crctourism.com.au]. EDITORS Prof Chris Cooper University of Queensland Editor-in-Chief Prof Terry De Lacy CRC for Sustainable Tourism Chief Executive Prof Leo Jago CRC for Sustainable Tourism Director of Research National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication Data De Lacy, Terry. Traditional ecological knowledge of wildlife : implications for conservation and development in the Wuyishan Nature Reserve, Fujian Province, China. Bibliography. ISBN 1 876685 29 8. 1. Nature conservation - China - Wu-i mountains. 2. Wildlife conservation - China - Wu-i mountains. 3. Sustainable development - China - Wu-i mountains. 4. Biosphere reserves - China - Wu-i mountains. I. Zhuge Ren. II. Bauer Johannes. III. Madeleine, Boyd. IV. Cooperative Research Centre for Sustainable Tourism. 333.720951245 © 2003 Copyright CRC for Sustainable Tourism Pty Ltd All rights reserved. No parts of this report may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by means of electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher. Any enquiries should be directed to Brad Cox, Director of Communications or Trish O’Connor, Publishing Manager to [email protected]. ACKNOWLEGDEMENTS This research project was made possible through an Australian Research Council Large Grant. We would like to thank our colleagues in China who assisted in the gathering of information and fieldwork in Wuyishan Nature Reserve, including Mr Chen, Mr.Wang, Wu Hoahan and Zheng Chengyang. Thanks also to the many people of Wuyishan Nature Reserve who participated in our interviews. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The search for sustainable economy is a global endeavour in the 21st century, as the need to conserve existing biodiversity and ecological processes becomes ever more pressing. Biosphere reserves are unique areas, designed to promote the co-existence of humans and the natural environment in a symbiotic partnership. In developing countries such as China, the quest for integrating conservation and development is particularly urgent. This is due to the widely acknowledged interaction between communities striving to achieve at least basic well-being and social services and their reliance on the local natural resources. With the breakdown of customary protection and the increasing influences of market economies, local people will tend to exhaust local resources, to the detriment both of themselves and biodiversity. The prevailing philosophy is that these problems can be addressed through development of appropriate industries and social institutions and with adequate ecological knowledge. Integrated conservation and development initiatives have been widely implemented, with variable results. One of the key impediments to success is the lack of adequate ecological knowledge and related monitoring programs. The power of this information is to improve conservation management and also to allow better understanding of the limits to resource use and habitat modification, and hence flexibility in the design of industries. In most locations in developing countries formal ecological study has only recently been initiated, or has never been conducted. However, researchers and conservation managers have come to value the body of local ecological knowledge possessed by those communities who have survived through the natural environment, often for many generations. While the types of knowledge vary between areas, Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) can offer a range of insights into species status, changes in status, human impacts and ecological interactions as well as environmental management systems and social mechanisms for conserving natural resources. This study is focussed on Wuyishan Nature Reserve (WNR), China - a national level protected area, World Heritage Area and Biosphere Reserve. WNR is renowned for its high biodiversity and mountainous i landscape, and protects several internationally rare species, such as Pangolin, Leopard, Asiatic black bear and Dhole. 6,000 people also inhabit 42 villages in WNR. Since declaration of the reserve in 1979 the reserve management have worked to improved community relations and hence increase local support for conservation through industry development. The mainstays of the economy are bamboo plantations and processed products, produced by household and village enterprise but managed through reserve administration. Other industries include black tea and eco-tourism. While the economy has improved, there have been few formal studies of the conservation status of wildlife in the reserve, and the impacts of anthropogenic activities. In 1998 an interview-based survey was conducted to determine the extent of TEK in WNR, and its outcomes are the subject of this report. One aim of this study was to use local knowledge to assess the conservation status of medium to large mammals of WNR. An earlier field based wildlife survey (Gadd, 1997) by a member of the same research group allowed comparison of results and methodologies. Socio- economic and subsistence data was also collected to gain insights into interactions between the communities and their natural environment and anthropogenic causal factors of changes in wildlife status. Results will be applied to improved understanding of mammal ecology in WNR, as well as contribute to better management of conservation and industry development. Findings are summarised below and management recommendations can be found in section 11.5. Identification of species by local people 1) The effort required to gather positive identification of species is less by the interview method than by field survey for most species. Therefore, interviews can be used in WNR to at least determine presence/absence of species. 2) There is no apparent difference in the ability of adults of varying ages to positively identify species. There is also no significant difference in the way most people in various age groups came to know of a species. An exception, although making a small contribution to total knowledge, is that younger groups are more likely to know of species from TV. ii 3) Many people had direct knowledge of species (had seen or seen signs of), and therefore information about species should be considered to have a high level of validity. 4) Most women spend less time in the forest than men, and women have less knowledge of species than men. 5) While is not clear that younger men are spending less time in the forest than their elders would have when younger, there does appear to be an overall decrease in the time spent in the forest by local people. This can be related to a decrease in hunting following protection of the species and also changing lifestyles away from direct reliance on the natural environment for subsistence. 6) Time spent in the forest is related to ability to identify species, and this relationship is stronger when only direct experience of a species (saw or saw signs of) is considered. 7) That many people had ‘heard’ of a species suggests that locals communicate amongst themselves about species. 8) Overall, it is suggested that the economy of WNR is at an early stage of change, and that the present adult generations retain knowledge of species, and so the interview method yields valid species presence/absence data. It could be expected, however, that if development continues and more people derive income from secondary industries (and spend less time in the forest), the level of indigenous knowledge based on direct experience of species will decrease. TEK and its application for assessment of species status 1) Statements about species abundance were considered to be a better indicator of species abundance than ‘signs per hour’ (i.e. proportion of people that knew about a species). Statements integrate basic awareness of a species and observations about the species. iii 2) Statements about changing abundance over time are a useful contribution to wildlife management, as this information is not available based on field surveys. 3) The majority of the study target species are considered to be Common or Very common, although 54% of species may be decreasing in abundance. Overall, at least eight species may be considered to be threatened: Crab-eating mongoose, Fox, Large Indian Civet, Dhole, River Otter, Leopard cat, Leopard and Tiger. These results suggest that negative pressures are ongoing in the reserve. However, that the majority of target species do not appear to be endangered suggests that the conservation management strategies are effective for certain species. 4) No relationship was found between the field and interview survey results for species habitat preferences. Further study is required to determine the validity of each. 5) The results for changing abundance and abundance