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Using Herpetofauna and Culture to Determine Conservation Priority Habitats on Malaita Island, Solomon Islands

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Using Herpetofauna and Culture to Determine Conservation Priority Habitats on Malaita Island, Solomon Islands EVALUATING TROPICAL FOREST ECOSYSTEMS: USING HERPETOFAUNA AND CULTURE TO DETERMINE CONSERVATION PRIORITY HABITATS ON MALAITA ISLAND, SOLOMON ISLANDS by Edgar John Maeniuta Pollard A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in Environmental Science Copyright © 2013 by Edgar John Maeniuta Pollard School of Geography, Earth Science and Environmental Sciences Faculty of Science, Technology and Environment The University of the South Pacific July, 2013 Declaration Statement by Author I, Edgar John Maeniuta Pollard, declare that this thesis is my own work and that, to the best of my knowledge, it contains no material previously published, or substantially overlapping with material submitted for the award of any other degree at any institution, except where due acknowledgment is made in the text. Signature …………………………… Date…………………………. Student ID No. ………………………………………………………. Statement by Supervisor The research in this thesis was performed under my supervision and to my knowledge is the sole work of Mr Edgar John Maeniuta Pollard. Signature…………………………….. Date ……………………….. Name..……………………………………………………………….. Designation …………………………………………………………. Acknowledgements Mauriha e hitarana rapena noni. Apu ana noni e hitarana kahu ni mauriha, susurina noni e hitarana okiraha ana mauriha, manina noni e hitarana mako e watea mauriha, ihihu ana pau na noni e hitarana ai ma maasu e watea mauriha This thesis is dedicated to the people of Are’Are, Malaita. For captured within this work is a glimpse of the richness their lands and people hold. Raemanoha Rikaa. I would like to thank the stewards, landowners and tribes of the Arata’s (land) and villages that this study was conducted in, for allowing access onto their land. I would also like to thank my field guides and assistants – John Mahane, Pauro Horipeo, Wencis Rohoia, Francis Aniratana Jr and Peter Aitai. For the mountains we climbed, the rivers we crossed, for being soaking wet in the middle of the forest in the middle of the night and for the friendship and knowledge shared along the way, I will be forever thankful. Special thanks also to; Myknee Sirikolo for knowledge imparted on the identification of plants, Mike McCoy on the identification of reptiles and Patrick Pikacha on the identification of frogs. A very big tagio tumas for my supervisors, mentors and advisors – Dr. Gilianne Brodie, Dr. Clare Morrison and Prof. Randy Thaman, who’s tireless hours and constructive feedback help shape this entire project from start to finish. A special thanks to Patrick Pikacha for teaching me hands on skills and knowledge regarding frogs and bush fieldwork and Marika Tuiwawa who’s advice and encouragement and wise counsel was valued. I would also like to thank the University of the South Pacific, for enabling me to carry out this research and for the support rendered, especially the Departments of Biology and Geography. This work would also not be possible without the help of my sponsors, the Solomon Islands government and the USP research office. Last but not the least I would like to thank my ever supportive family, mum, dad and wife Patricia who have all stuck by me and supported me through it all. i Abstract Within the context of the global biodiversity crisis there is a need to identify conservation priority habitat types. This study aims to identify important forest habitats for conservation priority setting on the island of Malaita, Solomon Islands. To achieve this five different forest habitat types were sampled to quantify richness of biodiversity based on richness and abundance of frogs and lizards (herpetofauna) as biological indicators. In addition, interviews with local community members were conducted to gather associated local cultural knowledge on frogs, lizards and forest habitats. The study focused on unlogged coastal, unlogged lowland and unlogged upland forests, logged lowland forests and plantation teak forests, with the two latter having significant human influence resulting in reduced herpetofaunal richness. Prioritisation methods used to identify important forest habitat types were based on: 1) species richness and abundances, 2) ‘important’ (threatened, totem, rare and indicator) species presence, 3) cultural importance of the forest habitat and 4) the threatened status of the forest habitat. It was found that: 1) lowland forests contained the greatest species richness and the greatest number of important species, 2) lowland forests also had the highest cultural value based on locally described uses, and 3) coastal forests were under the greatest threat from anthropogenic activities. The overall results show the importance of biological sampling being coupled with cultural knowledge to improve our understanding of forest habitat value for conservation action. ii Abbreviations CBD Convention on Biological Diversity CBSI Central Bank of Solomon Islands CI Conservation International CRV Combined Rank Value CV Cultural Values DQS Diurnal Quadrat Sampling FAO Food and Agriculture Organization FTV Forest Threat Value GDP Gross Domestic Product IBA Important Bird Area IFA Important Forest Area IHA Important Herpetofaunal Area IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature ISV Important Species Value ITCZ Inter Tropical Convergence Zone MDG Millennium Development Goals MPA Marine Protected Area MoFR Ministry of Forestry and Research (Solomon Islands) NVES Nocturnal Visual Encounter Survey OJP Ontong Java Plateau PHCG Pacific Horizons Consultancy Group PNG Papua New Guinea SINSO Solomon Islands National Statistics Office SPC Secretariat of the Pacific Community SPRH South Pacific Regional Herbarium SRAV Species Richness and Abundance Value SVL Snout Vent Length TEK Traditional Ecological Knowledge TK Traditional Knowledge UNEP United Nations Environment Programme WCMC World Conservation Monitoring Centre iii Table of Contents Acknowledgements ................................................................................................... i Abstract ................................................................................................................... ii Abbreviations ......................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents .................................................................................................... iv List of Tables ........................................................................................................ viii List of Figures .......................................................................................................... x CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................. 1 1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................... 1 1.2 Rationale and Justification for Study .......................................................... 2 1.3 Objectives/Aims and Hypotheses ............................................................... 4 1.4 Structure and Outline of Thesis .................................................................. 5 CHAPTER 2: BACKGROUND ............................................................................... 6 2.1 Tropical Biodiversity ................................................................................. 6 2.1.1 Importance of tropical biodiversity ........................................................... 6 2.2 Tropical Forest Ecosystems ....................................................................... 7 2.2.1 Status and importance of tropical forests .................................................. 7 2.3 Herpetofauna ............................................................................................. 8 2.3.1 Status and Importance of herpetofauna ..................................................... 8 2.3.2 Indicators of ecosystem health, the use of herpetofauna. ........................... 9 2.4 Threats and Decline of Biodiversity ..........................................................10 2.4.1 Specific threats to tropical forests ............................................................12 2.4.2 Specific threats to tropical herpetofauna ..................................................15 2.5 Conservation of Biodiversity.....................................................................16 2.5.1 What is conservation? .............................................................................16 2.5.2 How do we conserve biological diversity ................................................18 2.5.3 Conservation and traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) ......................21 CHAPTER 3: STUDY LOCATION AND GENERAL METHODOLOGY ............23 3.1 Study location ...........................................................................................23 3.1.1 Solomon Islands ......................................................................................23 3.1.2 Malaita ....................................................................................................25 3.1.3 Are`Are study site ...................................................................................30 3.2 Pilot study and General Methodology .......................................................31 iv 3.2.1 Pilot Study ..............................................................................................31 3.2.2 Major Fieldwork .....................................................................................33 CHAPTER 4: RICHNESS
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