The Impact of Subsistence Hunting by Tikunas on Game Species in Amacayacu National Park, Colombian Amazon
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The Impact of Subsistence Hunting by Tikunas on Game Species in Amacayacu National Park, Colombian Amazon Angela Maria Maldonado Rodriguez Department of Anthropology and Geography Oxford Brookes University Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the award of Doctor of Philosophy June 2010 ABSTRACT Subsistence hunting has been identified as a global conservation issue not only for the stability of tropical ecosystems, but also for securing the long-term livelihood of local people. Little is known about the impact of subsistence hunting by indigenous people within protected areas and on indigenous land. This community-based research provides baseline information on the sustainability of hunting by two Tikuna indigenous communities overlapping Amacayacu National Park, Colombian Amazon. During 2005-2009, game species’ densities and biomasses were determined using transect sampling methods, with 2,262 km of census effort, while simultaneously monitoring the hunting rate of game species. A total of 2,101 prey items were hunted, corresponding to 49 species of vertebrates. The sustainability of hunting was calculated for the 10 most hunted species using qualitative as well as quantitative approaches. The quantitative approach included four models: density/standing biomass model, the production model, the stock-recruitment model and the unified-harvest model. The results suggested that eight game species were overhunted. Furthermore, primate biomass was significantly higher in the Tikuna community where a hunting ban for woolly monkeys has been applied (Mocagua 398 kg/km²; San Martin 199 kg/km²). In addition, I present a case study on the illegal trade in night monkeys for biomedical research in the Brazil-Colombia-Peru tri-border area. The implications of subsistence hunting for harvest-sensitive game species are discussed considering their life history traits and ecological constraints. Bearing in mind the importance that wildlife has in local people’s livelihoods, I present an ethnographic description of past and current hunting patterns by Tikunas in order to gain a better understanding of the factors underlying the current use of wildlife. Attempts to implement a management strategy for using natural resources in Amacayacu National Park had failed. This study highlights the importance of a multidisciplinary approach when designing management strategies. It also provides sustainable alternatives for the conservation of the overharvested species. Ultimately, the implementation of the proposed management strategy is only possible if local stakeholders are willing to take action. Thus, this study may be use as the baseline for its design. 2 To the memory of Alex, Jan, Nomy and Gordy 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This study would not have been possible without the generous and long-term assistance of many people and institutions. I would like to thank Dr. Sara Bennett who encouraged me to embark upon this study and whose support has been so important in the completion of this research. I would like to thank Mocagua and San Martin Tikuna communities for their hospitality and continuous collaboration. Special thanks to the Panduro and del Aguila family, Cristobal Panduro, Francisco del Aguila in Mocagua, Humberto and Miguel Gregorio, Azulay and Monica Vasquez, Arturo Naranjo, Loyda and Maria Angel from San Martin. I am also thankful to Alexander Alfonso, Jaime Celis, Diana Deaza, Eliana Martinez and Estella Chota from Amacayacu National Park, for the logistical support and sincere friendship. Many thanks to the volunteer team who made an exceptional contribution to this study, especially, Andres Barona and Hannah Parathian for their dedication and professionalism during fieldwork. Thanks to the UAESPNN for providing GIS files for map elaboration; the IDEAM for providing unpublished climatological data and Carlos Rodriguez and Monica Gruezmacher from Fundacion Tropenbos - Colombia for their continuous support and advice in ethnographic methods. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my director of studies Professor Simon Bearder for his encouragement, guidance and unconditional support that kept me on track in the most difficult circumstances during the last few years. Thank you very much Simon for being an inspiration in conservation. I am profoundly grateful to my external supervisor Professor Thomas R. Defler for being an exceptional mentor whose passion and dedication for conservation has guided my path. As well I thank Tom for his outstanding contribution for the establishment of a primatological community in Colombia. I am grateful to Professor Carlos Peres for his advice and interest in my research; his valuable suggestions were priceless during the data analysis. I admire his remarkable dedication to the conservation of the Amazon Basin; his work has been an inspiration in my research. I also thank Professor Richard Bodmer for his advice during the design of this research and for providing me with crucial unpublished data relevant to the sustainability of hunting. Thanks to my supervisors Dr. Marc Brightman and Dr. Vincent Nijman. I also would like to thank Peter Bunyard for 4 his constant support and his hard work to educate Colombians about the importance of the Amazon rainforest in the global climate. Thanks to Dr. Sally Cubbin, Jeremy Faull and Suzanne Turnock for proof reading an early version of some chapters of this thesis. I am grateful to M. McLennan for his help for the printing out of this thesis. My research would not have been possible without the funding provided by several organisations. Firstly, I would like to thank the World Wildlife Fund (WWF-Washington) for the Russell E. Train fellowship which was indispensable for completing my PhD. Special thanks to Andrea Santy for her continuous support. Thanks to the Rivett-Carnac family and the Overseas Research Student Award Scheme (ORSAS) - UK. I want to thank Martin Stanley and Peter Bennett from Rainforest Concern for their support, not only for providing funding but also for their interest and advice during my research. Fieldwork from 2005-2008 was funded by Rainforest Concern, Rufford Small Grants, Royal Geographical Society, IPPL-Kilverstone Trust, OWW, The Monkey Sanctuary Trust, Reserve Life Support Ltd. and Tropenbos Colombia. Fieldwork from 2008-2009 was funded by Rainforest Concern, ADI, the Whitley Fund for Nature and IPPL (UK and US). I would like to deeply thank my family for their unconditional support and especially to my dad who always found the right words to give me strength and confidence. Lastly, I want to thank Thomas Lafon for his company, support, love and patience during the last year of my PhD, and for the elaboration of the graphs and maps of this thesis. 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract 2 Dedication 3 Acknowledgements 4 Table of Contents 6 List of Abbreviations and Acronyms 10 List of Figures 12 List of Tables 13 1. INTRODUCTION 15 1.1 Specific Aims 16 1.2 Structure of the Thesis. 17 1.3 Origin of this Research 20 1.4 Wildlife Management in the Neotropics: An Overview 21 1.5 Previous Case Studies 23 1.5.1 Case Study I 23 1.5.2 Case Study II 24 2 THE STUDY SITE 27 2.1 Amacayacu National Park 27 2.1.1 Geographic location, climate and soils 27 2.1.2 General vegetation and water types 31 2.1.3 Fauna 33 2.1.4 Flora 33 2.1.4.1 Methods 36 2.1.4.2 Data analyses 37 2.1.4.3 Results 37 2.1.4.4 Discussion 40 2.2 The Tikunas 41 2.2.1 Mocagua community 43 2.2.2 San Martin de Amacayacu community 44 2.3 Tikunas and Amacayacu National Park 45 2.3.1 The Special Management Regime (REM) of natural 45 resources in ANP 2.3.1.1 Preliminary resources management plan in ANP 46 3 THE IMPACT OF SUBSISTENCE HUNTING AND MEASURES OF 51 ITS SUSTAINABILITY 3.1 Models to Determine the Sustainability of Hunting 52 3.1.1 Abundance, density or standing biomass comparison 53 model 3.1.2 The production model 53 3.1.3 The stock-recruitment model 55 3.1.4 The unified harvest model 57 3.2 Methods 58 3.2.1 Harvest assessment 58 3.2.2 Hunting areas 59 3.2.3 Census techniques 60 3.2.4 Data analysis 62 3.2.4.1 Estimates of population densities 62 3.2.4.2 Qualitative estimates of hunting sustainability 63 3.2.4.3 Qualitative estimates of hunting sustainability 65 6 3.2.5 Statistical analysis 66 3.3 Results 66 3.3.1 Harvest assessment 66 3.3.2 Qualitative estimates of hunting sustainability 72 3.3.3 Quantitative estimates of hunting sustainability 74 3.3.3.1 Abundance, density or standing biomass comparison 76 model 3.3.3.2 The Production model 78 3.3.3.3 The Stock-recruitment model 79 3.3.3.4 The Unified-harvest model 80 3.4 Discussion 80 3.4.1 Population density comparison with other studies The 82 sustainability of hunting 3.4.2 The sustainability of hunting 82 3.4.2.1 Impact of subsistence hunting on ungulates 84 3.4.2.2 Impact of subsistence hunting on medium and long- 86 lived species 3.5 Conclusion 89 4 PRIMATES, TIKUNAS, AND PROTECTED AREAS: LESSONS AND 91 CHALLENGES IN COMMUNITY RESOURCE MANAGEMENT 4.1 Methods 92 4.1.1 Census techniques 92 4.1.2 Estimates of population densities 93 4.1.3 Statistical analysis 94 4.2 Results 95 4.2.1 Comparison of density estimates 97 4.2.2 The primate community at overlapping areas 98 4.2.2.1 Small species 101 4.2.2.2 Medium-bodied species 103 4.2.2.3 Large-bodied species 103 4.3 Discussion 105 4.3.1 Primate community in overlapping areas 105 4.3.2 Density under-compensation 105 4.4 Conclusion 106 5 FACTORS INFLUENCING THE SUSTAINABILITY OF HUNTING 109 5.1 Hunting: An Overview 111 5.1.1 Resources management by early Amazonian