Assessing Ecological and Social Dimensions of Success in a Community-based Sustainable Turtle Harvest Program in the Peruvian Amazon
eggs/hatchlings;
non lethal when destined to the pet trade; lethal when destined to local consumption.
Poachers often engage in tense confrontations with members of organized groups and with park rangers. In some cases, offenders are armed and refuse to recognize the authority of members of organized groups as monitors of their managed sectors. Although park rangers hold more legal authority to report offenders to the local police (located in the towns), the mitigation of illicit activity is complicated by the low number of park rangers distributed throughout ranger stations in the reserve.
In this study, we focus on a CBCRM program in the Peruvian Amazon that allows for the legal harvest and trade of an IUCN-designated Vulnerable freshwater turtle spe- cies, Podocnemis unifilis.
The governing bodies of the protected areas under Peru’s Ministry of the Environment approve contracts (management plans) in which local people in groups of approximately ten individuals apply to take part in the management activities with the incentive to legally harvest and commercialize a quota of the managed eggs and hatchlings.
The third phase, which began in 2013 and is still operating as of 2019, increased the percentage of hatchlings that community members were allowed to harvest to 40%.
Rangers and community members in Pacaya Basin per- ceive a trend of growth in the managed P. unifilis popula- tion since the implementation of the program, yet this perception may diverge from our ecological understanding of the system under current acceptable harvest
We identified eight ecological indicators from the interviews, with the most widely stated indicators of population growth being the perceived abundance of indi- viduals seen basking in Pacaya (58% of respondents), the perceived increases in the population because of increases in the number of nests translocated each year (38%), and perceived increases in the population due to the yearly increase in hatchlings released into the water (35%).
but By 2012, the perceived success of the program resulted in an increase in the allowed harvest quota of hatchlings from 20 to 40% per year during Phase 3 (2013–2017). Results from the PVAs (population viability analyses) given the best-available site- and species-specific data revealed that under the current harvest rates (40% of hatchlings per year), the P. unifilis population will continue to decrease over time (84% probability of extinction after 30 years), and an (unknown) additional (illicit) harvest pressure of 100 adults per year increases the probability of extinction to 98% after 30 years
Organized groups also contribute to the re-nesting, protection, and release of P. expansa (“Charapa”), but this turtle species is not commercialized.
Rangers and community members in Pacaya Basin per- ceive a trend of growth in the managed P. unifilis popula- tion since the implementation of the program, yet this perception may diverge from our ecological understanding of the system under current acceptable harvest
We identified eight ecological indicators from the interviews, with the most widely stated indicators of population growth being the perceived abundance of indi- viduals seen basking in Pacaya (58% of respondents), the perceived increases in the population because of increases in the number of nests translocated each year (38%), and perceived increases in the population due to the yearly increase in hatchlings released into the water (35%).
but By 2012, the perceived success of the program resulted in an increase in the allowed harvest quota of hatchlings from 20 to 40% per year during Phase 3 (2013–2017). Results from the PVAs (population viability analyses) given the best-available site- and species-specific data revealed that under the current harvest rates (40% of hatchlings per year), the P. unifilis population will continue to decrease over time (84% probability of extinction after 30 years), and an (unknown) additional (illicit) harvest pressure of 100 adults per year increases the probability of extinction to 98% after 30 years;
, respon- dents’ perceptions of a trend of growth are in contrast to our findings of a possible declining population trend under current management. The aforementioned finding highlights the importance of a mixed natural and social sciences approach in elucidating how social understanding and ecological understanding of a system may converge and diverge.
Tensions arise between group members, who may illicitly harvest resources, and park rangers, who are confronted with the decision to engage in disciplinary action and potentially disrupt social relation- ships.
Purchasing power --> “In the past, I could not even afford to buy an old pot. Now I can purchase more expensive things, and [now] I have a house.”
Safety --> "a quarter of respondents noted the dangerous nature of the work, including difficult travel terrain, expo- sure to predators and poachers, and adverse weather conditions"
Significant vulnerabilities exist for system sustainability, notably the recent decrease in foreign demand for the traded resource, and hence the recent decrease in values of hatchlings.
Rivera, C.J., Macey, S.K., Blair, M.E. et al. Assessing Ecological and Social Dimensions of Success in a Community-based Sustainable Harvest Program. Environmental Management 67, 731–746 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-021-01425-6
members of local groups were allowed to harvest and directly consume and trade non viable eggs during the first phase of the program (1994–2007) in exchange for the protection of nests and the release of hatchlings into the water
Rangers and community members in Pacaya Basin per- ceive a trend of growth in the managed P. unifilis popula- tion since the implementation of the program, yet this perception may diverge from our ecological understanding of the system under current acceptable harvest
We identified eight ecological indicators from the interviews, with the most widely stated indicators of population growth being the perceived abundance of indi- viduals seen basking in Pacaya (58% of respondents), the perceived increases in the population because of increases in the number of nests translocated each year (38%), and perceived increases in the population due to the yearly increase in hatchlings released into the water (35%).
but By 2012, the perceived success of the program resulted in an increase in the allowed harvest quota of hatchlings from 20 to 40% per year during Phase 3 (2013–2017). Results from the PVAs (population viability analyses) given the best-available site- and species-specific data revealed that under the current harvest rates (40% of hatchlings per year), the P. unifilis population will continue to decrease over time (84% probability of extinction after 30 years), and an (unknown) additional (illicit) harvest pressure of 100 adults per year increases the probability of extinction to 98% after 30 years
, respon- dents’ perceptions of a trend of growth are in contrast to our findings of a possible declining population trend under current management. The aforementioned finding highlights the importance of a mixed natural and social sciences approach in elucidating how social understanding and ecological understanding of a system may converge and diverge.
The range of ages of the respondents was 24–62.