Conhecimento ecológico local, manejo e conservação da fauna silvestre em Unidade de Conservação-Moçambique

Abstract

Wildlife plays an important role in maintaining environmental services in tropical forests, and is an important agent of pollination, decomposition, seed dispersal, and population control through herbivory and predation. In many tropical countries, wildlife also provides food that guarantees food security. Wildlife also generates various economic benefits through animal watching tourism and sport hunting. Several conservation areas have local communities residing in them, so wildlife conservation and the sustainable use of resources by the communities must be reconciled. Environmental monitoring programmes often use wild animals as indicators, but maintaining long-term research protocols is a financial and logistical challenge. To ensure the sustainability of these programmes, it is important to adopt monitoring programmes based on simple, accessible, replicable and low-cost protocols. This study aimed to assess the wildlife population based on local knowledge and the impact of human-wildlife conflict in the Chipanje Chetu Community Conservation Area. This study therefore consists of three chapters. In the first chapter we estimated density based on track and trace counts, and assessed the influence of environmental and anthropogenic factors on species abundance. Based on the count of tracks and traces, it was possible to identify 17 species, of which Panthera leo had the lowest density (0.001 ind /km 2) while Sylvicapra grimmia and Hippotragus niger had the highest densities (0.8 and 0.71 ind /km 2 respectively). The results also show that anthropogenic as well as natural factors influence the abundance and distribution of animals. In the second chapter we studied the local uses of wildlife based on interviews with local experts using the Lickert scale in two period. The results show that of the 29 species evaluated, the majority of species reported by local experts were low in abundance when there was no wildlife resource management system and medium in abundance in the period when there was an established resource management system. However, even with an increase in the abundance of fauna in the period with a management system, it is important to review the restrictions on the use of these resources by the communities, since the results show that wildlife has a socio-cultural value in the local communities. In the third chapter we assessed the impact of human-wildlife conflict in the study area. The results show that human-wildlife conflict is one of the challenges within the area. Wild animals cause damage to agricultural fields and attack domestic animals, seriously jeopardising the food security of family farmers. In addition to the damage, the conflict has an impact on children's education. The results of this research demonstrate once again the importance of local ecological knowledge and the role of local communities in themanagement of protected areas.