Title
Sustainable wildlife extraction and the impacts of socio-economic change among the Kukama-Kukamilla people of the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve, Peru
Date Issued
01 March 2020
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Kirkland M.
Eisenberg C.
Bicerra A.
Axmacher J.C.
Durham University
Abstract
Throughout the tropics, hunting and fishing are critical livelihood activities for many Indigenous peoples. However, these practices may not be sustainable following recent socio-economic changes in Indigenous populations. To understand how human population growth and increased market integration affect hunting and fishing patterns, we conducted semi-structured interviews in five Kukama-Kukamilla communities living along the boundary of the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve, in the Peruvian Amazon. Extrapolated annual harvest rates of fish and game species by these communities amounted to 1,740 t and 4,275 individuals (67 t), respectively. At least 23 fish and 27 game species were harvested. We found a positive correlation between village size and annual community-level harvest rates of fish and a negative relationship between market exposure and mean per-capita harvest rates of fish. Catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) analyses indicated local depletion of fish populations around larger, more commercial communities. Catch-per-unit-effort of fish was lower in more commercial communities and fishers from the largest village travelled further into the Reserve, where CPUE was higher. We found no effect of village size or market exposure on harvest rates or CPUE of game species. However, larger, more commercial communities targeted larger, economically valuable species. This study provides evidence that human population growth and market-driven hunting and fishing pose a growing threat to wildlife and Indigenous livelihoods through increased harvest rates and selective harvesting of species vulnerable to exploitation.
Start page
260
End page
269
Volume
54
Issue
2
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Ciencias de las plantas, Botánica
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85052958444
Source
ORYX
Resource of which it is part
ORYX
ISSN of the container
00306053
DOI of the container
10.1017/S0030605317001922
Sponsor(s)
We are indebted to the communities of the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve, who participated in data collection and without whom this project would not have been possible. We thank Teddy Urashima and Pool Erazo Arevalo for field assistance, Pablo Puertas for his help and advice, Hannah Kirkland for proof reading, Fund Amazonia, Wildlife Conservation Society, Earthwatch Institute and Operation Wallacea for assistance during fieldwork and financial support, and the Peruvian Protected Area Service (Servicio Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas) for providing authorization for and coordination of fieldwork.
Sources of information: Directorio de Producción Científica Scopus