Use education programmes and local engagement to help reduce persecution or exploitation of species

Supporting evidence from individual studies

1. A replicated, before-and-after study from 1978-1988 using 141 heads-of-households interviewed before (1981-1982) and after (1988) the wide-scale implementation of the Marine Bird Conservation Project in the coastal North Shore region of Quebec, Canada (Blanchard & Monroe 1990) found that conservation behaviour and seabird populations significantly increased after educational campaigns (including hands-on lessons, field trips, local volunteering, academic materials and creative productions). All seabird populations, especially the alcids (average increase > 50%), significantly increased from 1978-1988 following a decline from 1955-1978. There were significant reductions in respondents who believed that it should be legal to hunt Atlantic puffins Fratercula arctica (54% to 30%), razorbills Alca torda (59% to 38%), and common guillemot Uria aalge (76% to 65%) but no change in perception of common eider Somateria mollissima or herring gull Larus argentatus hunting. The percentage of family members involved in hunting dropped significantly from 76% to 48% and the average number of birds reported as needed per year dropped from 44 to 24.

   Study and other actions tested

   Referenced paper

   Blanchard K.A. & Monroe M.C. (1990) Culture and conservation: strategies for reversing population declines in seabirds. Endangered Species Update, 7, 1-5.

2. A ten-year study of a griffon vulture Gyps fulvus reintroduction programme in river gorges in Aveyron, southern France (Sarrazin et al. 1994) found that an education programme run at the same time appeared to reduce persecution of vultures. No shooting or poisoning was recorded in the study area and only a single nest was disturbed by a climber. In addition, farmers were reported to be leaving carcasses in fields more frequently, thus providing a source of food for the vultures. No details are provided on the education programme. The reintroduction programme itself is discussed in ‘Release captive-bred individuals’ and ‘Release birds as adult or subadults, not juveniles’.

   Study and other actions tested

   Referenced paper

   Sarrazin F., Bagnolini C., Pinna J.L., Danchin E. & Clobert J. (1994) High survival estimates of griffon vultures (Gyps fulvus fulvus) in a reintroduced population. The Auk, 111, 853-862.

3. A 1998 literature review of crane Grus spp. conservation (Davis 1998) describes how whooping cranes G. americana continued to decline in the USA following legal protection, until intensive public education programmes. Before education, fewer than half the recorded whooping crane mortalities were due to natural causes, but between 1968 and 1998, only four whooping cranes are known to have been shot. This review is discussed in more detail in ‘Habitat protection’, ‘Use legislative regulation to protect wild populations’, ‘Mark power lines to reduce incidental mortality’, ‘Provide supplementary food to increase adult survival’ and ‘Release captive-bred individuals’.

   Study and other actions tested

   Referenced paper

   Davis C. (1998) A review of the success of major crane conservation techniques. Bird Conservation International, 8, 19-29.

4. A 1998 review of a yellow-shouldered amazon Amazona barbadensis release programme on Margarita Island, Venezuela (Sanz & Grajal 1998), found that the population on the island increased from 750 to approximately 1,900 individuals between 1989 and 1996. The authors argue that the success was dependent to a large degree on a five-year public education and awareness programme, with promotions such as making the parrot the state bird, visiting local schools, involving youth conservation brigades and local news reports. The details of the reintroduction programme are in ‘Release captive-bred individuals’, ‘Artificially incubate and hand-rear birds in captivity’ and ‘Foster eggs or chicks with wild conspecifics’.

   Study and other actions tested

   Referenced paper

   Sanz V. & Grajal A. (1998) Successful reintroduction of captive-raised yellow-shouldered Amazon parrots on Margarita Island, Venezuela. Conservation Biology, 12, 430-441.

5. A before-and-after study in western Costa Rica (Vaughan et al. 2005) found an increase in a scarlet macaw Ara macao population from 185-225 individuals in 1990-4 to 225-265 in 1997-2003, following the formation of a local conservation organisation; environmental education programmes; meetings with local stakeholders and several other interventions (‘Promote sustainable alternative livelihoods based on species’, ‘Provide artificial nesting sites’ and ‘Guard nests to increase nest success’). In 1990-4 the population had been showing a 4%/year decline. This study is discussed in more detail in ‘Increase ‘on-the-ground’ protection to reduce unsustainable levels of exploitation’.

   Study and other actions tested

   Referenced paper

   Vaughan C., Nemeth N.M., Cary J. & Temple S. (2005) Response of a scarlet macaw Ara macao population to conservation practices in Costa Rica. Bird Conservation International, 15, 119-130.

6. A replicated study from 2000-2003 (part of a longer study from 2000-2009) of 10 monitored yellow-shouldered parrot Amazona barbadensis nests in tropical forest habitat on Margarita Island, Venezuela (Briceño-Linares et al. 2011), found that there was no short-term decrease in poaching rates after raising environmental awareness at schools. Poaching increased from 25% (during 1990-1999) to 100% in 2000-2003 of monitored fledglings. The environmental education programme, focused on older elementary schoolchildren (8-13 years old), was established by providing information, training, resources and support to local elementary school teachers. Schools hosted environmental days and started environmental brigades. At the end of each breeding season, a ‘parrot festival’ was organized by the people of one of the towns. The authors point out that the benefits of this program are likely to be detected at later stages of the project. This study is also discussed in ‘Relocate nestlings to reduce poaching’, ‘Provide artificial nest sites’, ‘Employ locals as biomonitors’ and ‘Foster eggs or chicks with wild conspecifics’.

   Study and other actions tested

   Referenced paper

   Briceño-Linares J.M., Rodríguez J.P., Rodríguez-Clark K.M., Rojas-Suárez F., Millán P.A., Vittori E.G. & Carrasco-Muñoz M. (2011) Adapting to changing poaching intensity of yellow-shouldered parrot (Amazona barbadensis) nestlings in Margarita Island, Venezuela. Biological Conservation, 144, 1188-1193.