Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Use legislative regulation to protect wild populations Six out of seven before-and-after studies and two literature reviews/meta-analyses found evidence that legislation protects bird populations. Five studies in Europe, Indonesia and across the world found increased population levels of vultures, raptors, cranes and cockatoos following protective legislation (amongst other interventions). However, one found populations of raptors declined soon after. The literature review also found two cases of limited or no impact of legislation. Two before-and-after studies from Denmark and the USA and Canada and the meta-analysis found increased estimated survival of falcons, ducks and parrots with stricter protection, but not necessarily population-level responses. A meta-analysis found decreased harvest of parrots in areas with stricter protection regimes, but a before-and-after study found no evidence for reduced shearwater harvest with legislation.  Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F271https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F271Thu, 19 Jul 2012 16:57:57 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Increase ‘on-the-ground’ protection to reduce unsustainable levels of exploitation Two before-and-after studies from Central America and Europe found increases in recruitment and population levels following either stricter anti-poaching measures or stricter protection and the stationing a warden on an island. However, the Central American study found that recruitment increases were only maintained for as long as the intensive effort was continued.  Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F272https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F272Thu, 19 Jul 2012 17:38:04 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Promote sustainable alternative livelihoodsA single before-and-after study in Costa Rica found an increase in a scarlet macaw Ara macao population following several interventions including the promotion of sustainable, macaw-based livelihoods.  Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F273https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F273Thu, 19 Jul 2012 18:25:59 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Use education programmes and local engagement to help reduce persecution or exploitation of species Five out of six studies from across the world found increases in bird populations or decreases in mortality following education programmes. In all but one case, education was one of several interventions employed. A replicated before-and-after study from Canada also found that there was a significant shift in local peoples’ attitudes to conservation and exploited species following educational programmes. One study from Venezuela found no evidence for decreases in yellow-shouldered parrot Amazona barbadensis poaching following an educational programme in local schools. The authors argue that the benefits would probably be seen later in the project.  Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F274https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F274Thu, 19 Jul 2012 18:28:35 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Employ local people as ‘biomonitors’A single replicated study in Venezuela found that poaching of parrot nestlings was significantly lower following the employment of five young men as ‘biomonitors’.  Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F275https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F275Fri, 20 Jul 2012 12:15:50 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Mark eggs to reduce their appeal to egg collectorsA single before-and-after study found that marking eggs greatly increased the number of chicks fledging from six raptor nests in Australia in 1979 and 1980.  Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F276https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F276Tue, 24 Jul 2012 12:25:58 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Relocate nestlings to reduce poachingA replicated before-and-after study in Venezuela found significant decreases in poaching rate and increased fledging rates of parrots after wild chicks were moved into police premises each night.  Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F277https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F277Tue, 24 Jul 2012 12:28:18 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Use wildlife refuges to reduce hunting disturbance Three studies from the USA and Europe found that bird densities were higher in refuges where hunting was prohibited, compared to areas with hunting. In addition, two studies found that more birds used hunting-free areas during the open season and on hunting days. No studies investigated the population-level impacts of these refuges.  Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F278https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F278Tue, 24 Jul 2012 12:34:46 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Introduce voluntary ‘maximum shoot distances’A replicated, randomised before-and-after study from Denmark found that significantly fewer pink-footed geese Anser brachyrhynchus were wounded but not killed, following the implementation of a voluntary maximum shooting distance.  Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F279https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F279Tue, 24 Jul 2012 12:44:12 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Provide ‘sacrificial’ grasslands to reduce the impact of wild geese on cropsTwo studies in the UK found that managing grasslands for geese increased the number grazing there. However, both found that the birds were moving within a relatively small area (i.e. within the study sites) and therefore the grasslands may not reduce conflict with farmers.  Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F280https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F280Tue, 24 Jul 2012 12:48:14 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Move fish-eating birds to reduce conflict with fishermenA single before-and-after study in the USA found that Caspian tern Sterna caspia chicks had a lower proportion of commercial fish in their diet following the movement of the colony away from an important fishery.  Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F281https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F281Tue, 24 Jul 2012 12:58:27 +0100Collected Evidence: Collected Evidence: Scare fish-eating birds from areas to reduce conflictStudies investigating scaring birds from fishing areas are discussed in ‘Threat: Agriculture – Aquaculture’.  Collected Evidencehttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F282https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservationevidence.com%2Factions%2F282Tue, 24 Jul 2012 13:00:53 +0100
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What Works in Conservation

What Works in Conservation provides expert assessments of the effectiveness of actions, based on summarised evidence, in synopses. Subjects covered so far include amphibians, birds, mammals, forests, peatland and control of freshwater invasive species. More are in progress.

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