What is it about?
We sought to evaluate the perception and attitudes of the inhabitants of an Andean region of Colombia towards 17 native species of terrestrial vertebrates and their relationships with sociodemographic factors such as gender and locality (rural and urban areas). Data were collected through semi-structured surveys of 100 participants. Five variables measuring people's perceptions (taste level, medicinal use, harmful to daily activity, disease transmission and folkloric traditions) were assessed and to measure attitudes, respondents were asked if they would agree that the government should protect or eradicate some of the species in the region.
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Why is it important?
Previous studies have shown that people living in urban areas tend to know less about native species in their environment, and are therefore disconnected from biodiversity conservation actions. The respondents' level of taste for certain vertebrate animal species and their folkloric traditions (omens, myths and legends) only varied for the owl between town and country. Native species of rats, bats and snakes had the highest frequency of negative perceptions, in contrast to canaries and hummingbirds where positive perceptions predominated. The species that featured the greatest diversity of folk traditions were the owl, snake, and bats, all primarily associated with death and bad luck. The majority of respondents considered conserving all species, with a preference for birds and some large/medium mammals and turtles. However, they considered eliminating species such as native species of rats, snakes and bats from the region.
Perspectives
Wildlife conservation initiatives need to understand people's perceptions of the use of charismatic species. Likewise, awareness campaigns about species that are least appreciated by local communities should focus on their ecological importance, demystifying negative stories and beliefs about disease transmission, attacks on domestic animals or damage to crops. Finally, we reviewed the literature on people's positive and negative perceptions of wildlife and the medicinal uses towards these species.
PhD Nicolas Urbina-Cardona
Pontificia Universidad Javeriana
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Perception and attitudes of local communities towards vertebrate fauna in the Andes of Colombia: Effects of gender and the urban/rural setting, Ethnobiology and Conservation, June 2023, Universidade Estadual da Paraiba/Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco (Ethnobiology and Conservation),
DOI: 10.15451/ec2023-06-12.09-1-20.
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