Understanding non-compliance: Local people’s perceptions of natural resource exploitation inside two national parks in northeast Brazil

Non-compliance with conservation regulations is a key issue for protected area management effectiveness in most parts of the world. Effectively managing such behaviours requires a clear understanding of who is non-compliant, what is driving their non-compliance, and what the likely conservation consequences of compliant and non-compliant behaviours are. However, such information is notoriously difficult to obtain due to the (understandable) reluctance of transgressors to discuss illegal activities. Here, we adopt the Kiping social survey method to assess the drivers of non-compliance with resource use rules in two national parks (Catimbau and Chapada Diamantina) in Northeast Brazil. The method is therefore used to support the exploration of suitable solutions for coping with non-compliance on the ground. We found high levels of social acceptability for illegal behaviours in both Parks, though hunting and cutting trees inside the park were viewed more negatively by local residents. Respondents from both areas generally supported the collection of plants and firewood, especially by poor people and local residents. Acceptance of illegal activities was statistically correlated with awareness of park regulations in both parks and, in Catimbau NP, it was also prevalent among older, poorer and less educated residents. To deter non-compliance, a mix of interventions from more coercive measures to softer instruments are recommended, especially in Catimbau NP where the area is not patrolled and the close proximity of indigenous lands gives rise to land- and resource-use conflicts.     

Indigenous ecological knowledge and natural resource management in the cultural landscape of China’s Hani Terraces

Indigenous ecological knowledge (IEK) can contribute to the management of local ecosystems and landscapes. Cultural landscapes are produced by and reflect the long-term interactions between humans and nature in indigenous societies. Yunnan Province, located in southwestern China, is the homeland of many ethnic groups, and is also a refuge for numerous species of wild plants and animals. Indigenous people in Yunnan, who have rich ecological knowledge, play an important role in the conservation of local biodiversity and the region’s unique terraced agricultural landscapes. We used the Hani people and their outstanding cultural landscape of rice terraces in Yuanyang County of Yunnan Province as a case study to describe their worldview and discuss their formation of IEK; their roles in the preservation of rice landraces and in pest regulation; their management of water, forest, and soil resources; and the vertical landscape pattern and resource-circulation system that has evolved in the areas managed by the Hani. We also discuss the challenges and threats facing the Hani, their IEK, and their cultural landscape, as well as discuss the potential for integration of the Hani’s IEK with modern conservation efforts.     

Mate selection in popular women’s fiction

A study of twenty-five popular women’s novels and six famous romantic stories has led to the conclusion that such novels and stories are tales of mate selection and mating commitment. Pérusse’s (1994) predictions with respect to mate choice are confirmed by the activities of male and female protagonists in the novels (binomial test,p<.01 in all cases). Males choose mates on the basis of sexual exclusivity and fertility. Females choose mates on the basis of economic factors and parenting potential. As well, male and female characters differ in terms of their display of functional emotions.     

Trade-offs in low-income women’s mate preferences

A sample of 460 low-income women completed a mate preference questionnaire and surveys that assessed family background, life history, conscientiousness, sexual motives, self-ratings (e.g., looks), and current circumstances (e.g., income). A cluster analysis revealed two groups of women: women who reported a strong preference for looks and money in a short-term mate and commitment in a long-term mate, and women who reported smaller differences across mating context. Group differences were found in reported educational levels, family background, sexual development, number of children, and motives for having sex. Implications for understanding individual differences in women’s mate-preference trade-offs are discussed.     

Local knowledge,use, and conservation of wild birds in the semi-arid region of Paraíba state,northeastern Brazil

Background

The use of wild birds, for several purposes, is directly associated with cultural, ecological, and conservation issues. This study aimed to inventory the wild birds known and used in three communities in Paraíba state, northeast Brazil, and to investigate the sociocultural context in which these activities occur.

Methods

A total of 179 people (98 women and 81 men) were interviewed. Data were collected through free interviews, using semi-structured forms, and posing questions about the use of local wild birds. The species were identified by direct observation of the birds, analysis of photographic records, and the use of a scientific guide.

Results

Each species’ use value (UV) was calculated in three different ways: UV_general, UV_current, and UV_potential. These UVs ranged from 0.01 to 1.15 for UV_g, 0 to 0.21 for UV_c, and 0.01 to 1.02 for UV_p. A total of 99 species, 81 genera, and 40 families were recorded and classified into the use categories of food, breeding, and medicinal. Thraupidae (12 species), Columbidae, Accipitridae, and Icteridae (8 species each) were the most diverse families.

Conclusions

The use of wild birds is a widespread activity in the studied areas, where many species are used. This demonstrates the need to conduct studies to assess the pressure suffered by these bird species, as well as the need to create public policies that intervene in the use and conservation of wild birds.

     

Imagining Kant’s theory of scientific knowledge: philosophy and education in microbiology

International Microbiology - In the field of observational and experimental natural sciences (as is the case for microbiology), recent decades have been overinfluenced by overwhelming technological...     

Cyclic variation in women’s preferences for masculine traits

Women’s preferences for several male traits, including voices, change over the menstrual cycle, but the proximate causes of these changes are unknown. This paper explores relationships between levels of estradiol, progesterone, luteinizing hormone, follicle stimulating hormone, prolactin, and testosterone (estimated using menstrual cycle information) and women’s preferences for male vocal masculinity in normally cycling and hormonally contracepting heterosexual females. Preferences for vocal masculinity decreased with predicted progesterone levels and increased with predicted prolactin levels in normally cycling—but not hormonally contracepting—women. Adaptive explanations for menstrual variation in women’s preferences for masculine traits are discussed and evaluated in light of these findings.     

Acts and practices of citizenship: Muslim women’s activism in the UK

Drawing on the growing literature on Muslim women’s activism, this paper explores grammars of action that frame political mobilizations of Muslim women in the UK. By taking a broad view of political activism, we identify acts and practices of citizenship through which Muslim women activists engage with, reinterpret and challenge social norms. The article critically engages with dominant readings of post-migration minorities’ political mobilization through the lens of citizenship regimes and draws attention to more processual and agency-centred perspectives on citizenship. We focus on two salient themes that Bristol-based Muslim activists were concerned with: mobilizing against violence against women, manifested in the anti-FGM campaign by Integrate Bristol, and attempts to re-negotiate the terms of participation in religious spaces, manifested in claims for more inclusive mosques. In both instances, mobilization was not confined to the local community or national level, but supported by and embedded in related transnational struggles.     

Plant use by the q’eqchi’ maya of belize in ethnopsychiatry and neurological pathology

Plant Use by the Q’eqchi’ Maya of Belize in Ethnopsychiatry and Neurological Pathology. Economic Botany 59(4):326–336, 2005. Neurological and mental health disorders are extremely debilitating, and sufferers in developing countries often rely on traditional practitioners for these medical needs. Few studies have focused on botanical remedies used in this context, although these offer interesting treatment alternatives. The present study investigated plant use for the treatment of neurological and mental health disorders by Q'eqchi' Maya healers of southern Belize. We found that these healers generally recognize and treat epilepsy/seizures, headache, madness, fright (susto), depression, numbness, insomnia, and stress with herbal remedies. Quantitative analyses showed that there is selection for the use of certain species and botanical families, namely for species of the Pteridophyta division and for plants from the Piperaceae family. This study denotes the importance and selectivity of plant use by Q'eqchi' healers of southern Belize for the treatment of neurological and mental conditions and points to a possible underrepresentation of these disorders in the ethnobotanical literature.