Publication Type: Abstract
Abstract: The Banyang-Mbo Wildlife Sanctuary is a multi-use lowland tropical rainforest in southwestern Cameroon designated by Cameroon government to protect 11 species including the most endangered primates in Central and West Africa Mandrillus leucophaeus and Pan troglodytes. Local communities maintain user-rights of forest and natural resources as long as conservation goals are not compromised. Over 55 villages within sanctuary area exert hunting pressure on wildlife for dietary requirements and income source. A seven month study was conducted to assess current impact of hunting pressure on wildlife biodiversity loss with hope to recommend managed sustainable hunting system to Forestry and Wildlife ministry. Carcasses of animals from daily hunt of 84 hunters were weighed, sexed and aged. Socio-economic data on weapon type, use, price of each animal killed and destination was recored in the 14 study villages. Hunters were interviewed in an attempt to understand hunters' perception of hunted game and their capacity to implement a managed hunting system. 33 species were harvested, 3,176 individual animals with total biomass of 22,400.43kg killed. Placeing into taxonomic groups, duikers 34% and rodents 22% were most affected. Hunting might be unsustainable as indicated by a decline in yield over time. Mandrillus leucophaeus and Pan troglodytes face risk of local extinction. I recommend alternative income sources like cottage industries.

Publication Type: Abstract
Abstract: Biodiversity in general and species-diversity in particular is declining sharply across the world due to human interference. Although certain species are going extinct because of overexploitation, but the vast majority of them are at risk because of habitat destruction. Conservation of biodiversity depends on conservation of habitats. Areas of high biological value tend to get protected by acquiring some form of protected area status. In wildlife conservation, the real problem is the management of humans rather than handling of the animals. Human management calls for an overall socio-economic development of the residents of fringe and forest villages, in order to ensure successful implementation of wildlife conservation policies. Based on primary data, the present study in a sanctuary of West Bengal, India that harbours Elephants, Indian Rhino, Tiger and Leopard, offers a gender-wise review of socio-economic structure of the people, their loss and benefit out of sanctuaries and their gender-wise concept of Willingness To Pay (WTP). An important finding of this study is the gender-wise attitude of the forest villagers towards conservation. The study details salient features of a recommended female oriented economic development programme as the female takes a pivotal position in the village-family and such development programmes are certain to have long lasting effect on the general attitude towards wildlife conservation.

Publication Type: Presentation Proposal
Abstract: Scat, tracks, rubs and scrapes are just a few ways to identify wildlife. Attend this poster session to learn activities and techniques to educate others about the fascinating world of wildlife signs.

Publication Type: Oral Presentation
Abstract: Created by the 1985 Farm Bill, the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is a market-driven, voluntary conservation program administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA) of US Department of Agriculture. CRP is perhaps the Nation’s foremost program for private lands wildlife conservation. Recent analysis cites clear evidence of a multitude of wildlife benefits produced by Farm Bill programs enacted and implemented since 1985 and points to CRP as the best researched and documented of these programs. In the two decades since its inception, CRP has been a dynamic program. Initially aimed at at reversal and prevention of soil erosion and enhancement of water quality, revisions of Farm legislation and programmatic administration have helped CRP evolve and expand to embrace wildlife habitat in the ‘equitable balance’ of statutory goals mandated by Congress. The program has also made significant strides toward using public resources to maximum advantage, using performance measures to quantify results and integrating adaptive management processes to identify opportunities to increase CRP benefits. Working in partnership with Federal agencies, nonprofit organizations, and States, FSA has initiated a number of programs, practices, and initiatives that concentrate CRP acres in areas identified as most likely to maximize benefits at landscape level for wildlife habitat. This paper provides a review of the history of CRP, discusses recent research quantifying benefits for wildlife and recent innovations in the area of landscape-level benefits, in the context of the upcoming Farm Bill reauthorization.

Publication Type: Abstract
Abstract: Abstract: While GPS collars are fast becoming the tool of choice for habitat use studies of large and far ranging animals, little attention has been given to the effects of GIS error on results. Studies employing radio tracking data mapped on GIS habitat layers are especially susceptible to erroneous results due to the use of multiple layers of remotely collected data. To determine the habitat use, landscape scale movement, and spatial patterns, an adult female Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus) was fitted with a GPS collar in Tangjiahe Nature Reserve, Sichuan, China. GPS radio tracking data were analyzed to determine both GPS point location error and GIS habitat boundary error. The impacts of such error on habitat use were then determined by placing buffers around each point and around every habitat edge.

Preliminary data analysis demonstrates that within any given point buffer area the presence of one distinct habitat type was low at 22% (N=50), whereas the added habitat buffers resulted in a distinct habitat type at 56% (N=50) of the points. To develop an accurate model of habitat use, the proportion of habitats within each buffer zone were utilized to represent habitat use for that specific point. This resulted in an increase in the total number of habitat types used and a redefined matrix of proportional habitat use.

These results reveal how GPS and GIS errors can impact habitat use determination and the importance of compensating for such errors.