Wildlife translocation programmes benefit if they incorporate human dimensions

Wildlife translocation programmes benefit if they incorporate human dimensions

Subject :Environment

Sec: International convention

Context: Efforts to translocate wildlife benefit if human-related factors, biological and environmental considerations are incorporated, according to a new study by the University of California-Berkeley (UCB).

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• Wildlife translocation is the intentional movement of animals for conservation purposes. It has been used as a technique to mitigate the loss and depletion of endangered species.
• Success of wildlife translocations hinges is coexistence with people. Human dimensions are considered integral to the design, implementation and evaluation of wildlife translocations according to the IUCN Guidelines for Reintroductions and Other Translocations.
• However, despite the recognised importance of human dimensions, these factors are still largely missing from many conservation initiatives, according to the UCB study.
• The researchers synthesised information from case studies reported in the IUCN Global Re-Introduction Perspective Series to identify relationships between the inclusion of human dimension objectives in wildlife translocation efforts and programme outcomes.
• They analysed 305 case studies of wildlife translocations from seven IUCN reports published between 2008 and 2021.Of the 305 case studies, 127 case studies (42 per cent) included human dimension objectives when planning their translocation.
• The study found that translocation efforts that included human dimension objectives were significantly more likely to have a positive outcome than the translocation efforts that did not include human dimension objectives.
• Of the six key strategies the study identified for including human dimension objectives, education was the most common, followed by engaging locals, providing economic benefits, increasing social tolerance, enforcing regulations and supplying cultural benefits.