Bredin, Yennie K., John D.C. Linnell, Leandro Silveira, Natália M. Tôrres, Anah A. Jácomo, & Jon E. Swenson (2015). Institutional stakeholders’ views on jaguar conservation issues in central Brazil. Global Ecology and Conservation, 3, 814–823. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2015.04.010) (Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989415000463?via%3Dihub)
Abstract: Large carnivore management is typically a source of heated controversy worldwide and, in the Americas, jaguars (Panthera onca) are at the centre of many human-wildlife conflicts. Although findings suggest that social, rather than economic, factors are important reasons for why humans kill jaguars, few studies focus on stakeholder attitudes towards jaguar conservation beyond quantifying livestock depredation. Yet insights from other large carnivore conflicts demonstrate the importance of the political landscape and stakeholder attitudes in carnivore conservation. To explore the extent to which stakeholder views about jaguar conservation aligned with institutional arrangements, we conducted a stakeholder analysis among personnel working for key institutions in central Brazil. Using Q methodology, we identified three stakeholder perspectives focusing on: A) jaguars’ intrinsic right to exist; B) wider ecocentric values; and C) contesting jaguar-focused conservation. The three institutional stakeholder groups all accepted the jaguar’s fundamental right to exist and agreed that it was important to establish protected areas for jaguars. Yet, institutional stakeholder views diverged regarding the desired distribution of jaguars in Brazil, hunting policies, and the effects of hunting and development projects on jaguar conservation. These differences and their underlying motivations are important to consider for successful jaguar conservation strategies in Brazil.
Yennie K Bredin <yennie.bredin> is in the Department of Ecology and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences and the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Trondheim, Norway.
