Assessing the spatiotemporal dynamics of endangered mammals through local ecological knowledge combined with direct evidence: The case of pangolins in Benin (West Africa)

Zanvo, Stanislas; Gaubert, Philippe; Djagoun, Chabi A.M.S.; Azihou, Akomian Fortuné; Djossa, Bruno Agossou; Sinsin, Brice

doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e01085

Cited by 16 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Scales had the highest use value (UV = 1.56) and were mentioned in 14 out of the 15 ICD categories recorded for 56 different use reports. These results show that the scales possess a great traditional value for local people in Benin, probably justifying the storage of old scale samples in rural households [23] and the great number of scales present in the TMM stalls (SZ, CD, PG; unpubl. data).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…Relative to the sole study that had been conducted on the ethnozoology of pangolins in southern Benin [24], our investigations provide a deeper understanding of ethnozoological values across a diversity of ethnic groups in combination with the economic incentives possibly motivating the overexploitation of pangolins in Benin [23].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…1). The target local communities were identified after Zanvo et al [23] from occurrence areas providing pangolin scales. Focus group participants and vendors were adults at least 18 years old.…”

Section: Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Benin, situated in the Dahomey Gap (West Africa) and often designated as the cradle of the 'Vodoun culture', harbours a vibrant market network for animal-based medicinal and spiritual practices, likely to have deleterious impacts on biodiversity conservation in the whole subregion [6,7]. Although the ethnozoology of pangolins has received much attention in neighbouring countries [6,17,[20][21][22], the situation in Benin, where the whitebellied pangolin's range has been contracted by 1/3 over the last two decades [23], remains understudied. Akpona et al [24] found seven different items of pangolins used by southern communities for 13 medicinal and spiritual purposes, with scales as the most frequently cited.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Akpona et al [24] found seven different items of pangolins used by southern communities for 13 medicinal and spiritual purposes, with scales as the most frequently cited. However, this study was restricted to southern Benin and included only two ethnic groups (Hôli and Fon), despite the larger extent of pangolin's distribution in Benin [23].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ethnozoological and commercial drivers of the pangolin trade in Benin

Zanvo

Djagoun

Azihou

et al. 2021

J Ethnobiology Ethnomedicine

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Background Pangolins are trafficked in unsustainable volumes to feed both local and global trade networks for their meat and the medicinal properties of their derivatives, including scales. We focus on a West African country (Benin) to assess the medicinal and spiritual values of pangolins among different ethnic groups and identify the cohort of buyers involved in the pangolin trade and related economic values along the chain, notably from local diasporas. Methods We organised 54 focus groups in villages surrounding occurrence habitats of pangolins across Benin and conducted 35 individual interviews with vendors from five major traditional medicine markets (TMMs). Our questionnaire addressed the different uses of pangolins, the commercial value of pangolin items, the categories of clients and the related selling prices. Results Pangolin meat was strictly consumed as food. Scales, head, bones, tongue, blood, heart and xiphisternum were the items used by local communities as part of medicinal (65% of the focus groups) and spiritual (37%) practices. Scales were the most frequently used item (use value index = 1.56). A total of 42 medicinal and spiritual uses, covering 15 International Classification of Diseases (ICD) categories, were recorded among ethnic groups. The ICD and spiritual categories-based analyses of similarity showed a partial overlapping of ethnozoological knowledge across Benin, although knowledge was significantly influenced by ethnicity and geographic location. The pricing of pangolins both varied with the category of stakeholders (local communities vs. stakeholders of TMMs) and clients (local and West African clients vs. Chinese community) and the type of items sold. The Chinese community was reported to only buy pangolins alive, and average selling prices were 3–8 times higher than those to West African clients. Conclusions Our results confirm that pangolins in Africa are valuable and versatile resources for consumption and medicinal / spiritual practices. The pangolin trade in Benin is based on an endogenous and complex network of actors that now appears influenced by the specific, high-valued demand from the Chinese diaspora. Further investigations are required to assess the growing impact of the Chinese demand on the African wildlife trade.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Ethnozoological and commercial drivers of the pangolin trade in Benin

Zanvo

Djagoun

Azihou

et al. 2021

J Ethnobiology Ethnomedicine

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Urban wild meat and pangolin consumption across southern forested Cameroon: The limited influence of COVID‐19

Simo,

Difouo,

Tchana

et al. 2024

People and Nature

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Overexploitation of wildlife is pervasive in many tropical regions, and in addition to being a significant conservation and sustainability concern, it has received global attention given discussions over the origins of zoonotic disease outbreaks. Where unsustainable, consumption of wild meat by urban residents has been identified as a major socio‐environmental challenge, given it is a significant driver of wildlife declines. Yet, information on urban wild meat consumers and possible ways to target conservation interventions remains lacking. Using one of the largest datasets of urban wild meat consumers (1391) collected through structured questionnaires in 20 towns and cities, we model the demographic, psychographic and spatial factors associated with wild meat consumption patterns in southern Cameroon. We find that nearly half of the sampled consumers ate wild meat once per week or more, and find that the probability of being a frequent consumer was greater among men, those living in smaller towns, and those who do not consider there to be a link between eating wild meat and disease. Threatened pangolin species are highly preferred among urban consumers, and most consumers did not consider there to be a link between COVID‐19 and pangolins. Most respondents had eaten wild meat since the beginning of COVID‐19 and had not reduced their wild meat consumption due to COVID‐19. For the first time, we show that consumers with beliefs against a link between wild meat consumption and disease and those with greater income were less likely to have decreased their wild meat consumption. We identified stakeholders including teachers and religious/community leaders as potentially appropriate messengers for demand‐reduction campaigns, with television and radio being the most trusted communication channels among wild meat consumers. Crucially, our study advances current scientific understanding of the factors that influence wild meat consumption frequency and change due to COVID‐19 by urban consumers (particularly health beliefs and settlement size). We discuss how our results could be used to inform the design of wild meat demand‐reduction interventions to bring the consumption of wild meat towards sustainability in Cameroon, and our approach applied pan‐tropically. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

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Can local ecological knowledge establish conservation baselines for the Critically Endangered Blue‐crowned Laughingthrush?

Gleave,

Papworth,

Bauman

et al. 2024

People and Nature

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Designing conservation interventions for rare species can be hindered by a lack of relevant data. Local ecological knowledge (LEK) has potential to provide rapidly collected, cost‐effective data across large spatio‐temporal scales, but has rarely been used as a source of conservation‐relevant information for the Asian Songbird Crisis. The Blue‐crowned Laughingthrush (Pterorhinus courtoisi; BCLT) is a Critically Endangered passerine found only in southeastern China. It is unclear why the species' breeding range and global population are extremely small, as it occurs in human‐occupied forest‐agricultural landscapes similar to surrounding environments across southern China. We conducted systematic range‐wide interviews on BCLT (n = 519) to collect novel information on the species' temporal and spatial distribution, and on potential human activities and landscape changes associated with its presence or absence. Recognition of BCLT was moderate (45.0% of respondents reported sightings), with sightings within the previous 18 months across the study area, within and beyond their known distribution. Over half of known breeding villages were confirmed by LEK data, and nesting was reported from two villages with no previous breeding records. BCLT trapping was reported across the study landscape, mostly from the last decade and associated with trappers from urban centres. BCLT trapping and lack of fengshui forest were associated with sites where BCLTs did not breed. Breeding sites were associated with increases in vegetable gardens over respondents' lifetimes, and other sites within the species' range were associated with decreases in bush/scrub. We demonstrate that LEK can identify potential threats, new breeding sites and landscape changes correlated with species presence or absence for threatened birds affected by the Asian songbird crisis. This study provides the first evidence of ongoing trapping as a threat to BCLT, and remedial measures are urgently required across the region. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

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Assessing the spatiotemporal dynamics of endangered mammals through local ecological knowledge combined with direct evidence: The case of pangolins in Benin (West Africa)

Cited by 16 publications

References 32 publications

Ethnozoological and commercial drivers of the pangolin trade in Benin

Ethnozoological and commercial drivers of the pangolin trade in Benin

Urban wild meat and pangolin consumption across southern forested Cameroon: The limited influence of COVID‐19

Can local ecological knowledge establish conservation baselines for the Critically Endangered Blue‐crowned Laughingthrush?

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