Engaging Fishers' Ecological Knowledge for Endangered Species Conservation: Four Advantages to Emphasizing Voice in Participatory Action Research

Abstract

Using social science to integrate local knowledge into conservation science can provide unique insights to conservation challenges. Especially when baseline data of a vulnerable wildlife population are deficient, these methods can help fill critical data gaps. In this study, we integrate the principals from the trinity of voice (TOV) and participatory action research (PAR) to generate baseline data on in-water habitat use of critically endangered hawksbill sea turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) and to build mutually beneficial relationships with local stakeholders near the hawksbill's two primary nesting grounds: mangrove estuaries in El Salvador and Nicaragua. Local stakeholders, in this study referred to as fishers, hold expert knowledge they have acquired both experientially and culturally. Using TOV to shape PAR, we invited stakeholders to use their fishers' ecological knowledge (FEK) to enhance conservation of this at-risk species. Our results demonstrate that in addition to using FEK to produce quantifiable data (e.g., turtle habitat use), there are four advantages to emphasizing voice throughout a PAR project:(1) provides locality-specific information, (2) enhances mutual learning and leadership, (3) incorporates local experience, knowledge, and creativity, and (4) encourages local participation and commitment to the conservation challenge.

Quantifying local ecological knowledge to model historical abundance of long-lived, heavily-exploited fauna

“…We obtained oral informed consent from all participants prior to the start of interviews, and recorded interviews in audio or video and took technical photographs when possible ( Article S1 ; Tables S2 and S3 ) ( International Society of Ethnobiology, 2006 ). We chose oral consent as it was not deemed culturally appropriate to ask participants to sign a consent document and because some participants were not comfortable with written language ( International Society of Ethnobiology, 2006 ; Wedemeyer-Strombel et al, 2019 ). We conducted all interviews in Spanish—our primary language and that of the collaborators—and transcribed recorded interviews in digital format (.txt).…”

Collaborative Modeling and Social Learning in the Context of Joint Forest Management in East Sikkim, India

“…Second, we focused on the effectiveness of the modeling process in terms of new knowledge gained to evaluate stakeholder standing, and third, we assessed stakeholder influence by examining how opportunities to communicate stakeholder knowledge could lead to mutually agreeable forest management outcomes in the region. By using TOV as a framework to establish a more nuanced understanding and consideration of stakeholder voice in collaborative modeling, we follow Wedemeyer-Strombel et al (2019) in moving beyond the traditional applications of TOV within the domain of public hearings. Although, for the purpose of analysis, we have separated the three dimensions of TOV to demonstrate participants' access, influence, and standing throughout the collaborative modeling process, we understand that the heuristic power of Senecah's Trinity requires a holistic interpretation, and none of the three dimensions can be fully understood outside of that frame.…”

Uncovering Stakeholder Participation in Payment for Hydrological Services (PHS) Program Decision Making in Mexico and Colombia

“…To foster collaborative processes, scholars encourage interdependent parties to work together in problem solving and joint decision making [12,[18][19][20][21]. Genuine participation of diverse stakeholders is key in collaborative processes [18,21,22].…”

“…Participation is increasingly seen as a mechanism to improve public policies and programs by incorporating local needs and perspectives on environmental issues [23][24][25]. Scholars and advocates of stakeholder participation in policy design and decision making have argued that public participation may increase the effectiveness of government policies by helping agencies make better decisions, increasing project "buy-in" from different parties, building capabilities among citizens and citizen groups to frame problems, engage in deliberations, and impact outcomes, strengthening ties within communities and between the government and non-state actors, as well as raising awareness of complex environmental problems [22,[26][27][28][29].…”

“…Scholars in public participation have used different ideas of public participation [30], Ref. [31] to analyze the role of non-state actors in environmental governance, inform environmental public policies through knowledge exchange, foster collaborative problemsolving of environmental threats, and encourage marginalized stakeholders to have a voice in the decision making process [17,22,28,32,33]. Yet, the evaluation of participatory processes in environmental decision making has been limited.…”