Local community knowledge and perceptions in the Colombian Caribbean towards Amphibians in urban and rural settings: tools for biological conservation

Abstract

Human perceptions vary between rural and urban environments, determining the degree to which people are able to coexist with biodiversity. It is important to identify the sociodemographic factors that determine these local perceptions to adjust amphibian conservation strategies in recognition of the particular conditions of different human communities. In this research, the effect of the urban or rural location where people live and sociodemographic variables in the knowledge and perceptions about amphibians was determined. The data were collected through individual semi-structured surveys of 401 participants. We measured seven response variables through the Likert scale, which ranges from 1 (totally disagree) to 5 (totally agree). For each response variable, a multivariate analysis of variance was performed. Ninety-two percent of people correctly recognized frogs and toads as amphibians, but there was confusion in classifying caecilians and salamanders within this group or including reptiles within amphibians. This confusion was more evident for women from urban locality. Positive perceptions of amphibians varied between urban and rural locality for young adults, people with a high school education level, and people without formal education. Negative beliefs varied between urban and rural locations for women, adolescents, young adults, and professionals. Half of the people accepted information on the conservation of amphibians. Positive perceptions of people about amphibians should be used as a flag to strengthen environmental educational strategies, mainly in urban locations. The results suggest that amphibian conservation plans that aim to inform and educate the public should be focused differently for age groups, genders, and educational level for people in urban and rural locations.

Assessing factors influencing students’ perceptions towards animal species conservation

“…If people has a greater empathy with useful animals, humans establish a conflict relationship with animals of potential risks to them, in turn, establishing more aversion with those species ( Onyishi et al, 2021 ; de Oliveira et al, 2019 ; Oliveira et al, 2020 ; Vergara-Ríos et al, 2021 ). This is the case of snakes in Brazil, which, as some works point out, are the target of aversion and fear on the part of people generally due to the risk they pose to human lives and their domestic animals ( Alves, 2012 ; Fernandes-Ferreira et al, 2013 ; Mendonça, Vieira & Alves, 2014 ).…”

Peran Kader Konservasi Sebagai Mitra Taman Nasional Alas Purwo Dalam Upaya Pelestarian Alam

“…Perilaku manusia bersikap positif dapat mendorong promosi prinsip konservasi keanekaragaman hayati (Tessema et al, 2007). Secara umum, masyarakat lokal mempunyai keinginan untuk belajar tentang lingkungan mereka dan spesies yang hidup berdampingan, sehingga dapat menumbuhkan persepsi positif terhadap satwa liar, dan pada akhirnya berdampak besar pada konservasi keanekaragaman hayati (Vergara-Rios et al, 2021). Sesuai dengan penuturan informan NA (41 tahun), kader konservasi mempunyai peran penting sebagai pelopor dalam kegiatan bina cinta alam serta diharapkan dapat bermitra dengan pemerintah dalam mewujudkan manusia yang perduli dengan lingkungan.…”

Perception and attitudes of local communities towards vertebrate fauna in the Andes of Colombia: Effects of gender and the urban/rural setting

“…Attitudes serve as a reference to organize people's cognitive perceptions, classifying them as positive and negative and approaching an understanding of the interactions between society and nature (Alves and Souto 2015). When people have negative perceptions towards fauna, they can overexploit their populations, showing little interest in learning about the species and their conservation (Alves et al 2010;Alves & Albuquerque, 2012;Vergara-Rios et al 2021). In contrast, positive perceptions occur when the community knows the species and understands their functional role in the ecosystem, so the people begin to position themselves conservation agents (Manzano-Garcia et al 2017).…”

“…In this sense, working on wildlife conservation programs with women from rural communities is more efficient than with women who live in urban areas (Campos et al 2013). The success of environmental education initiatives on wildlife depends on the differentiation that can occur at the gender level and by the urban or rural environment of the people (Vergara-Rios et al 2021).…”