Local Perception on the Exploitation, the Current State and Taboos Related to Pangolins (Pholidota, Mammalia) by the Communities Living in the Tayna Nature Reserve and Its Surroundings (RNT) North Kivu DRC

Pangolins are currently considered the most endangered mammal species due to their high rank in local and international traffic. This species is protected in DRC and worldwide, unfortunately it is threatened by numerous human actions. The objective of this study is to identify the different reasons for which these animals are exploited, to provide information to determine from the opinions of the respondents the current state of the population from 2015 to today and to identify their hunting techniques by the local populations. We carried out surveys in the households of hunters, farmers and people practicing other professions in 12 villages, located within the RNT and surroundings areas. Two interview techniques were used: the individual interview and the participatory diagnostic technique. 175 people were interviewed individually. Nearly 97% of our respondents are motivated to consume pangolin as bush meat obtaining by hunting. The main reason for eating pangolin meat is 44% preference and 33% habit. The zone does not know the foreign solicitation of the exploitation of pangolins and its derivatives. The opinions of the population regarding the current state of pangolin in the Tayna Nature Reserve indicate that from 2015 to the present day the common pangolin “Manis tricuspis” has been abundant. Hunters use different hunting techniques, dominated by pickup for the Manis tricuspis, digging burrow, fire at the entrance of the burrow for Manis gigantea and the shotgun for the Manis tetradactyla.

Peoples’ Perception and Conservation of Dactylorhiza hatagirea (D. Don) Soóin Manaslu Conservation Area, Central Nepal

The present study analyzes the information and perception of the local community of Samagaun VDC, Manaslu Conservation Area Project (MCAP) regarding Dactylorhiza hatagirea (D. Don) Soó (Orchidaceae). We assessed the local peoples’ perception on its population status, its availability, factors causing its decline and management practices of this terrestrial orchids. A pre-designed questionnaire was used to gather information targeting the age group between 25 and 60 years (n = 75, 45 male and 30 female). Most of the informants (76%) believe that the abundance of this orchid is declining. Over grazing of domestic animals, over harvesting and lack of awareness among the local community were determined to be the major causes of decline of D. hatagirea in the study area. Protection measures as prescribed by the informants were control grazing, raising awareness among the individuals and sustainable harvestings for the long-term conservation of the species. Systematic management plans that incorporate the participation of local individuals and prioritization of their views will be applicable for the proper conservation of the species.

Evaluation of Social Perception on Water Issues in Cameron Highlands （Malaysia） by Principle Factor Analysis

Dealing with water resources issues requires understanding of the community perception. It is important to create a communicative partnership between community and government towards sustainable water resources management. Opinion survey is an essential step to gather the point of view from local community. However, it always generates a large and complex dataset that are difficult to be interpreted by decision maker. In order to overcome this difficulty, statistical methods are applied to develop an interpretability model for decision maker. This study demonstrated the application of Descriptive Analysis and Principle Factor Analysis （PFA） to reduce the complexity of opinion survey dataset by revealing underlying information. A total of 106 respondents were interviewed; consisting of 68 male and 38 female respondents respectively. This study first applied descriptive analysis to identify the basic score for each variable, and these variables are soil erosion （68.9%）, degradation of water quality （65.1%）, degradation of freshwater ecosystem （61.0%）, water shortage （50%）, agricultural solid waste problem （46.2%）, water borne diseases （23.6%）, illegal land clearing （21.7%）, legal land clearing （15.1%）, uncontrolled river water abstraction in upstream （54.7%））, poor solid waste management （34.0%）, low awareness of local community （61.3%）, haphazard planning and development （74.5%） and administration mistake （37.0%）. Based on the PFA result, a total of four rotated factors were extracted, representing different aspects of water related issues in Cameron Highlands. Factor 1, 2, 3 and 4 were summarised to four topics namely： （1） water environment degradation caused by illegal solid waste disposal and low awareness of community, （2） agricultural development leading to negative impacts on water resources such as water shortage and ecosystem deterioration, （3） land clearing activity leading to serious land erosion （4） human health problem due to e-coli bacterial pollution and administration mistake on land development in Cameron Highlands.