Conservation perceptions and attitudes regarding monitor lizards in West Bengal, India
Local and illegal exploitation of wildlife is particularly widespread in highly populated and bio-diverse countries such as India. In such countries, illicit utilization practices and how these are perceived among local communities are commonly not well-documented. Due to a lack of data, and environ...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Pensoft Publishers
2024-11-01
|
| Series: | Nature Conservation |
| Online Access: | https://natureconservation.pensoft.net/article/133577/download/pdf/ |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1846166028811239424 |
|---|---|
| author | Shreya Bhattacharya Syeda Zuboor Zia Santanu Mahato Ravi Kumar Gangwar Neha Singh Mark Auliya André Koch |
| author_facet | Shreya Bhattacharya Syeda Zuboor Zia Santanu Mahato Ravi Kumar Gangwar Neha Singh Mark Auliya André Koch |
| author_sort | Shreya Bhattacharya |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Local and illegal exploitation of wildlife is particularly widespread in highly populated and bio-diverse countries such as India. In such countries, illicit utilization practices and how these are perceived among local communities are commonly not well-documented. Due to a lack of data, and environmental education measures to protect ecosystems and biodiversity, the extent of this exploitation appears immense and often goes unnoticed. Therefore, in 2019, a series of awareness workshops targeting the conservation of wildlife focused on monitor lizards (Varanidae) was conducted in five districts of West Bengal, India. The environmental awareness workshops were conducted through PowerPoint slide presentations and questionnaires collecting baseline data from the participants regarding their perceptions and relationships to the three species of Varanus recorded for West Bengal. Our findings reveal specific human attitudes and varying local utilization patterns of monitor lizards. This study was the first to communicate and spread awareness in the study areas about why the conservation of local wildlife such as Varanus species is important for ecosystems and human well-being based on the ‘Nature Contributions to People Concept’. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-13a2989b7faf49069afa0f2e06d2ed63 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1314-3301 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
| publisher | Pensoft Publishers |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Conservation |
| spelling | doaj-art-13a2989b7faf49069afa0f2e06d2ed632024-11-16T08:32:30ZengPensoft PublishersNature Conservation1314-33012024-11-015620122210.3897/natureconservation.56.133577133577Conservation perceptions and attitudes regarding monitor lizards in West Bengal, IndiaShreya Bhattacharya0Syeda Zuboor Zia1Santanu Mahato2Ravi Kumar Gangwar3Neha Singh4Mark Auliya5André Koch6Universiti Malaysia SarawakEnvironment, Agriculture and Education SocietySálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, South India Centre of Wildlife Institute of IndiaEnvironment, Agriculture and Education SocietyEnvironment, Agriculture and Education SocietyIUCN SSC Monitor Lizard Specialist GroupIUCN SSC Monitor Lizard Specialist GroupLocal and illegal exploitation of wildlife is particularly widespread in highly populated and bio-diverse countries such as India. In such countries, illicit utilization practices and how these are perceived among local communities are commonly not well-documented. Due to a lack of data, and environmental education measures to protect ecosystems and biodiversity, the extent of this exploitation appears immense and often goes unnoticed. Therefore, in 2019, a series of awareness workshops targeting the conservation of wildlife focused on monitor lizards (Varanidae) was conducted in five districts of West Bengal, India. The environmental awareness workshops were conducted through PowerPoint slide presentations and questionnaires collecting baseline data from the participants regarding their perceptions and relationships to the three species of Varanus recorded for West Bengal. Our findings reveal specific human attitudes and varying local utilization patterns of monitor lizards. This study was the first to communicate and spread awareness in the study areas about why the conservation of local wildlife such as Varanus species is important for ecosystems and human well-being based on the ‘Nature Contributions to People Concept’.https://natureconservation.pensoft.net/article/133577/download/pdf/ |
| spellingShingle | Shreya Bhattacharya Syeda Zuboor Zia Santanu Mahato Ravi Kumar Gangwar Neha Singh Mark Auliya André Koch Conservation perceptions and attitudes regarding monitor lizards in West Bengal, India Nature Conservation |
| title | Conservation perceptions and attitudes regarding monitor lizards in West Bengal, India |
| title_full | Conservation perceptions and attitudes regarding monitor lizards in West Bengal, India |
| title_fullStr | Conservation perceptions and attitudes regarding monitor lizards in West Bengal, India |
| title_full_unstemmed | Conservation perceptions and attitudes regarding monitor lizards in West Bengal, India |
| title_short | Conservation perceptions and attitudes regarding monitor lizards in West Bengal, India |
| title_sort | conservation perceptions and attitudes regarding monitor lizards in west bengal india |
| url | https://natureconservation.pensoft.net/article/133577/download/pdf/ |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT shreyabhattacharya conservationperceptionsandattitudesregardingmonitorlizardsinwestbengalindia AT syedazuboorzia conservationperceptionsandattitudesregardingmonitorlizardsinwestbengalindia AT santanumahato conservationperceptionsandattitudesregardingmonitorlizardsinwestbengalindia AT ravikumargangwar conservationperceptionsandattitudesregardingmonitorlizardsinwestbengalindia AT nehasingh conservationperceptionsandattitudesregardingmonitorlizardsinwestbengalindia AT markauliya conservationperceptionsandattitudesregardingmonitorlizardsinwestbengalindia AT andrekoch conservationperceptionsandattitudesregardingmonitorlizardsinwestbengalindia |