2.1. Environmental historiography, habitat change and land-use
The publications in this section describe how land use and settlement patterns have historically shaped ecologies and influenced habitat use and feeding ecologies of non-human species. They explore how wildlife has adapted to human-dominated landscapes in order to meet their basic needs and sometimes benefit from close encounters with human counterparts.
Duvall, C. S. (2003).
Symbols, not data: rare trees and vegetation history in Mali.
Geographical Journal 169(4), 295-312. DOI 10.1111/j.0016-7398.2003. 00094.x
[History and landscape related to vegetation in Mali].
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/227604439_Symbols_not_data_Rare_trees_and_vegetation_history_in_Mali
Duvall, C. S. (2008).
Human settlement ecology and chimpanzee habitat selection in Mali.
Landscape Ecology 23(6), 699-716. DOI 10.1007/s10980-008-9231-x.
[How settlement history of Maninka people in Bafing Biosphere Reserve, Mali has influenced chimpanzee habitat selection].
https://www.academia.edu/5482167/Human_settlement_ecology_and_chimpanzee_habitat_selection_in_Mali
Happold, D. C. D. (1995).
The interactions between humans and mammals in Africa in relation to conservation: a review.
Biodiversity & Conservation 4(4), 395-414.
[Inter-relationships between humans and mammals in Africa, including West African examples; with respect to competition, carrying capacity and niche selection, showing how interspecies relationships have changed with time and location].
https://www.academia.edu/21084029/The_interactions_between_humans_and_mammals_in_Africa_in_relation_to_conservation_a_review
Norris, K., Asase, A., Collen, B., Gockowksi, J., Mason, J., Phalan, B., & Wade, A. (2010).
Biodiversity in a forest-agriculture mosaic – The changing face of West African rainforests.
Biological conservation 143(10), 2341-2350.
[Synthesis and review of knowledge on the value of human-modified habitats for forest biodiversity in West Africa].
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2009.12.032
Temudo, M. P., & Cabral, A. I. (2017).
The social dynamics of mangrove forests in Guinea-Bissau, West Africa.
Human Ecology 45(3), 307-320. DOI 10.1007/s10745-017-9907-4.
[Analysis of the historical, social, political, and economic processes underlying mangrove deforestation and afforestation patterns in Guinea-Bissau].
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10745-017-9907-4
Bersacola, E., Bessa, J., Frazão-Moreira, A., Biro, D., Sousa, C., & Hockings, K. J. (2018).
Primate occurrence across a human-impacted landscape in Guinea-Bissau and neighbouring regions in West Africa: using a systematic literature review to highlight the next conservation steps.
Peer J: Life & Environment 6, e4847. DOI 10.7717/peerj.4847.
[Understanding nonhuman primate population occurrence and mechanisms of persistence in human-dominated landscapes in West Africa to develop effective conservation strategies].
https://peerj.com/articles/4847/ utm_source=TrendMD&utm_campaign=PeerJ_TrendMD_0&utm_ medium=TrendMD
Schumann, K., Wittig, R., Thiombiano, A., Ute Becker, U. & Hahn, K. E. (2011).
Impact of land-use type and harvesting on population structure of a non-timber forest product-providing tree in a semi-arid savanna, West Africa.
[The use of NTFP’s by local people and impact on the sustainability of one tree population in a PA and a communal use area, in Burkina Faso].
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S000632071100245X
2.2. Social and sacred dimensions of more-than-human relationships
This section examines the sacred and social aspects of multispecies landscapes. These papers consider how local knowledge, culture, religious beliefs and practices, and local strategies to care for socio-ecological systems can contribute towards conservation goals.
6. Majidura (prohibition, affected by magical-religious powers) in Caiquene forest, Guinea-Bissau.
Photo: Hannah Parathian.
Assogbadjo, A. E., Kakaï, R. G., Chadare, F. J., Thomson, L., Kyndt, T., Sinsin, B., & Van Damme, P. (2008).
Folk classification, perception, and preferences of baobab products in West Africa: consequences for species conservation and improvement.
Economic botany 62(1), 74-84.
[Examining different cultural meanings of the morphological differences in Baobab trees and tree selection based on indigenous knowledge].
https://tropicallab.ugent.be/achillefolkcl.pdf
Baker, L. R., Tanimola, A. A., Olubode, O. S., & Garshelis, D. L. (2009).
Distribution and abundance of sacred monkeys in Igboland, southern Nigeria.
American Journal of Primatology: Official Journal of the American Society of Primatologists 71(7), 574-586.
[Investigating the impact of sacred groves, religious doctrines and taboo on two populations of monkey species in southern Nigeria].
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajp.20690
Baker, L. R., Tanimola, A. A., Olubode, O. S. & Garshelis, D. L. (2013).
Links between Local Folklore and the Conservation of Sclater's Monkey (Cercopithecus sclateri) in Nigeria.
African Primates 8, 17-24.
[Recognising the forbidden killing of sacred monkeys and destruction of sacred groves as an integral conservation strategy by local people in southern Nigeria].
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Lynne_Baker/publication/259004940_Links_between_local_folklore_and_the_conservation_of_Sclater's_monkey_Cercopithecus_sclateri_in_Nigeria/links/0c960529b0d9753c56000000/Links-between-local-folklore-and-the-conservation-of-Sclaters-monkey-Cercopithecus-sclateri-in-Nigeria.pdf
Baker, L. R., Tanimola, A. A., & Olubode, O. S. (2018).
Complexities of local cultural protection in conservation: the case of an Endangered African primate and forest groves protected by social taboos.
Oryx 52(2), 262-270. DOI 10.1017/S003060531700 1223.
[The effectiveness of long-standing social taboos protecting the endangered Sclater's monkey Cercopithecus sclateri and forest groves in a community complex in Nigeria].
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/d385/34e89a14c9d45ba5ea4a2f138ae985edb291.pdf
Decher, J. (1997).
Conservation, small mammals, and the future of sacred groves West Africa.
Biodiversity & Conservation 6(7),1007. DOI 10.1023/A:1018991329431.
[Government sanctioned conservation compared to grass-roots efforts for conservation in the Acra plains of Ghana].
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jan_Decher/publication/226707400_Conservation_Small_ Mammals_and_the_Future_of_Sacred_Groves_in_West_Africa/links/0912f510ad93c0 7e9c000000/ Conservation-Small-Mammals-and-the-Future-of-Sacred-Groves-in-West-Africa.pdf
Frazão-Moreira, A. (2016).
The symbolic efficacy of medicinal plants: practices, knowledge, and religious beliefs amongst the Nalu healers of Guinea-Bissau.
Journal of ethnobiology and ethnomedicine 12(24), 1-15. DOI 10.1186/s13002-016-0095-x.
[How are medicinal plants symbolically valued, transformed and used depending on a combination of healers’ expertise and personal history, and religious and symbolic frameworks].
https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/s13002-016-0095-x.pdf
Sousa, J., Hill, C. M. & Ainslie. A. (2017).
Chimpanzees, sorcery and contestation in a protected area in Guinea‐Bissau.
Social Anthropology 25(3), 364-379. DOI 10.1007/s10764-018-0043-9.
[How encounters with chimpanzees are associated with local social life, sorcery, and a desire to protect chimpanzees at the expense of other humans].
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1469-8676.12418
2.3. Resource-sharing, species and ecological health
Interspecies resource-sharing can have implications on ecological and species health however, the publications in this section offer examples of long-term between-species resource use. In West Africa this mainly occurs between humans and nonhuman primates due to morphological similarities and overlapping dietary needs and has fast become a growing area of interest among ethnoprimatologists.
Hockings, K. J., Anderson, J. R., & Matsuzawa, T. (2009).
Use of wild and cultivated foods by chimpanzees at Bossou, Republic of Guinea: feeding dynamics in a human‐influenced environment.
American Journal of Primatology: Official Journal of the American Society of Primatologists 71(8), 636-646. DOI 10.1002/ajp.20698.
[Chimpanzee crop-raiding is becoming increasingly common because of agriculture].
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajp.20698
Hockings, K. J., Parathian, H. E., Bessa, J., & Frazão-Moreira, A. (2020).
Extensive overlap in the selection of wild fruits by chimpanzees and humans: Implications for the management of complex social-ecological systems.
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 8, 123. DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2020.00123.
[Shared resource use between humans and chimpanzees recommending the active management of plant species that are exploited for their fruits].
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2020.00123/full?&utm_source=Email_to_authors_&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=T1_11.5e1_author&utm_campaign=Email_publication&field=&journalName=Frontiers_in_Ecology_and_Evolution&id=512178
Hockings, K. J., & Sousa, C. (2012).
Differential utilization of cashew—a low-conflict crop—by sympatric humans and chimpanzees.
Oryx 46(3), 375-381. DOI 10.1017/S0030 60531100130X.
[Primates share cashew fruit in Guinea-Bissau and have a symbiotic relationship].
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230813152_Differential_Utilisation_of_Cashew_-_a_Low-Conflict_Crop_-by_Sympatric_Humans_and_Chimpanzees
Koutsioni, Y. & Sommer, V. (2011).
The bush as pharmacy and supermarket: mechanisms and functions of plant use by human and non-human primates at Gashaka.
[Human-nonhuman primates share resources in Nigeria].
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4419-7403-7_5
Waller, M. I., & Pruetz, J. D. (2016).
Competition Between Chimpanzees and Humans: The Effects of Harvesting Non-timber Forest Products.
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-30469-4_9.
[Competition between humans and chimpanzees for Saba senegalensis at the Fongoli research site in southeastern Senegal].
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/305706340_Competition_Between_Chimpanzees_and_Humans_The_Effects_of_Harvesting_Non-timber_Forest_Products
Parathian, H. E., McLennan, M. R., Hill, C. M., Frazão-Moreira, A., & Hockings, K. J. (2018).
Breaking through disciplinary barriers: human–wildlife interactions and multispecies ethnography.
International journal of primatology 39(5): 749-775. DOI 10.1007/s10764-018-0027-9.
[Theoretical paper exploring perspectives from ethnoprimatology and multispecies ethnography to enhance interdisciplinary research for conservation].
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-018-0027-9
Minhós, T., L. Chikhi, C. Sousa, L. M. Vicente, M. Ferreira da Silva, R. Heller, Casanova & M. W. Bruford (2016).
Genetic consequences of human forest exploitation in two colobus monkeys in Guinea Bissau.
Biological Conservation 194, 194-208.
[Socio-ecological study exploring the effects of forest exploitation on genetic structure and demography of Western black-and- white colobus (Colobus polykomos) and Temminck’s red colobus (Procolobus badius temminckii)) in a fragmented and a human-impacted forest in Guinea Bissau].
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006320715301981
2.4. Human-wildlife conflict and coexistence
These studies demonstrate how humans and wildlife coexist under different pressures and in different contexts. They explore the difficulties and benefits of living in proximity to wildlife, where the interspecies interface is intensified and fractious interactions occur, and where humans and wildlife develop strategies for mutually beneficial relationships to support peaceful long-term coexistence.
Galhano Alves, J. P. (2007).
Human societies and lions in W National Park region (Niger). A synopsis of lion related matters developed in an anthropology of nature research.
African Lion News, Vol. 7 (April 2007), Official newsletter of the African Lion Working Group, IUCN, Species Survival Commission, Cat and Conservation Breeding Specialist Group, Brandhof, pp. 27–44.
In Portuguese: Galhano Alves, J.P. (2009). "Viver com leões. A coexistência entre humanos e biodiversidade no W do Níger. Os Gourmantché", Trabalhos de Antropologia e Etnologia, Sociedade Portuguesa de Antropologia e de Etnologia 49(1-4), 57-77.
[Human-lion coexistence among the Gourmantche people in Niger]. https://revistataeonline.weebly.com/uploads/2/2/0/2/22023964/viver_joaoalves_tae49.pdf
Hockings, K. J. (2009).
Living at the interface: human–chimpanzee competition, coexistence and conflict in Africa. Interaction Studies 10(2), 183-205. DOI 10.1075/is.10.2.05hoc
[Understanding how chimpanzees adapt to living in anthropogenic environments focusing on complex social and cultural relationships].
https://www.jbe-platform.com/content/journals/10.1075/is.10.2.05hoc
Hockings, K. J., Yamakoshi, G., Kabasawa, A., & Matsuzawa, T. (2010).
Attacks on local persons by chimpanzees in Bossou, Republic of Guinea: long‐term perspectives.
American Journal of Primatology 72(10), 887-896. DOI 10.1002/ajp.20784.
[Attacks on local persons by chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) including how seasonal fruit variation, changes in landscape use, human behaviours and belief systems influence these].
http://www.greencorridor.info/data/Attacks_on_local_persons_by_chimpanzees_in_Bossou,_Republic_of_Guinea__long-term_perspectives.pdf
Larson, L. R., April L. Conway, S. M. Hernandez, & Carroll, J. P. (2016)
Human-wildlife conflict, conservation attitudes, and a potential role for citizen science in Sierra Leone, Africa.
Conservation and Society 14(3), 205.
[Conflicts and conservation attitudes among local villagers, highlighting the potential benefits of “citizen science” to improve data collection capacity, increase local empowerment, and influence wildlife].
https://www.conservationandsociety.org.in/article.asp?issn=0972-4923;year=2016;volume=14;issue=3;spage=205;epage=217;aulast=Larson
Lee, P. C. & M. D. Graham. (2006).
African elephants (Loxodonta africana) and human-elephant interactions: implications for conservation.
International Zoo Yearbook 40 (1), 229-248. DOI 10.1007/978-3-030-33334-8.
[Strategies to minimize conflict with humans in Africa in general including sites in West Africa].
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-1090.2006.00009.x
Sogbohossou, E. A. (2011).
Lions of West Africa: ecology of lion (Panthera leo Linnaeus 1975) populations and human-lion conflicts in Pendjari Biosphere Reserve, North Benin (Doctoral dissertation).
[Ecology of lion populations and predator-prey relationships of West African lions in the Pendjari Biosphere Reserve in Benin as a basis for their improved conservation].
https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/handle/1887/17988
Hockings, K. J., & Sousa, C. (2013).
Human-chimpanzee sympatry and interactions in Cantanhez National Park, Guinea-Bissau: current research and future directions.
Primate Conservation 26(1), 57-65. DOI 10.1896/052.026. 0104.
[Context for human-chimpanzee sympatry and cross-disciplinary research in Guinea-Bissau to inform conservation].
https://doi.org/10.1896/052.026.0104
Sousa, C., & Frazão-Moreira, A. (2010).
Etnoprimatologia ao serviço da conservação na Guiné-Bissau: o chimpanzé como exemplo. In Alves, A., Souto, F. & N. Peroni (eds.) Etnoecologia em perspectiva: natureza, cultura e conservação, pp. 187-200. Recife: NUPEEA,
[Ethnoprimatology for chimpanzee conservation in Guinea-Bissau].
https://run.unl.pt/bitstream/10362/10618/1/sousa_frazao-moreira_2010.pdf
2.5. Co-management and community conservation
This section provides case studies which highlight the benefits of community conservation. It includes publications which demonstrate the importance of understanding more-than-human coexistence, local perceptions of conservation and the critical role that local support for conservation can play, as well as the socio-political issues associated with “co-management” and other forms of outside intervention.
Baran, E. & Tous, P. (2000).
Artisanal fishing, sustainable development and co-management of resources: Analysis of a successful project in West Africa. IUCN.
[Co-management of fisheries resources in the Buba region of Guinea-Bissau using a participatory approach].
https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=o0B4BgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR4&dq=Baran,+E.+%26+Tous,+P.+(2000).++Artisanal+fishing,+sustainable+development+and+co-management+of+resources:+Analysis+of+a+successful+project+in+West+Africa.+IUCN.+&ots=Tnmt54nTRJ&sig=e5W4UP6hMLm4EcUndIwmsOB03LA&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Baran%2C%20E.%20%26%20Tous%2C%20P.%20(2000).%20%20Artisanal%20fishing%2C%20sustainable%20development%20and%20co-management%20of%20resources%3A%20Analysis%20of%20a%20successful%20project%20in%20West%20Africa.%20IUCN.&f=false
Conway, A. L., Hernandez, S. M., Carroll, J. P., Green, G. T., & Larson, L. (2015). Local awareness of and attitudes towards the pygmy hippopotamus Choeropsis liberiensis in the Moa River Island Complex, Sierra Leone.
Oryx 49(3), 550-558. DOI:10.1017/S003060531300077X.
[Local perceptions of the pygmy hippopotamus near a wildlife sanctuary in Sierra Leone, and the critical role of local support for conservation].
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/oryx/article/local-awareness-of-and-attitudes-towards-the-pygmy-hippopotamus-choeropsis-liberiensis-in-the-moa-river-island-complex-sierra-leone/2EF0726E3E8752AFB6A24FEAD207A537
Nyanganji, G., Fowler, A., McNamara, A., & Sommer, V. (2011).
Monkeys and apes as animals and humans: ethno-primatology in Nigeria’s Taraba region.
In Primates of Gashaka. Pp. 101-134. Springer, New York, NY. DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4419-7403-7_4.
[Understanding local attitudes towards primates in Nigeria to support conservation].
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4419-7403-7_4
Paré, S., Savadogo, P., Tigabu, M., Ouadba, J. M. & Odén, P. C. (2010).
Consumptive values and local perception of dry forest decline in Burkina Faso, West Africa.
Pare. DOI 10.1007/s10668-009-9194-3.
[Local views of dry forest decline].
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10668-009-9194-3
Sousa, J., Vicente, L., Gippoliti, S., Casanova, C., & Sousa, C. (2014).
Local knowledge and perceptions of chimpanzees in Cantanhez National Park, Guinea‐Bissau. American Journal of Primatology 76(2): 122-134. DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22215.
[How local knowledge and perceptions of chimpanzees in Guinea-Bissau impact on conservation efforts].
https://www.academia.edu/11004131/Local_knowledge_and_perceptions_of_chimpanzees_in_Cantanhez_National_Park_Guinea-Bissau
Temudo, M. P. (2012).
"The White Men Bought the Forests": Conservation and Contestation in Guinea-Bissau, Western Africa.
Conservation and Society 10(4), 354. DOI 10.4103/0972-4923.105563.
[The political and social issues associated with attempts to initiate community-based conservation initiatives in Guinea-Bissau].
https://www.conservationandsociety.org.in//article.asp?issn=0972-4923;year=2012;volume=10;issue=4;spage=354;epage=366;aulast=Temudo
Costa, S., C. Casanova, C. Sousa, & P. C. Lee. (2013).
The good, the bad and the ugly: perceptions of wildlife in Tombali (Guinea-Bissau, West Africa). Journal of Primatology 2(1), 1-7.
[Understanding local environmental perceptions and values with respect to natural resources, for positive conservation engagement with local communities in Guinea-Bissau].
https://dspace.stir.ac.uk/bitstream/1893/16964/1/Costa%20et%20al%20Jprimatol%202013.pdf
This database was created in the scope of the post-doctoral fellowship of Dr Hannah E. Parathian (CRIA/04038/BPD/DASE) financed by FCT (UID/ANT/04038/2013). Funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia I.P., in the scope of CRIA's strategic plan (UIDB/04038/2020).
Citation: Parathian, H. & Frazão-Moreira, A. (2022) People, Culture & Conservation in West Africa: Studies of Multispecies Coexistence. Online Database. CRIA (Centre for Research in Anthropology).
© 2022 Hannah Parathian & Amélia Frazão Moreira. All rights reserved / Credits and privacy policy.
Citation: Parathian, H. & Frazão-Moreira, A. (2022) People, Culture & Conservation in West Africa: Studies of Multispecies Coexistence. Online Database. CRIA (Centre for Research in Anthropology).
© 2022 Hannah Parathian & Amélia Frazão Moreira. All rights reserved / Credits and privacy policy.
