Esther Mufungizi Ahana, Marie Shangalume Fadhili, François Mmunga Assumani, Christian Zagabe Muderhwa, Gustave Nachigera Mushagalusa
Human-wildlife conflicts have intensified in the Kamanyola and Katogota areas of South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo, leading to human fatalities, injuries, crop losses and retaliatory killings of hippopotamuses. These conflicts illustrate the need for integrated conservation approaches that account for biodiversity protection, livelihood security and ecosystem health. We conducted a qualitative case study using individual semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions and non-participant field observations in conflict-affected areas. In total, 63 stakeholders, including residents (farmers), community leaders, wildlife managers and institutional/public authorities were interviewed. A further 24 individuals including all categories, participated in focus group discussions. We compared local ecological knowledge with institutional conservation frameworks to identify the main drivers of conflict and examine how different actors perceived and responded to them. Participants identified land pressure, weak environmental governance, limited legal awareness and divergent values attached to wildlife as the main drivers of the conflict. These factors were exacerbated by the absence of compensation mechanisms and by repressive conservation practices. Participants reported that the conflict contributed to food insecurity, economic marginalization, institutional mistrust, physical injuries, concerns about water quality, potential zoonotic exposure, and psychosocial stress. The findings support a participatory One Health governance model linking conservation, public health and local livelihoods. This approach is consistent with the One Health framework, which seeks to balance and optimize the health of people, animals and ecosystems through coordinated action across sectors. We recommend policy revision, community co-management, training of local eco-guards, fair compensation schemes and stronger coordination among health, veterinary and conservation services. Further quantitative research on hippopotamus populations, agricultural losses and health-risk mapping is needed to inform evidence-based coexistence strategies.
Insect pollinator declines are increasingly documented worldwide, yet assessment of pollination resilience often focuses on species loss or current ecosystem function without explicitly considering changes in interaction structure and recovery history. In dryland agroecosystems, pollination function may remain apparently stable despite progressive erosion of specialist-mediated interactions and interaction-network diversity. We propose the Arid Zone Pollinator Paradox (AZPP) as a falsifiable hypothesis of structural-functional decoupling and history-dependent recovery. Under chronic environmental stress, selected pollination functions may remain temporarily buffered as functionally constrained interactions are lost and remaining broad-interaction taxa provide partial compensation, while interaction-network structure and the pool of compatible interaction alternatives progressively contract. A rigidity-trap trajectory is proposed as a possible downstream outcome under sufficiently persistent structural erosion and constrained rewiring, rather than as an assumed or inevitable stage. Four proximate mismatch pathways—temporal, spatial, morphological, and attraction/cue-related—are identified as alternative routes through which environmental filtering may generate asymmetric interaction loss and constrain compensatory interaction replacement. Multiple environmental stressors may further amplify these processes, but are treated as context-dependent modifiers rather than necessary components of the hypothesis. AZPP generates three principal predictions: structural-functional decoupling under chronic stress, history-dependent recovery following stress alleviation, and asymmetric interaction loss accompanied by contraction of functionally compatible alternatives. These predictions can be tested using longitudinal interaction-network monitoring, comparative analyses, stress-release or restoration experiments, and abundance- and co-occurrence-constrained null models. Grounded primarily in ecological observations from Moroccan drylands, AZPP is proposed for comparative testing across arid and semi-arid agroecosystems to determine its broader applicability and boundary conditions. The framework is primarily formulated for bee-dominated pollination systems, with extension to other pollinator guilds remaining an empirical question.
Climate change is recognised as a multidimensional crisis affecting ecological integrity, food systems, and human well-being. Attention has been given to biophysical and economic consequences of climate variability. Less emphasis has been placed on cumulative psychological and social impacts. Collective trauma is a critical but largely overlooked dimension of climate adaptation and conservation science. Using Kenya’s Rift Valley as an illustration, we suggest that recurrent droughts and floods have created a self-reinforcing socio-ecological feedback loop where environmental degradation, livelihood losses, and collective trauma interact to reduce ecosystem resilience and adaptive capacity. Drawing on evidence from historical climate records; agricultural trends; contemporary literature on ecological grief, social-ecological resilience, and trauma-informed governance, we propose that repeated climate shocks influence not only agricultural productivity but also human behaviour, institutional responses, and environmental decision-making. Communities experiencing cumulative trauma frequently adopt short-term coping strategies that accelerate land degradation, thereby increasing vulnerability to subsequent climate shocks. We argue that climate adaptation should move beyond technical interventions alone to incorporate psychosocial recovery, indigenous and local ecological knowledge (ILEK), participatory ecosystem restoration, and community-centered governance. Recognising collective trauma offers an opportunity to transform climate adaptation from a reactive process focused on disaster recovery into a proactive strategy that restores ecosystems, strengthens community resilience, and enhances human well-being. We conclude that trauma-informed climate governance represents an important frontier for conservation science and should become an integral component of resilience-building strategies in climate-vulnerable landscapes across Africa.
Mariam R. Michael, Richard A. Giliba, George G. Lohay, Katharine E. T. Thompson
Conservation outreach programs (COPs) aim to reduce illegal bushmeat hunting by providing communities with tangible benefits and fostering positive attitudes toward wildlife, but their influence is difficult to separate from law enforcement and wider social change. We compared how COPs beneficiary and non-beneficiary communities perceived and explained illegal bushmeat hunting dynamics in the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem across 2018-2024. Using a comparative mixed-methods design, we surveyed 360 households (180 per category), conducted 12 focus group discussions, and interviewed 24 key informants across 12 villages in Bunda, Serengeti, and Tarime districts. Reported species associated with illegal bushmeat hunting were mainly common and migratory ungulates, while the reported targeting of threatened species and hunting-location patterns did not differ significantly between beneficiary and non-beneficiary communities (p >0.05). Both beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries reported a decline in bushmeat availability across 2018-2024, with no significant difference between groups (p >0.05). However, their explanations differed substantially. Non-beneficiaries mainly ascribed changes to enforcement pressure and fear of sanctions. In contrast, beneficiaries’ narratives combined enforcement with conservation education, and visible community benefits. These divergent narratives indicate similar perceived conservation outcomes carry different social meanings. The findings do not demonstrate that COPs caused a greater reduction in illegal bushmeat hunting, but suggest that enforcement remains important in both contexts. Furthermore equitable outreach may strengthen the legitimacy and improve livelihood conditions needed to sustain reductions in illegal bushmeat hunting over time.
Fernando López-Morales, María Gricelda Vázquez-Carrillo, Delfino Reyes-López, Carlos Hugo Avendaño-Arrazate, Mayra Yaneth De La Cruz-De Jesús, Carmela Hernández-Domínguez, Leticia García-Cruz, Pablo Zaldívar-Martínez
Native maize agrobiodiversity is a strategic plant genetic resource for supporting conservation, food security, and traditional agroecosystems in Mexico. The objective of this study was to evaluate the characteristics of the grain, masa, and tortilla produced from 16 native maize (Zea mays L.) races from central Mexico, collected in twelve municipalities of the state of Puebla. The evaluation of grain, masa, and tortilla characteristics was conducted at the Maize Quality Laboratory under a completely randomized design with two replicates. Analysis of variance revealed highly significant differences (P ≤ 0.01) among the evaluated races in the physical characteristics of the grain, nixtamalization properties, and color and texture attributes of the tortillas. The races showed a wide range of endosperm hardness, from very hard to very soft, as well as diversity in hectoliter weight and grain size, ranging from small to very large. The Elotes Conicos, Chalqueño, and Zapalote Chico races had very soft endosperm texture. The Pepitilla race had the most suitable moisture values, while Chalqueño had the lowest values for this parameter. There was also wide variation in luminosity, °Hue, and Chroma, associated with the diversity of grain colors, including cream, white, yellow, blue, and red. The red-grained Arrocillo and white-grained Chalqueño races were the most strongly contrasting in color, mainly in the relationship between luminosity and °Hue. These results demonstrate that native maize races from central Mexico maintain broad variation in grain, masa, and tortilla quality attributes. This diversity highlights their importance as reservoirs of agrobiodiversity and as strategic resources for conservation, food use, the masa and tortilla industry, and breeding programs aimed at the sustainable use of native plant genetic resources.
