How accurate is the local ecological knowledge of protected area practitioners?

Carly N Cook; G Wardell-Johnson; R W (Bill) Carter; Marc Hockings

doi:10.5751/ES-06341-190232

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How accurate is the local ecological knowledge of protected area practitioners?

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

How accurate is the local ecological knowledge of protected area practitioners?

Carly N Cook, G Wardell-Johnson, R W (Bill) Carter and Marc Hockings

Ecology and Society, Vol.19(2), 32

2014

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-06341-190232

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Abstract

conservation decisions

environmental management

evaluation

local ecological knowledge

vegetation condition

ABSTRACT. The scarcity of environmental data means that other sources of information are needed to complement empirical evidence for conservation decisions. By regularly interacting with their local environment, protected area practitioners may generate local ecological knowledge (LEK) that can be used to inform management decisions. However, the accuracy of LEK is generally poorly understood, and no studies have assessed the accuracy of practitioners' personal knowledge, leading to a vital gap in our ability to best use this information to guide management. We measured the accuracy of practitioners' knowledge of the vegetation condition within protected areas, relative to an empirical vegetation condition assessment tool. Despite the vast majority of practitioners having only personal experiences to inform their judgments, we found that almost 60% of practitioners made assessments of vegetation condition that matched the empirical condition estimates. When inaccurate, practitioners tended to be conservative in their estimates of condition. Although underestimating condition in this way may waste resources through unnecessary management actions, this is likely to be preferable to overestimating condition and thus failing to protect biodiversity by prematurely ceasing restoration programs. We found no relationship between the accuracy of practitioners' LEK and their level of experience as a practitioner, their level of education, or their gender. We believe that under many circumstances practitioners can be a valuable and cost-effective source of information about the condition of the protected areas they manage, but that more research is needed to understand the wide range of factors that may contribute to how land managers build LEK and how management agencies can assist practitioners to build a good understanding of the conditions in their reserves.

Details

Title: How accurate is the local ecological knowledge of protected area practitioners?
Authors: Carly N Cook (Author) - University of Melbourne
G Wardell-Johnson (Author) - Curtin University
R W (Bill) Carter (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Arts and Business
Marc Hockings (Author) - University of Queensland
Publication details: Ecology and Society, Vol.19(2), 32; 14
Publisher: Resilience Alliance Publications
Date published: 2014
DOI: 10.5751/ES-06341-190232
ISSN: 1708-3087
Organisation Unit: School of Social Sciences - Legacy; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Law and Society; Sustainability Research Cluster
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99449047602621
Output Type: Journal article

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Collaboration types: Domestic collaboration
Web Of Science research areas: Ecology; Environmental Studies

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