Category: Amazon

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National REDD+ Implications for Tenured Indigenous Communities in Guyana, and Communities’ Impact on Forest Carbon Stocks: New Publication in “Forests”

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Makushi and Wapichana parabiologists at vegetation and soil assessment training workshop. Dr, Kye Epps, course leader at bottom left.

We used a technically approved United Nations Forest Reference Emission Level (FREL) submission and Opt-In Mechanism to assess how fifteen indigenous communities with tenured forestland may financially benefit from national REDD+. We provide a first-time assessment whether field estimates of the average carbon density of mature forests managed by fifteen forest-dependent communities equals that of nearby unmanaged mature forest, as this could affect REDD+ payment levels. We conclude that, notwithstanding some pending issues, Guyana’s national REDD+ program could be very beneficial for FDP, even under a modest United States (US) $5 unit carbon price.

Free access to full paper: http://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/9/5/231

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Large Mammals and the Community Dynamics of an Amazonian Rain Forest; My PhD Thesis

White-lipped peccary crossing Santa Rosa Trail
White-lipped peccary traveling across the forest of Maraca Ecological Reserve, Amazon, Brazil (Photo copyright: Jose MV Fragoso)

For those interested in tropical forests and animals, I am posting my 1994 PhD thesis. This makes available novel views of tropical forest structure and the ecology of large animals that remain unpublished.  Enjoy learning details of the lives of mammals and plants and their evolutionary relationships in the Amazon forest. The dissertation/thesis can be downloaded here: Fragoso JMV 1994 Large Mammals and the Community Dynamics of an Amazonian Forest. PhD, University of Florida, USA.

 

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Community livelihoods depend upon accurate wildlife estimates

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White-lipped peccary in the Amazon (copyright and photo Jose MV Fragoso)

News article from Virginia Tech University on our research: “Evidence of wildlife passage, such as tracks, scat, fur, and disturbed surroundings, is a more accurate tool for assessing wildlife conservation status than actual encounters with animals, according to an international team of scientists from six universities, publishing in the April 13, 2016, issue of PLOS ONE.” Continue reading “Community livelihoods depend upon accurate wildlife estimates”

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Levantamentos com Observações diretas Subestimam a Abundância de Mamíferos Terrestres: Implicações para uma Caça de Subsistência Sustentável

In corral behind house
Catitu (foto: Jose MV Fragoso)

A conservação de espécies cinegéticas neotropicais deve levar em conta os meios de vida e necessidades alimentares das populações humanas locais.

Artigo:  http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0152659

Resumo: Continue reading “Levantamentos com Observações diretas Subestimam a Abundância de Mamíferos Terrestres: Implicações para uma Caça de Subsistência Sustentável”

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Modelo prevê impacto de fatores externos em tribos indígenas: Reportagem no jornal O Globo

Making farina in Kwanamer village, Wai Wai area
Muheres Uaiuais preparam farinha de mandioca tradicional (Foto: José Fragoso)

“Populações habitam a região amazônica há milhares de anos, mas o avanço de elementos da vida moderna está pondo em risco a sustentabilidade desses povos e do ecossistema onde vivem. Essa é a conclusão de um estudo elaborado pela equipe do biólogo português José Fragoso, da Universidade Stanford, nos EUA.” “ — Os resultados da pesquisa mostram que apenas não invadir áreas indígenas não é suficiente — diz Fragoso. — O que acontece no entorno das reservas tem grande impacto no interior.”

Reportagem do O Globo:Modelo prevê impacto de fatores externos em tribos indígenas – Jornal O Globo

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New Publication: Socio–environmental sustainability of indigenous lands: simulating coupled human–natural systems in the Amazon

Tractor preparing soy bean field in the cerrado
Preparing field for planting soybeans near indigenous land in the Cerrado of Brazil         (Photo copyright by Jose Fragoso )

Our latest publication is out in Frontiers in Ecology and The Environment. We examine the socio-environmental sustainability of protected areas inhabited by indigenous and rural peoples and describe how socio-ecological change and development (e.g., forest clear-cutting outside indigenous areas, religious conversion, improved child mortality rates and introduction of resources from outside) outside these areas influences the sustainability of biodiversity, forest cover, and people inside. There are some surprising results so read the publication!

Read the article:

Continue reading “New Publication: Socio–environmental sustainability of indigenous lands: simulating coupled human–natural systems in the Amazon”

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New in press: “Socio–environmental Sustainability of Indigenous Lands: Simulating Human-Nature Interactions in the Amazon” in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment

Agro-industrial soy bean farm adjacent to an indigenous area in Brazil
Agro-industrial soy bean farm adjacent to forest of an indigenous area in Brazil   (photo Jose Fragoso)

Research collaborators Takuya Iwamura, Eric Lambin, Kirsten Silvius, Jeffrey B Luzar, and José Fragoso have a new paper in press. The publication examines the resiliency and sustainability of biodiversity, human livelihoods and forest cover within Amazonian indigenous lands under various future development scenarios. The paper is scheduled for publication in the February 2016 issue of the journal “Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment”. 

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Large numbers of white-lipped peccaries (Tayassu pecari) invade Amazonian town

WLP herd
White-lipped peccary herd in northern Brazil. Two individuals are radio-collared (Photo Jose Fragoso)

On November 10, 2015, large numbers of white-lipped peccaries moved across the town of Caracaraí in Roraima State, Brazil.  Many became trapped in yards or were killed by townspeople.  Caracaraí has a population of over 10,000 people.   Jose Fragoso (1997, 2004) described these exceptional movements as possible population level dispersal events or perhaps a herd that abandoned its usual home area after long term persecution by humans.

Newspaper story, photos and Fragoso articles here:  Continue reading “Large numbers of white-lipped peccaries (Tayassu pecari) invade Amazonian town”

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More than 170 white-lipped peccaries (Tayassu pecari) filmed crossing a 2 km wide river in Roraima, Brazil

WLP photo
White-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari) in Roraima, Brazil (photo by Jose Fragoso).

More than 170 white-lipped peccaries were filmed crossing the Rio Branco River in Caracaraí County, Roraima, Brazil in the Amazon. The peccaries were filmed for over 30 minutes when  in the middle of the almost 2 km wide Rio Branco by agents of Brazil’s wildlife agency Ibama. Recording made on November 7, 2015.

View the video here: http://g1.globo.com/rr/roraima/noticia/2015/11/manada-de-mais-de-170-porcos-do-mato-atravessa-rio-de-rr-video.html  

Fragoso 2004 article:  Fragoso 2004 White-lip dissapearances

Fragoso 1997 article:  Fragoso 1997

 

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New Publication: Utilizing Amerindian Hunter’s Descriptions to Guide the Production of a Vegetation Map

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Anthony Cummings (photo from the Web)

Map Rupununi

Anthony Ravindra Cummings led the Project Fauna team in the production of a vegetation map for the Rupununi region of Guyana, with the participation of Makushi, Wapichana and other Amerindians. Cummings and co-authors Jane Read (Syracuse University, USA) and Jose Fragoso state that with hunter’s vegetation descriptions and remotely sensed imagery we produced an eleven-class vegetation map that covered the main vegetation types described by hunters. “The final map shows that indigenous hunters can be important partners in the map-making process…”.

Full article:

Continue reading “New Publication: Utilizing Amerindian Hunter’s Descriptions to Guide the Production of a Vegetation Map”