Canids Specialist Group

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ResourcesAttitudes of local people towards the conservation of the maned wolf aiming for an environmental education plan for Mogi-Guaçu

maned wolf - Photo credit: Edu Fortes

maned wolf - Photo credit: Edu Fortes

Project:

The maned wolf is an umbrella species, so efforts to conserve it have the potential to benefit biodiversity of the Cerrado biome, due to the breadth of its territory and its role in the dynamics of the ecosystem.  Data on the attitudes of the local human population towards the biome and fauna are required to promote the understanding of the present relationships and for the development of a productive rapport between practitioners of conservation and community, promoting the success of conservation strategies and management. This project will provide a quantitative baseline of the attitudes, beliefs and values of interest groups and the general public about the maned wolf and its conservation. Specifically, types of conflict will be documented, key beliefs most directly linked to attitudes and behaviour identified, trust of the messenger assessed, appropriate medium and target audience characteristics explored. With such information, successful design and implementation of an environmental education strategy for the conservation of the species in the Ecological and Experimental Station of Mogi-Guaçu (EEcMG), can be created. This project is in accordance with the guidelines of the Reserve Biological and Management Plan and results will contribute to its program of Biodiversity Protection and Environmental Education.  This project is in partnership with the Forestry Institute of São Paulo (Instituto Florestal , Secretaria do Meio Ambiente do Governo do Estado de São Paulo), Brazil.

Researchers:

Adriana Consorte-McCrea – Department Geographical and Life Sciences, Canterbury Christ Church University, UK

Alistair Bath - Department of Geography, Memorial University, Canada

Denise Taylor - “Education 4 Conservation”, UK