Interactive agent-based simulation to chart the winding way from sensitization towards action. A case study on bushmeat hunting in the periphery of Korup National Park, Southwest Province of Cameroon

An agent-based model (ABM) representing snare trapping of blue duikers (Cephalophus monticola) was designed and used to raise the awareness of local populations about the sustainability of bushmeat hunting activities in the region of the Korup National Park (South- West Cameroon). In July 2012, a first set of village meetings based on a participatory agentbased modelling and simulation process were structured in three successive steps. During the first step, the spatial representation of a village surrounded by a portion of forest was co-designed and knowledge about the live-cycle traits and the behaviour of blue duikers was shared through the demonstration of the individual-based population dynamics module of the ABM. The objective of the second step, introducing the hunting module of the ABM, was to elicit snare trapping practices trough interactive simulation and to calibrate the hunting module by setting a value for the probability of a blue duiker to be caught by a snare trap. In a third step, a more realistic version of the ABM was introduced. The seven villages included in the process were located in the GIS-based spatial representation, and the number of "Hunter" agents for each village in the ABM was set according to the results of a survey. The demonstration of this last version triggered discussion about possible management scenarios. In April 2013, a second set of village meetings was organized to present and discuss the results of these scenarios run with the ABM. In this paper, we stress the importance of progressive trust building between the research team and the villagers that started 10 years ago. Since then, researchers are regularly coming to perform wildlife sampling and hunting surveys in the region, with students settling temporarily in the village and hiring villagers to guide them in the bush. Former students now working in national institutions like the Ministry of Forests and Wildlife joined the team that facilitated the series of village meetings to collectively address the sustainability of bushmeat hunting. On the other hand, some villagers engaged in the process of creating an association to become an institutional partner of the research team. (Résumé d'auteur)