Impacts of wildlife on tropical agro-forestry crops, and the implications for international conservation initiatives
2020
Hulme, Mark F. | Sanderson, Fiona J. | Vickery, Juliet A.
We conducted a literature review on the impact of crop raiding on tropical plantation crops, which can undermine development, conservation and greenhouse gas emissions reduction schemes. Eight of 236 full texts assessed included quantitative assessments of plantation crop loss, all of which examined the impact on cocoa. Loss ranged from 0.4% - 30.0%, with rats and mice responsible for 5.41% (SE ±0.80) squirrels 2.40% (SE ±0.11) and primates 3.15% (SE ±0.54). Traditional mitigation methods can have high time and labour costs, and the limited evidence available suggests that they are unlikely to be highly effective in reducing the probability of crop raiding. Evidence on mitigation efficacy instead indicates that investment in research on buffers, landscape-level strategies, chilli-based methods and on whether the proportion of crop lost can be reduced through yield increases might be useful. Improved effectiveness and perceptions of crop raiding mitigation could help encourage participation in REDD + and certification schemes. The incorporation of crop raiding mitigation and trials into these schemes could provide a pathway to achieving this.
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