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Bhutan (2021 Deadline)
Building a harmonious human-primate society: a citizen science-based primates conservation research in Bhutan
PI: Kuenzang Dorji (nsc@uwice.gov.bt), Nature Study Center, Bhutan Primates Conservation Society
U.S. Partner: Lori Kay Sheeran, Central Washington University
Project Dates: April 2022 - June 2023
Project Overview
A majority of the Bhutanese population (80%) depend on farming, but they are challenged by the small size of each farm holding, climate change, and crop depredation by wildlife. Primates (mostly Bhutan’s three macaque species) destroy crops across the country, with an overall damage extent greater than all deer species combined, in part because macaques’ generalist diet allows them to eat all crop varieties. Annually, farmers lose 20-30% of their crops to wildlife, affecting peoples’ food security and the country’s overall agricultural system. The impact is more severe for women, who are often responsible for running farms while men are employed as carpenters or construction workers. This PEER project aimed to improve Bhutan’s agriculture and food security sectors by gathering data on the understudied area of human-monkey interactions, as the country’s seven primate species are increasingly encroaching on farms, as farmers shift their cultivation of cash crops. This project sought to mitigate negative impacts of interspecies contact, create educational outreach on primates’ ecological role in Bhutan, and produce the baseline data needed for conservation actions on behalf of primate species poorly known to science.
The researchers mapped human-primate association hotspots for Bhutan’s primates, piloted deterrents to monkeys damaging crops, initiated planting of crops to enhance farmers' incomes and to provide a buffer between the forest and farms, and installed signs to reduce fatal accidents with wildlife on roads. The PEER project also built primate conservation research capacity in university students and involved residents through educational outreach developed in partnership with community leaders—primarily women as non-formal educators and heads of households and monks as spiritual leaders. The project was based in rural communities where there is scarce access to educational opportunities, and the researchers relied on the expertise of local foresters, who are based in regions over the long term and therefore are aware of the wildlife issues local people face. The project also built up professional capacity of foresters through educational programs.
Final Summary of Project Activities
The PEER team supported primate-focused research conducted by five Bhutanese undergraduate students enrolled at the Royal University of Bhutan College of Natural Resources. The students completed projects focused on ecology, human interactions, distribution, and predation pressures of golden langurs and Assamese macaques. The students collaborated with team members to write up their results or continue research and undertook training in primate survey protocols and research ethics prior to collecting field data.
The PEER team trained 38 foresters in primate survey methodologies before embarking on a week-long field expedition to collect socioecological data. The training enabled the foresters to coordinate and assist, as well as collect field data using online data collection apps. Foresters from Bumthang, Dagana, Sarpang, Tsirang, and Zhemgang forest divisions, as well as Jigme Singye Wangchuck National Park, Royal Manas National Park, and Phibso Wildlife Sanctuary, participated and strengthened collaborations with eight forestry field offices. The researchers and foresters took on a variety of education outreach activities in communities living with monkeys, including sharing basic information about golden langur ecology and wildlife identification in ten rural schools in regions with low adult literacy rates, reaching 600 students across a wide range of ages. The PEER team also met monks in these areas and received feedback from them on community-level information.
With the assistance of local forestry staff, the team worked with approximately 200 farmers in Trongsa and Zhemgang districts, focusing on women whose farms were adjacent to forests and who had previously reported issues with crop damage. Forestry staff interviewed farmers to learn more about their views of problematic wildlife and recommended farm sites to deploy wildlife deterrent devices. Two types of deterrents were tried. Both use electricity and rely on vocalization files on a thumb drive hooked to a speaker. Approximately 100 farmers, particularly women as household heads, were able to harvest 80-90% of their produce from the farm thanks to the team’s interventions. Local foresters know places on the highway where wildlife and car collisions occur. Based on the foresters’ survey and knowledge, the team installed signs to alert drivers to the possible presence of golden langurs and other wildlife.
Perhaps the most significant outcome of this project is research-based documentation and mapping of human-primate negative interaction hotspots and the resulting practical research findings. The researchers’ model showed that Zhemgang District is one of the primate hotspots in Bhutan. The national tourism flagship program highlights Zhemgang as a tourist hub due to its high floristic and faunal diversity. Stakeholder and other consultative meetings with the PEER team helped shift mindsets, identifying the important role monkeys play in the ecosystem and in potential income generation through ecotourism. Similar to other local celebrations, residents have proposed organizing a monkey festival to promote these animals' importance and conservation.
The U.S. partner Dr. Lori Sheeran and her graduate student Ms. Kelsie Strong visited the PEER team during the project period, validating data on primates and recorded more than 500 individual primates in various habitat types in 12 days. In addition, they met with field foresters, school children, women's groups, and a student research fellow from the College of Natural Resources.
The PEER project team was awarded two additional grants for their work, including a $63,000 grant from the Ocean Park Conservation Foundation Hong Kong.
Back to PEER Bhutan Grant Recipients
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