Norris Darren, Michalski Fernanda, Gibbs James P
School of Environmental Sciences, Federal University of Amapá, Macapá, Amapá, Brazil.
Ecology and Conservation of Amazonian Vertebrates Research Group, Federal University of Amapá, Macapá, Amapá, Brazil.
PeerJ. 2018 Jun 1;6:e4856. doi: 10.7717/peerj.4856. eCollection 2018.
Law enforcement is widely regarded as a cornerstone to effective natural resource management. Practical guidelines for the optimal use of enforcement measures are lacking particularly in areas protected under sustainable and/or mixed use management regimes and where legal institution are weak. Focusing on the yellow-spotted river turtles () along 33 km of river that runs between two sustainable-use reserves in the Brazilian Amazon as an illustrative example, we show that two years of patrols to enforce lawful protection regulations had no effect on nest harvesting. In contrast, during one year when community-based management approaches were enacted harvest levels dropped nearly threefold to a rate (26%) that is likely sufficient for river turtle population recovery. Our findings support previous studies that show how community participation, if appropriately implemented, can facilitate effective natural resource management where law enforcement is limited or ineffective.
执法被广泛视为有效自然资源管理的基石。特别是在可持续和/或混合使用管理制度保护的地区以及法律制度薄弱的地区，缺乏关于执法措施最佳使用的实用指南。以巴西亚马逊地区两个可持续利用保护区之间33公里长的河流中的黄斑河龟为例，我们发现，执行合法保护规定的两年巡逻对巢穴采集没有影响。相比之下，在实施基于社区的管理方法的一年里，采集水平下降了近三倍，降至一个可能足以使河龟种群恢复的比率（26%）。我们的研究结果支持了先前的研究，这些研究表明，如果适当实施，社区参与如何能够在执法有限或无效的情况下促进有效的自然资源管理。
