Journal of Threatened Taxa |
www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 January 2023 | 15(1): 22381–22391
ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893
(Print)
https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.8036.15.1.22381-22391
#8036 | Received 02 June 2022 | Final received
07 September 2022 | Finally accepted 11 January 2023
Assessing
illegal trade networks of two species of pangolins through a questionnaire
survey in Nepal
Nikita Phuyal 1, Bipana Maiya Sadadev 2, Reeta Khulal 3, Rashmi
Bhatt, Santosh Bajagain 5, Nirjala Raut 6 & Bijaya
Dhami 7
1,5 Tribhuvan University,
Institute of Forestry, School of Forestry and Natural Resource Management,
Kathmandu, 44600, Nepal.
2 Natural Resources and
Environmental Studies, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George,
BC, V2N 4Z9, Canada.
3 Tribhuvan University,
Institute of Forestry, Office of Dean, Kirtipur,
Kathmandu, 44600, Nepal.
4 Tribhuvan University,
Kathmandu Forestry Collage, Kathmandu, 44600, Nepal.
6,7 Tribhuvan University,
Institute of Forestry, Pokhara Campus, Pokhara, 33700, Nepal.
7 IUCN/SSC Deer
Specialist Group, Gland, 1196, Switzerland.
1 nikitafuyal123@gmail.com,
2 bipanamaiyasadadev@gmail.com, 3 reetkc9336@gmail.com, 4
rashmibhatt032@gmail.com,
5 santosh_bajagain@hotmail.com,
6 nraut@iofpc.edu.np, 7 bijaysinghdhami@gmail.com
(corresponding author)
Editor: Anonymity requested. Date of publication: 26 January 2023
(online & print)
Citation: Phuyal, N., B.M. Sadadev, R. Khulal, R. Bhatt, S. Bajagain, N. Raut & B. Dhami (2023). Assessing illegal
trade networks of two species of pangolins through a questionnaire survey in
Nepal. Journal of Threatened Taxa 15(1): 22381–22391. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.8036.15.1.22381-22391
Copyright: © Phuyal
et al. 2023. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. JoTT allows
unrestricted use, reproduction, and distribution of this article in any medium
by providing adequate credit to the author(s) and the source of publication.
Funding: This project was funded by WWF, Nepal for the partial
fulfillment of her BSC project paper of
first author and instrumental
support was provided by her
institution; Tribhuvan
University,, Nepal.
Competing interests: The authors
declare no competing interests.
Author details: NF is a MSc graduate student at Tribhuvan
University, Institute of Forestry,
School of Forestry and
Natural Resource Management, Kathmandu, Nepal. BMS is a MSc scholar
at Natural Resources and Environmental
Studies, University of Northern British Columbia,
Canada. RK is a MSc graduate in wildlife,
protected area management, and
biodiversity conservation.
RB is an undergraduate at Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu Forestry
Collage, Kathmandu, Nepal. SB is a MSc graduate student at Tribhuvan
University, Institute of Forestry,
School of Forestry and
Natural Resource Management, Kathmandu, Nepal. NR is an
assistant professor at Institute
of Forestry Pokhara, Nepal.
She is teaching “Wildlife Conservation
and Management” to Undergraduate and Graduate students. BD is a BSc graduate in forestry science and is actively involved in several conservation activities.
Authors contributions: NF—conceptualization,
research design, data collection, data analysis and interpretation, drafting of manuscript, critical
review, and revisions at
different stages. BMS—drafting of manuscript, critical review, and revisions at different stages. RK—drafting
of manuscript, critical review, and
revisions at different stages. RB—drafting
of manuscript, critical review, and
revisions at different stages. SB—drafting
of manuscript, critical review, and
revisions at different stages. NR—drafting
of manuscript, critical review, critical
review, and revisions at
different revisions at different stages. BD—conceptualization, methodology
design, manuscript drafting lead, GIS mapping lead, review draft and edit.
Acknowledgements: This project was
financially supported by WWF Nepal (Hariyo Ban
Program II). Special thanks go to Ms. Saru Gahatraj, Mr. Prayash Ghimire and
Mr. Aviral Neupane for
their valuable support during the field and manuscript development phase. We
would also like to acknowledge Ms. Shraddha Pudasaini
and Ms. Anu Paudel for
their cooperation, encouragement, and suggestions during the research period.
Abstract: Pangolins are among
the most extensively traded taxa in southeastern Asia mainly due to the perceived
medicinal value of their scales and other body parts, putting them at risk of
extinction, however, little is known about their trade status in Nepal. The
purpose of the study was to assess the status of pangolin trade in Makwanpur district of Nepal. Semi-structured interview with
household (n = 90), key informant survey (n = 15), Four focus group discussion
at each study site was conducted. Seizure data (2015–2019) were gathered from
the law enforcement agencies to identify and analyze the major trade routes.
The majority of the respondents (63%) were well aware of the protection status
of pangolins. Further, our study found that historically local peoples used
pangolin body parts in making rings, bags, jackets, and musical instruments but
at present they stopped it. Pangolin traders were typically middle-aged men and
unemployed youth. Majority of the hunting was found to be opportunistic but
when pangolins were caught, they were generally sold for additional income.
Currently, the seizure data has shown the declining trend of pangolin trade
within the Makwanpur district. Community forest user
groups and community based anti-poaching units are working actively for the
conservation and promulgation of threatened pangolins in the Makwanpur district which had long served as a major trade
route to China. Thus, we advocate strengthening border security and the
formation of community-based anti-poaching units, followed by mobilization,
anti-poaching trainings, security assurance, and incentives for worthy conservation
results in pangolin-rich communities. Further, we recommend sustained
conservation awareness programs, in addition to alternative livelihood
opportunities, for the long-term conservation of pangolins and their habitat.
Keywords: capacity
strengthening, ethno-medicinal importance, middle-aged man, opportunistic
hunting, semi-structured interviews.
Introduction
Nepal has two of the
eight extant species of pangolin found in the world: the Indian Pangolin Manis
crassicaudata & Chinese Pangolin Manis pentadactyla (Suwal et al.
2020; Dhami et al. 2023). The Indian Pangolin is
cryptic and has complex biology (Mohapatra et al. 2021), i.e., a single one is
born in the breeding season and is a diet specialist, which makes it
vulnerable. The Indian Pangolin has a wide range of distribution with major
holds in India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh (Mahmood et al.
2019) whereas the Chinese Pangolin is found to be distributed in Nepal, Bhutan,
India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, China, and Lao (Challender et al. 2019; Sharma et al. 2020a). Globally,
both the species are listed as Endangered and Critically Endangered species,
respectively, under the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (Challender et al. 2019; Mahmood et al. 2019) and are
appended in Appendix I of Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES 2020). Despite the ban on the
international commercial trade of specimens by CITES, pangolins are one of the
most widely trafficked mammal species (Boakye et al. 2015; Challender
et al. 2014, 2020). Indian Pangolins are relatively larger than Chinese
Pangolins; the former weigh 8–21 kg and are 100–120 cm in length (DNPWC 2019).
Wildlife trade, a
major contributor to decline and extinction of species (Paudel
et al. 2020), is now globally considered
to be the fourth largest illegal trade, after drugs, people, and arms valued at
$7 billion to $23 billion each year (Lehmacher 2016).
Along with increased threats to biodiversity conservation, illegal wildlife
trade also impacts the security of the community and their livelihood, living
together with wildlife (Riskas et al. 2018).
Furthermore, it has had far-reaching consequences for the nation’s governance
and economy (Felbab-Brown 2017). For instance,
corruptions associated with the illegal wildlife trade undermines the rule of
law thereby affecting the country’s governance (Vines & Lawson 2014).
Moreover, to regulate and control the illegal trade, manpower is required in
the enforcement agencies which ultimately affects national economy in a way
(Vines & Lawson 2014). Poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, and lack of
alternative livelihood opportunities motivate individuals to partake in illegal
wildlife trade (Rao 2002). While Nepal’s effort in protecting species like tigers
and rhinos is getting global recognition (Bhattarai et al. 2017), the rampant
poaching and illegal trade of threatened pangolin species has not been given
sufficient attention.
Income generated from
illegal wildlife trade is essential to sustain the livelihood of wildlife
poachers and traders in many developing nations like Nepal (Milliken 2014). It
is impossible to reduce poaching without providing alternative livelihood
options (Biggs et al. 2015). Therefore, mitigating the impacts of wildlife trade
at the grassroots level ought to consider satisfying the short-term goals
(ensuring livelihood) of nearby communities (Mulder & Coppolillo
2005). Until and unless the short-term goals of local communities living in
proximity to wildlife is not fulfilled incidence of wildlife poaching is
practically impossible to reduce. Despite the fact that Nepal is home to two
species of pangolins and shares an international border with China, one of the
world’s largest pangolin traders, there is little information on the extent of
pangolin trade in Nepal (Katuwal et al. 2015, 2016;
Sharma et al. 2019; Ghimire et al. 2020; Paudel et
al. 2020). On top of that, only few robust studies regarding illegal
trafficking of pangolins have been conducted in central Nepal (Dangol 2015; Sharma et al. 2020b). Hence, this research
aimed to identify the trade routes and understand the social attributes of the
people involved in illegal trade in Makwanpur
district of central Nepal.
Methods and Materials
Study area
The study was carried
out in the Hetauda sub-metropolitan city and Makwanpurgadi rural municipality (Figure 1) of Makwanpur (2,426 km2) district, Nepal. The
district is located with the coordinates (27.3333– 27.6666 0N &
84.6833–85.6833 0E). The
climate of the district varies from near-tropical to upper-temperate forest
type with mean annual precipitation between 16.6oC to 30.3oC
and mean annual rainfall (2,288 mm). About 75% of the land of the district is
mountainous and the rest 25% is plain areas (Shrestha & Nepal 2016). The
main ethnic groups residing in the districts are Tamang, Newar,
Majhi, Magar, and Praja (CBS 2012). Vegetation like
Sal Shorea robusta,
Chilaune Schima wallichii, and Saj Terminalia
bellerica are commonly found in this region.
Different indicators such as the presence of pangolin in the study site,
several anecdotal evidence such as seizure and arrest records on local and
national newspapers as well as major markets were considered for selecting
these municipalities as study areas. Katuwal et al.
(2015) also used major market areas as indicators for site selection.
Data collection and
analysis
The study was
conducted between February and March 2020. Data were collected through both
primary sources (household survey, key informant survey, focus group
discussion, and seizure data) and secondary sources (published and unpublished
reports). Snowball technique of purposive sampling method was used to identify
the potential respondent (Newing 2011) from different
ethnic groups and about 90 households were selected (60 households from Hetauda and 30 households from Makwanpurgadhi).
Although the study area was dominated with Brahmin and Rai community, we also
ensured the representation of other communities in our purposive survey (see
Table 1 for detail). We interviewed the head of each household, but if he or
she was unavailable, we interviewed the available (>18 years old) adult. A
semi-structured questionnaire was used to interview the selected respondents
(Newton et al. 2008) (Appendix A). Interviews were conducted in the local
language and were then translated into English. We tried to pose open-ended
questions wherever possible in order to access the respondent’s true feelings
on an issue. Surveyor provided well-illustrated pictures of both Chinese and
Indian Pangolins and also played videos showing the behavior of both species to
facilitate the respondent for species identification. In addition, we asked
respondents to rank five pre-determined threats from 1 to 5 according to the
degree of severity posed, 5 being the greatest and 1 being the least. We used
the non-parametric Friedman test to identify people’s opinions regarding
pre-determined threats at a 1% level of significance similar to Ghimire et al.
(2020). Further, 15 key informant interview was conducted involving division
forest office (DFO) staff (n = 5), FECOFUN head (n = 1), police officers (n =
5), and district court staff (n = 4). There were altogether 32 questions that
were directed towards assessing information on trade and its triggering factors
(Appendix B). Also, four focus group discussions were carried out in each study
site (three with the local respondent and one with community-based
anti-poaching Unit) to identify major trade routes and market hub for pangolin
trade. During the focus group discussion, the team tried to pose close-ended
questions to compare and validate the answers of different respondents. In
addition, we obtained trade information from DFO and district police station
including details on quantity and part of pangolin seizure, date, time and
place of seizure, name, and address of the culprit from 2015–2019. The information
gathered was entered into excel for analyses and presentation. Information
accessed from household surveys, key informants, focus group discussion and
seizure records was used to prepare a map highlighting the possible trade route
with the help of the ArcGIS 10.8 version.
Results
Socio-economic
characteristics of respondents
Most of the
respondents interviewed were male (70%) belonging to the age group of 35–55
years (74.44%). Similarly, most of the respondents (48.89%) surveyed were
illiterate. And the majority of the respondents (74.44%) were involved in
agriculture as shown in Table 1.
People’s perception
of protection of pangolin
The majority of the
respondents supported pangolin conservation (63%), few were against it (4%),
and 32% were ignorant of the issue.
Ethno-medicinal
importance of pangolin
People belonging to Tamang (40%), Chepang
(24%), and Rai (16%) communities are more aware of the ethno-medicinal
importance of pangolin in the study area (Figure 2). They do have good knowledge
regarding the use of pangolin claws and scales.
In the local context,
the use of pangolin and its body parts (like its scales) are believed to have
healing power to cure wounds. More importantly, pangolin meat is used for
treating gastrointestinal problems, pain killers during pregnancy, cardiac
problems, back pain relief, and bone problems. The scale is used as a symbol of
good luck to avoid danger and to make finger rings. Scales are rubbed together
and applied to cure skin diseases, burn wounds, teeth problems, and to cure
pneumonia. Likewise, scales are kept near the baby basket (kokro)
to protect children from different diseases. They used the scales in preparing
bags, boots, and musical instruments. Similarly, pangolin claws are used to
make a ring, necklace, and bracelet that help to protect individuals against
bad omen as well as protect from any other bad consequences.
Manner of pangolin
hunting
Out of the total
respondents surveyed, the majority (42%) reported the hunting to be
opportunistic, followed by rare (19%), intentional (17%) hunting, and no idea
(22%), respectively.
Type of people
involved in hunting
Mostly unemployed
adults (45.55%) and young men (40%) were involved in the trade. The rest had no
knowledge about the trade (Figure 3).
Purpose of pangolin
hunting
About the purpose of
hunting, 53% reported hunting for money, 23% for traditional medicine, 17% for
meat and 7% for cultural value (ornaments such as rings and bracelets made from
pangolin scales are considered as an emblem for good luck).
Threat to pangolin
Out of five threats,
respondents ranked human hunting (4.43) as a severe threat to the pangolins
followed by habitat fragmentation (3.39) and least for complex biology (1.93).
On applying the Friedman test the results were statistically significant (χ2
= 135.997, p <0.01) as shown in Table 2.
People’s perception
on status of Pangolin and major reasons for trade
Out of the total
respondents, the majority (44.44%) had noticed the increase in the pangolin
population, some (32.22%) had no idea about the pangolin population and the
remaining (23.34%) had noticed the decrease in pangolin population.
Regarding the reasons
behind the trade, the majority (34.44%) of the respondent identified high
profit to be the major reason for trade followed by poor security, poverty, and
lack of awareness as 26.68%, 23.33%, and 15.55%, respectively.
Fluctuation in
pangolin trade
The fluctuation in
pangolin trade was assessed, taking into account both the respondent’s opinion
and the seizure data obtained from DFO, District Police Office (DPO) for the
last five years. The seizure data were tallied with the respondent’s opinion
which showed a decreasing trend in trade. When questioned about the pattern or
trend of pangolin trade in the district, 43.33% admitted about declining status
of trade, 24.45% feel the trade is still increasing, and the remaining 32.22%
had no idea about the pangolin trade as shown in Figure 4.
Identification of
major trade routes through Makwanpur district
As per the
information provided by concerned authorities (DFO, Police office), major
markets for pangolin trade are either China or India. The majority of the
pangolin parts from different parts of the district or from outside the
district reach the district headquarters, Hetauda – a
sub-metropolitan city and are transported to China and India via various
routes.
The highlighted pink
line indicates the trade route via road (Figure 5). The route is identified
through information obtained from group discussion, key informant interviews
and mainly by analysis of seizure data and follows following route:
Hetauda—Birgung—Kalaiya—Gaur—Malangawa—Rajbiraj—India
Hetauda—Kathmandu—Dhadingbesi—Bidur—Dhunche—China
Hetauda—Kathmandu—Dhulikhel—Chautara—Charikot—China
Discussion
Our results show that
the majority of respondents supported pangolin conservation which could be
attributed to the efforts of the personnel of the community forests and
community-based anti-poaching units in the study site. Media such as
television, radio, and newspapers might also have played a positive role in
creating awareness among the people (Sharma et al. 2019). Especially people living around Rani and Chhucekhola community forests were highly positive towards
the protection of threatened pangolins despite knowing the fact that pangolin
meat, scales, and skin are of high value in an international market Katuwal et al. (2015), they were against the trade of
pangolins. Our result contradicts with the findings made by Katuwal
et al. (2015) where most people were unaware of the protection status of
pangolin. Sharma et al. (2020b) mentioned that people from the diverse
background were knowledgeable about Chinese Pangolin and concerned about the
conservation of this species as pangolin plays a vital ecological role in
controlling the pest such as termites, ants (Swart et
al. 1999) and also in improving the soil structure and composition similar to
other burrowing mammals (Laundré & Reynolds
1993).
Previous studies
(Nash et al. 2016; D’Cruze et al. 2018; Ghimire et
al. 2020) recorded that the pangolin parts are used for traditional medicines.
Similar to our finding on ethno medicinal use of
pangolin parts for curing wounds, gastrointestinal problems, pain killer during
pregnancy, cardiac problems, back pain, and bone problems, cure wounds, cure
arthritis, and anti-poisonous reagents. Pangolin scales were used for ornaments
such as rings and bracelets and as an emblem for good luck while others showed
that they bring bad luck (Nash et al. 2016; D’Cruze
et al. 2018; Ghimire et al. 2020).
In our study, the
majority of the respondents reported hunting to be opportunistic followed by
rare and intentional, thus providing insights into the intensity of hunting.
Results from the study by Ghimire et al. (2020) and D’Cruze
et al. (2018) also suggest that opportunistic hunting is one of the major
causes of pangolin population decline.
Our study showed that
unemployed middle-aged men followed by unemployed youths were majorly involved
in pangolin hunting. Our results are similar to the studies made by Ghimire et
al. (2020) and Katuwal et al. (2015) where they
reported that youth, especially those
unemployed, were involved in pangolin hunting for monetary reasons. We
suggest two key strategies of the many used to combat illegal wildlife
poaching; first the development of reward and sanction mechanism through
legally agreed rules and regulations and second, the introduction of strong and
sustained awareness programs, prioritizing and implementing income generating
activities or skill development trainings to facilitate alternative livelihood
options (Khatiwada et al. 2020). The effective
conduction of skill development training and income-generating activities
like mobile repair, house wiring, and plumbing is likely to make the
marginalized populations self-reliant and less likely to engage in poaching and
illicit activities (Bhatta et al. 2018).
Likewise, our study
showed that money and traditional medicinal values were the driving factors for
hunting. Different parts of the pangolins are consumed traditionally in a local
context as the parts of pangolins are believed to have curative properties as
mentioned earlier Ghimire et al. (2020). However, these social and cultural
values are suppressed by monetary value at present which coincides with the
study made by Corlett (2007) where he stated that pangolins are hunted for
trade rather than for local consumption. Further, Katuwal
et al. (2015) revealed that the minimum price of live pangolin and
scales of pangolin in the Nepali market range between $ 7–12.5 /kg for local
hunters, however the price doubles at every subsequent level of trader which
supports our results. Despite the fact, people believe that the pangolin
population is increasing in the study site, however, this hypothesis need to be
proved by detailed field study. The reason could be the decrease in pangolin
trade with the active involvement of police and concerned authority in
controlling the wildlife trade. Further, National Park and Wildlife
Conservation (NPWC) Act has a provision of a penalty of NRs 100,000–500,000 or
1–10 years of imprisonment or both if any offense regarding them is committed (GoN 1973).
Heinrich et
al. (2017) explored the impacts of hunting on tropical forests in southeastern
Asia and highlighted the importance of opportunistic hunting as it does not
require much skill. We also identified hunting as the major threat which is
similar to the findings of Ghimire et al. (2020). Challender
& Hywood (2011) and Patel & Chin (2009) also
identified hunting and poaching as the primary threats to pangolin. Local
people use different techniques to hunt pangolins. The most commonly used
hunting practice is filling burrows with water and hitting on snout of pangolin
when they attempt to escape from the burrow (Katuwal
et al. 2016). Hunters catch pangolins to supply to the trader for money rather
than personal consumptions (Corlett 2007) as a decrease in the global wild
population and strong law enforcement have increased the price of pangolins in
the market (Shepherd 2009; CITES 2016).
As compared to the
record of previous years, the pattern of pangolin seizures seems to be
decreasing in the study area after 2015. The result corresponds with the result
of Ghimire et al. (2020) where they have clearly stated that the seizure of
Pangolin in recent years is declining in Illam, Dhankuta, Taplejung, and Sankhuwasaba districts. However, the obtained result is in
contrast with the findings of Katuwal et al. (2015)
where they have reported the increasing pattern of pangolin trade in eastern
Nepal. Currently, several attempts are made by the Nepal government for
pangolin conservation. National pangolin workshop was organized by the
government of Nepal to develop a road map for conserving the country’s globally
significant pangolin population. Similarly, a wide range of stakeholders from
local pangolin experts including pangolin specialist group to government
officials are working together to develop scientific information through
performing intensive surveys on multiple arenas of threatened pangolins. In
addition to this, the Pangolin Conservation Action Plan for Nepal (2018–2022)
aimed to address the critical threats to pangolin conservation by developing
appropriate conservation strategies and action (DNPWC 2018). The major
objective of this plan is to curb poaching and illegal trade of pangolins.
Currently people in Makwanpur district are also more
aware of the protection status of pangolins. Similarly, CF (especially Rani and
Chhuchekhola CF) are working actively for the
conservation of pangolins. They keep conducting awareness classes in various
schools and trade-prone areas to make community people aware of the legal and ecological
consequences of trade. In addition to this, pangolin park is made in Chhuchekhola CF for the conservation and promulgation of
threatened pangolins. Nevertheless, the community-based anti-poaching Unit
(CBAPU) was established four years ago in Makwanpur
district which discourages people against the illicit trade of pangolins. We
obtained very few registered cases of pangolin seizures at the DFO, Makwanpur. Even though very few seizures and arrest records
have been registered in DFO and DPO, police are claiming that trade is still
happening but in a confidential way. Due to the clandestine nature of the trade
and the strong network among the poachers, they are finding it very difficult
and challenging to track and arrest culprits.
According to the information
on trade routes provided by DPO, Makwanpur, poachers
from each area use different trade routes nevertheless, the final destination
in Nepal is typically the border to China. Similarly, most of the key
informants admitted China to be the major market place for trade. In the study
made by Katuwal et al. (2015) also trade flow was
more across the Chinese border. The findings of our study is again supported by
the study made by Sharma et al. (2020b) where they have clearly stated that
most illegal Chinese pangolins trades from Nepal are motivated by the demand
from China. Illegal wildlife trade generally occurs through a complicated
network of locations and routes where poachers of one village supply pangolin
to poachers of another village and so on until it reaches the international
border. Heinrich et al. (2017) stated that wildlife trafficking occurs through
a mobile trade network with constantly shifting trade routes. This may also be
presumed in our study area that trade might still be rising by shifting the
route rather than using old routes.
Conclusion
Our study shows that
especially the unemployed adults were involved in pangolin hunting especially
for a monetary cause. Further, our study reported the use of different parts of
the pangolin as cultural values and curative reagent in the study area.
Similarly, our results have shown the decreasing trend of seizure records of
pangolin whereas trade flow was more skewed towards the Chinese border. On top
of that, hunting and habitat fragmentation were ranked as most severe threat
for pangolin conservation. However, community forests are working actively for
the conservation and promulgation of threatened pangolins in the Makwanpur district. Finally, we suggest that to discourage
the involvement of youth in illegal pangolin trade, strong and sustained
awareness programs should be launched with development of alternative
livelihood opportunities. In addition, forming community-based anti-poaching
units in prospective pangolin habitat could be a significant intervention to
stop the trade. This necessitates long-term motivation, anti-poaching training,
security guarantees, and, most importantly, incentives for worthy conservation
outcomes. Finally, we propose a national-level investigation into unlawful
pangolin hunting and trading, as the species’ survival is in jeopardy.
Table 1.
Socio-economic characteristics of respondents.
|
Characteristics |
Number |
% of respondents |
|
Gender |
|
|
|
Male |
63 |
70 |
|
Female |
27 |
30 |
|
Community |
|
|
|
Brahmin |
35 |
39 |
|
Chhetri |
11 |
12 |
|
Tamang |
13 |
14 |
|
Chepang |
13 |
14 |
|
Rai |
18 |
20 |
|
Age group |
|
|
|
Young (<35 year) |
15 |
17 |
|
Adult (35–55 year) |
67 |
74 |
|
Old (>55 year) |
8 |
9 |
|
Education |
|
|
|
Illiterate |
44 |
49 |
|
School-level |
35 |
39 |
|
College level |
11 |
12 |
|
Occupation |
|
|
|
Agriculture |
67 |
74 |
|
Forest guard |
3 |
3 |
|
Teacher |
2 |
2 |
|
Shopkeeper |
8 |
9 |
|
Housewife |
6 |
7 |
|
Government job |
4 |
4 |
Table 2.
Pre-determined threat ranking based on people’s opinion using non-parametric
Friedman test.
|
|
Major threat |
MR |
χ2 |
P-value |
|
1. |
Human hunting |
4.43 |
135.997 |
0.0000* |
|
2. |
Habitat
fragmentation |
3.79 |
||
|
3. |
Hunting by wild
animal |
2.57 |
||
|
4. |
Low food
availability |
2.27 |
||
|
5. |
Complex biology |
1.93 |
MR—Mean Rank | χ2—Chi-square
value | p—significant value.
For figures –
click here for full PDF
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Appendix A
Questionnaire survey
Socio-economic
characteristics of respondents
Gender
(circle one)
i. Male
ii. Female
Age
group:
i. Young(<35yr) ii. Adult(35-55yr) iii.
Old(>55yr)
Education:
i. Illiterate ii. School-level iii. College level
Occupation:
……………………………………………………
Community:
i. Tamang ii. Chepang
iii. Rai iv. Brahmin v. Chhetri
People
belonging to which community are more aware with ethno-medicinal uses of
pangolin?
Tamang b. Chepang c. Rai d. Brahmin e. Chhetri
Do you
agree pangolin should be protected?
Agree b. Disagree c. No idea
Do you
know the medicinal value of pangolin?
Cure
of arthritis b. Cure wound c. Prevent body ache problem d. Others
Do you
know the cultural value of pangolin?
If yes, Please specify……………….
Have
you ever heard or seen pangolin killed in your locality?
Intentional b. Opportunistic c. Rare d. No idea
What
type of people are mostly involved in hunting?
Unemployed
middle aged man b. Unemployed
youth c. No idea
Why
are pangolins hunted?
Meat b. Cultural value c. Traditional medicine d. Money
Rank
the following threats to pangolin according to the degree of the severity?
Habitat
fragmentation b. Human hunting c. Hunting by wild animals d. Complex biology e. Low food availability
Have
you perceived an increase or decrease pangolin habitat and its number in your
area?
Increase b. Decrease c.
Don’t know
What
driving factors is most responsible to encourage people to involve in trade?
Low
awareness b. High profit c. Poor security d. Poverty
Can
you tell me the trend of pangolin trade for last 5 years?
Increase b. Decrease c. Don’t know
What
are the major hub for pangolin trade?
China b. India c. China and India d. No idea
Appendix B
Checklist for Key- Informant Interview
Name of respondent:
Date:
Address:
Age:
Phone number:
Sex:
Designation:
Have you seen Pangolin or their burrow?
When and where?
….……………………………………………………………………………………
How familiar are you with Pangolin and its
benefits?
…………………………………………………………………………………..
3. Are you aware regarding ethno-medicinal
use of pangolin?
………………………………………………………………………………………
4.Which part of pangolin is most valuable?
……………………………………………………………………………………….
What are the major threats for pangolin?
……………………………………………………………………………………….
Are pangolins being hunted in your area?
……………………………………………………………………………………….
What method they used to hunt them?
………………………………………………………………………………………
For what purpose they hunt pangolins?
….…………………………………………………………………………………..
How often does the hunting of pangolin
occur in your area?
….…………………………………………………………………………………..
Can you estimate the hunters number in
your locality?
….……………………………………………………………………………………
In average how much pangolins are being
killed in one year from your area? Can you estimate last year’s number?
….…………………………………………………………………………………….
People of which caste are mostly involved in
trade?
……………………………………………………………………………………..
People of which occupation are mostly involved
in trade?
……………………………………………………………………………………
People of which age are mostly involved in
trade?
………………………………………………………………………………………..
What are the major reason for increased
trade of the pangolin?
………………………………………………………………………………………..
Do you have any estimate of pangolin
population trend in last five years? Is it increasing or decreasing? If
decreasing why?
………………………………………………………………………………………..
Do
you know where live Pangolins and its body parts are sold?
……………………………………………………………………………………….
Are
there any selling and buying station in the market?
………………………………………………………………………………….
Who
are mainly responsible for selling?
…………………………………………………………………………………..
Where do buyers come from?
………………………………………………………………………………………
Where are Pangolin's scales sold, do you
have any idea?
…………………………………………………………………………………….
What are the major hub for pangolin trade
in this area? (key places)
……………………………………………………………………………………..
Does any buyer/middleman visit the place for
buying? If yes then from where………
How
and where Pangolins are hidden during transport and trade?
……………………………………………………………………………………
By what route the Pangolins are smuggled?
Identify the key routes within the district?
……………………………………………………………………………………….
In
your information, what is the average price per kg of pangolins scale at local
level? Or how much a poacher earn selling a kg of pangolin scale in your area?
….…………………………………………………………………………………..
Do you have any idea how much a middleman
earn selling a kg of pangolin scale?
………………………………………………………………………………………
In your opinion, why is the trade network
so vast and difficult to control?
……………………………………………………………………………………..
Do you have any idea of fine and
punishment in case of seizure? Is it enough to limit the alarming trade?
………………………………………………………………………………………..
Is there any conservation effort to
mitigate illegal wildlife trade of Pangolin?
……………………………………………………………………………………..
What type of organization worked here/ working
here to control the illegal trafficking and poaching of threatened pangolins?
…………………………………………………………………………………..
In case the key informant is the
dignitaries of any organization…….
a. What
kind of programs and actions are carried out to control illegal trafficking and
poaching of threatened pangolins?
………………………………………………………………………………………..
Are community-based anti-poaching unit
working effectively to control illegal trade of endangered pangolins?
………………………………………………………………………………………