Rural and urban views on elephants, conservation and poaching

• Published in: Oryx Vol. 56; no. 4; pp. 609 - 616
• Main Authors: Sampson, Christie, Glikman, Jenny Anne, Rodriguez, S. L., Tonkyn, David, Soe, Paing, O'Connor, David, Chit, Aung Myo, Leimgruber, Peter
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01.07.2022
• Subjects: Attitudes; Coexistence; Community; Conservation; Conservation laws; Crime; Elephants; Elephas maximus; Environmental protection; Interviews; Livestock; National parks; Perceptions; Poaching; Questionnaires; Rural areas; Rural communities; Tourism; Urban areas; Wildlife conservation; Wildlife trade; Myanmar (Burma); conservation; Asia; illegal wildlife trade; attitudes; Elephas maximus; poaching; wildlife value orientation; perception
• ISSN: 0030-6053; 1365-3008
• DOI: 10.1017/S0030605321000156

Successful anti-poaching policies and effective conservation of Asian elephants Elephas maximus require input and support from all stakeholders, including the public. But although Myanmar has one of the largest remaining populations of wild Asian elephants, there has been little research on public attitudes there towards elephants and poaching. We developed a questionnaire to assess attitudes of people in rural and urban areas towards elephants and conservation, and their perceptions of and experience with elephant poaching. We conducted 178 interviews across two regions in Myanmar. Although both rural and urban participants supported elephant conservation, people from urban areas expressed more favourable attitudes towards elephants than their rural counterparts. Similarly, conservation priorities differed between rural and urban communities, with rural communities less likely to believe that peaceful human–elephant coexistence was possible and preferring conservation initiatives that prioritize human activities over elephant conservation. Both groups were familiar with elephant poaching in Myanmar, but rural communities appeared to be better informed regarding the challenges faced by conservation agencies, and were more negatively affected by poaching. Our findings highlight potential areas for intervention by government and conservation agencies to reduce criminal activity and to protect both Myanmar's citizens and its elephants.