Management Plan, captures of vicuñas and local community involvement

WAWRZYK A., VILÁ B., ARZAMENDIA Y., YACOBACCIO H., LAMAS H., BORGNIA M., BONACIC C. Y LAKER J.

Brasilia, Brasil

Congreso; XIX Annual Meeting of the Society for Conservation Biology; 2005

International Society for Conservation Biology

WAWRZYK, ANA; Vilá, Bibiana; Arzamendia, Yanina; Yacobaccio, Hugo; Lamas, Hugo;  Borgnia, Mariela; Bonacic Cristian,  Laker, Jerry. Universidad Nacional de Luján, Buenos Aires, Argentina (AW, BV, MB) macs@mail.unlu.edu.ar. CONICET, Argentina (BV, HY, YA). Fundandes (YA, HL). Pontificia Universidad Católica, Chile (CB). Macaulay Land Use Research Institute, Escocia (JL).     MANAGEMENT PLAN, CAPTURES, AND LOCAL COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT OF VICUÑAS IN ARGENTINA      Some vicuña (Vicuña vicuña) populations have recently been moved from CITES Appendix I to Appendix II, allowing limited exploitation. Management plans are particularly important to ensure that these populations are not over-exploited. The plan identifies the costs, benefits and risks of the management activity before it starts, giving importance to rights to access resources, cultural attitudes, historical background, ethnicity and environmental impacts. The objective of our group is to develop science-based management plans for the wild management of vicuña, implement participatory instruments enhancing the cooperation between scientists and local communities and designing techniques for capture and shearing that provides economic returns to livelihood, is sustainable for the vicuna population and has a low environmental impact. The ultimate aim is to balance income generation with ecological sustainability and equitable sharing of benefits.  The traditional Andean “chaku” consists in a drive, capture, shearing and release of wild vicuñas that minimizes the short and long-term effects on individuals and populations. The first capture in Argentina occurred in November 2003 in which 102 vicuñas were captured, of which 70 were shorn, providing 16.5 kg of fiber. In the second capture (November 2004), 165 vicuñas were captured, 129 shorn and 27.4 kg of fiber collected.   Indigenous knowledge and conservation, Economic and social context of biological conservation, other: wildlife management and local development.     Student presentation (Candidate for a student award)     Bibiana L. Vilá,  Departamento de Ciencias Sociales, Universidad Nacional de Luján. Rutas 5 y 7 Luján (6700), Buenos Aires, Argentina. blvila@mail.unlu.edu.ar. +54 2323-436142