Implications of different management systems for conservation, and the Andean pastoral economy

LICHTENSTEIN, GABRIELA

Towards sustainable management of vicunas in the Andes

Año: 2006;

The dramatic decline of the vicuña from some 2 million individuals at the time of the Spanish conquest, to possibly 10,000 in the 1960s, came about as a consequence of the development of commercial trade links with Europe, in the absence of any regulatory mechanism to control the intensity of exploitation. International and local conservation efforts turned vicunas into one of the few success stories of international wildlife conservation and the population recovered to 250,000 animals in less than 30 years. This population increase enabled governments to change their policies from strict protection to sustainable use. Different models for vicuña management have been adopted by Andean countries according to the country-specific social organization systems, idiosyncrasies, livelihoods, and national and local laws pertaining to resource and land tenure. These are explored in this chapter. Nota: este capitulo sera parte de una publicacion con todos los trabajos presentados en la reunion: Vicuña and guanaco fibres for luxury textiles: Issues in achieving sustainable use and fair trade in wildlife products from the Andes. Organizado por Macaulay Institute.  Aberdeen, Reino Unido