Spatial patterns of wire-snare poaching: Implications for community conservation in buffer zones around National Parks

Wire-snare poaching is fueling the rapidly growing illegal bushmeat trade in Africa’s savanna ecosystems given the region’s relatively abundant wildlife, increasing commercial bushmeat demand, and burgeoning human populations; thus understanding snaring dynamics is critical to addressing this crisis. Community conservation areas often border National Parks (NPs) and are intended to serve as buffer zones wherein sustainable, wildlife-based economies exist. Yet their success is poorly-evaluated, partly due to poorly-understood poaching patterns and the impact of human development in these zones. We investigated snaring patterns in Zambia’s South Luangwa National Park and adjacent community Game Management Areas (GMAs) using highly-trained four-person teams to conduct 116 snare surveys at stratified random locations across approximately 6661 km2 from September 2011 to November 2012. We postulated that snaring would be predicted by land use, crops, roads, and permanent water. Using novel multi-logistic models, we found decisive evidence that snaring only occurred in GMAs and immediately adjacent NP areas. Within these areas, we found substantial evidence that snaring was constrained by road proximity, moderate evidence for water constraints, and equivocal evidence for crop constraints. Snare detection rates in these areas were 60%. Evaluating finer-scale GMA snaring patterns requires more data; however strong correlation between snaring and human development in protected area buffer zones necessitates increased caution and carefully planned community development initiatives, and the adoption and enforcement of well-zoned land-use plans. Incentives aimed at increasing agricultural development in buffer zones should be redirected away from these zones to reduce encroachment and poaching and protect wildlife-based economies.