Subsistence hunting knowledge and practice in the Pamir region of Tajikistan have dealt with significant geo-political changes (i.e. Russian colonization of Tajikistan in late 1800s), socio-ecological changes (i.e. mechanization and industrialization of subsistence practices during the Soviet Times) and civil war (1992-1997). Conrad (2000) found that communities in Tajikistan became armed with small arms and light weapons after 1979, when the Soviet army invaded Afghanistan through Tajikistan. With access to more powerful weapons communities in the Pamir region, similarly to the Cree hunters (Berkes & Turner, 2006), overhunted Marco Polo sheep (Ovis ammon polii), Bukhara urial (Ovis vignei vignei), ibex (Capra sibirica) and Bukhara markhor (Capra falconeri heptneri) especially during the Tajik Civil War (Fedorsenko & Blank, 2005).
The dramatic decline in different wildlife species brought together mountain ungulate experts, government agencies, scientific institutions, traditional hunters and conservation activist to create four different Community Based Wildlife Management Areas (CBWMAs) in different valleys of the Pamir Mountains in 2008. Former hunters and poachers came together to work and protect wildlife species in return for conducting controlled and sustainable trophy hunting, which would then benefit broader communities. Since the establishment of the CBWMAs, yearly monitoring has been conducted based on approved technical guidelines and has been carried by traditional hunters together with local and international wildlife experts.
The knowledge of traditional hunters has been the key factor for sustainable conservation and wildlife management, especially in these remote mountainous parts of Tajikistan where scientific knowledge on wildlife management has been limited. The work of CBWMAs demonstrates how power relations could work between the state agencies and communities for the sustainable conservation and wildlife management in the Pamir region. The creation of CBWMAs has provided enabling conditions for co-management and insured integration of traditional hunters and former poachers in the wildlife management planning and use. This study finds that CBWMAs have faced different issues for being such a newly introduced approach in the region, however, the very existence of the approach and continued long term effort have started to change the perception of local communities. Furthermore, the study assesses how hunting knowledge is used today within the context of co-management of four different Community-Based Wildlife Management Areas in the Pamir region of Tajikistan and makes the case for use and application of lessons from these different CBWMAs for sustainable conservation and wildlife management elsewhere.
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Big Issues: Biodiversity , Ecosystem: Montane/Mountain , Resources: Wildlife , Big Issues: Resource use , Solutions: Local/Traditional knowledge
