Analysis of livestock-wildlife conflict in Chile's Petorca Mountain

In the Petorca Province of Chile’s Valparaíso Region, the guanaco (Lama guanicoe), a vulnerable wild camelid species occurring naturally in the country’s mountainous areas, is increasingly becoming a victim of conflict... [ view full abstract ]

In the Petorca Province of Chile’s Valparaíso Region, the guanaco (Lama guanicoe), a vulnerable wild camelid species occurring naturally in the country’s mountainous areas, is increasingly becoming a victim of conflict with local stock breeders. This conflict is based on a perception that guanacos are competing with livestock for summer grazing resources. The aim of this work was to: (a) understand the origin of and (b) characterize the conflict with the objective of developing (c) mitigation strategies and conservation actions aimed at the area’s guanaco population. To analyze the conflict between guanacos and domestic livestock information on the historical context was collected, including live stocking activities from relevant governmental institutions (i.e., Agricultural and Livestock Development Institute of the Ministry of Agriculture). Additionally, semi-structured one-on-one interviews with stock breeders, and workshops involving stock breeder associations and governmental institutions were conducted. The information generated in these participatory processes revealed two key socio-economic drivers of the present conflict: the loss of livestock farmer’s productivity, and a breakdown of communication between the key stakeholders; the latter was found to be largely a result of an erosion of trust stemming from pre-existing issues, a lack of dialogue, and diverging objectives. In addition, we found extensive evidence of illegal hunting in the study area, attributable to deeply rooted traditions in this rural community. An important achievement of the current project was to sensitize actors to the need for conflict mitigation strategies that consider both ecological as well as livestock production aspects; a working team comprising all current and future stakeholders in the short term is being chartered to generate proposals aligned with these objectives.