- 學位論文
尼泊爾人類活動地景的穿山甲生態及保育人文研究
Ecology and Human Dimension of Pangolins Conservation in Human Dominated Landscapes, Nepal
摘要
穿山甲是唯一有鱗片的哺乳類動物。人們對於使用穿山甲作為傳統中藥及肉用的需求，使穿山甲成為全世界被販售最多的哺乳類動物，並造成牠們瀕臨滅絕。在現今8種穿山甲當中，中華穿山甲 (Manis pentadactyla) 及印度穿山甲 (Manis crassicaudata) 分布於尼泊爾境內。國際自然保護聯盟 (IUCN)將中華穿山甲的保育現況評定為 “極度瀕危”； 印度穿山甲則評定為“瀕危”；同時，瀕危野生動植物種國際貿易公約(CITES)將兩物種列為“附錄I”。尼泊爾於1973制定的國家公園及野生動物保育法將這兩種物種列為瀕臨絕種。儘管目前有超過30篇相關研究文獻及尼泊爾政府制定的保育行動計畫(2018-2022)，對於穿山甲的相關資訊仍非常有限，由於主要的研究集中在尼泊爾中部及東部。因此，本研究基於多面向的保育目標將涵蓋整個尼泊爾境內，更新穿山甲的分布現況、潛在棲地、了解民眾對物種的理解和保育觀點，同時分析非法貿易的型態，藉此支持長期的穿山甲保育策略及當地居民的生計發展。 我們彙整這十年來臺灣與尼泊爾獲救與發現的穿山甲資訊。本研究共納入145隻中華穿山甲的體長(cm)與重量(g)；臺灣救傷穿山甲117隻(雄性=62，雌性=55)，尼泊爾救傷穿山甲28隻(雄性=14，雌性=14)。以異速生長方程式；W = aLb估計體長和重量關係，並用線性回歸對數據進行對數轉換，以評估生長狀況。本研究方程式的斜率平均值在臺灣與尼泊爾分別為2.15和1.33，其數值皆小於3，這代表中華穿山甲的異速生長為負增長。條件因素(K=g/cm)在臺灣的0.51-2.04與尼泊爾0.44-1.88之間波動，這表示獲救穿山甲的健康狀況由弱轉好。然而，身體條件因素在不同月份波動，但在雨季呈現到明顯增重和健康體態。因此，本研究將有助於促進標準化的指導方針，並支持在國的異地和在地保育。 為了更新穿山甲尼泊爾境內的分佈和棲息地相關變量，我們進行了廣泛的文獻回顧，以整理先前研究的數據，從關鍵人訪談和專家意見中收集信息，並進行穿越帶和痕跡調查。根據115個穿越帶的目擊和痕跡記錄了穿山甲的出現。從境內東部到最西部的75 個地區中，有61個地區證實了穿山甲的存在。在海拔500-1500 米的海拔範圍內，由中等質地（0.02-2mm）的棕色土壤構成的森林棲息地觀察到最高的洞穴出現頻率（74%）。Logistic回歸分析顯示，穿山甲的出現主要受到50-75%的地被和冠層覆蓋、地表枯落葉深度以及到白蟻丘和道路的距離的影響。我們使用最大熵算法（MaxEnt 3.4.1），利用4,136個穿山甲洞穴出現的點位來預測穿山甲的潛在棲息地分佈。該模型預測，尼泊爾總土地的15.2%（22,393 平方公里）可能適合穿山甲棲息地，東部地區有38.3%（8,574 平方公里）的潛在棲息地，其次是中部 37.6%（8,432 平方公里）和西部地區24.1 %（5,387km2）。這項研究的結果為穿山甲分布提供了一個基礎，並作為制定和執行尼泊爾穿山甲長期保護行動和管理計劃的重要文件。 我們對尼泊爾七個省的不同生態區域(105 個村莊；1,017 人)進行了半結構化問卷調查，以了解當地對穿山甲的了解、當地用途以及人們支持其保護的意願。我們進行了廣義線性混合建模，以調查影響受訪者對穿山甲知識水平的關鍵驅動因素。我們將省份、種族、職業、性別和年齡組確定為影響當地穿山甲生態知識的強預測因子。尼泊爾西部省份的受訪者的知識分數明顯低於東部和中部省份的受訪者。同樣，非原住民群體、學生、女性和 18-30 歲的受訪者對穿山甲的生態知識了解最少。尼泊爾各地報導了一系列關於穿山甲的用途和信仰，48%的受訪者認為穿山甲鱗片和肉類可用於傳統藥物。大部分受訪者（71.1%）願意支持當地的穿山甲保護。因此，本研究為規劃和執行社區保育行動和穿山甲保護管理決策提供了一個重要的基礎。 為了解尼泊爾穿山甲獵捕和貿易的模式，我們收集分析自2010年1月1日至2020年 12 月31日期間，從官方記錄、灰色文獻和經過核實的公共媒體報導中的穿山甲查緝數據。共收集122隻查緝的穿山甲資訊，來自27個地區，主要在中部Mid-hills。緝獲的病例包括23隻活體穿山甲、18張帶鱗的全身皮革和1046.7公斤的鱗片（最小=0.38公斤至最大=162公斤）。在過去的11年中，估計至少有1500隻穿山甲在當地被獵殺。貿易網絡分析確定首都加德滿都為主要非法穿山甲貿易中心；鱗片是最常見的商品。非法貿易主要發生在兩個地區：尼泊爾中部和東部，以及與中國接壤的地區。穿山甲主要從農村地區的核心棲息地被獵捕，然後運到城市進行貿易。這些數據支持該地區未來製定有效的執法和保護政策干預措施，以阻止非法的穿山甲貿易。
並列摘要
Pangolin is only one species of scaly mammal in the world. It is the most trafficked mammals for traditional medicine, meat consumption, and souvenirs causing the threat of extinction. Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) and Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) are two species that inhibitant in Nepal, among the eight extant pangolin species in the World. Globally, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) categorized the Chinese pangolin is as “Critically Endangered” and the Indian pangolin is as Endangered whereas Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) enlisted them in “Appendix I”. In Nepal, they are listed in Endangered and protected by National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1973. Despite the fact that over thirty previous studies have been carried out on pangolins along with Nepal’s Government has developed a five-year “Action Plan for Pangolin Conservation (2018-2022)”, the information is still lacking. Most of those studies had similar aims and they were more focused in central and eastern Nepal. Therefore, this PhD was conducted on multifaceted objectives covering wider areas across the country to update the current distribution and potential habitat, understand people’s perspectives towards the species and their conservation as well as identify major illegal trade pattern to support conservation strategies for the long-term protection of pangolins with livelihood development. One decade information of confiscated and rescued pangolins were reviewed from Nepal and Taiwan. The body weight (g) and total body length (cm) of 145 Chinese pangolins; 117 (male =62 and female= 55) from Taiwan and 28 (male=14, female=14) from Nepal were accounted in this study. Allometric equation; W=a Lb was used by linear regression to understand the biometric morphometric relationships and the seasonal as well as intraspecific regional variation of the species. The average value of slopes of equation (b) were 2.15 and 1.33 in Taiwan and Nepal respectively which were less than 3. It indicated that the Chinese pangolins were negative allometric growth. The condition factor (K=g/cm3) was fluctuated between 0.51-2.04 in Taiwan and 0.44-1.88 in Nepal stated the weak to good health status of rescued pangolins. However, the pangolins rescued during the warm seasons were found significantly heavier and wellbeing. This study therefore helps to promotes standardized guidelines to measure the physical measurement to understand the health status of different species of pangolins from other range countries. To update the current nationwide distribution and habitat associated variables of pangolins, data were collected by literature review, key informant interviews and expert opinion, as well as conducted transect and sign surveys. The pangolins was recorded based on field observation and signs along 115 belt transects. Out of 75 districts, the presence of pangolins were confirmed from 61 districts from the eastern to the western regions in Nepal. The highest frequency of burrows (74%) was recorded in the forests constituting brown soil with medium texture (0.02-2mm), and range of 500-1500 meters an elevation above sea level. The logistic regression showed that the ground cover and canopy cover between 50-75%, litter depth, and the distance to termite mounds was highly influenced to the distribution of pangolin. We used 4,136 occurrence GPS points of pangolin burrows to predict the potential habitat distribution of pangolin using maximum entropy algorithm (MaxEnt 3.4.1). The Maxent model predicted 15.2% (22,393 km2) areas of the total land of Nepal as potentially suitable habitat for pangolin. Out this total areas, potential habitat of 38.3% (8,574 km2) was located in the eastern region, followed by 37.6% (8,432 km2) in the central, and 24.1% (5,387km2) in the western regions. This study provides a nation-scale crucial information about pangolins distribution that will help implement conservation actions and management plans for sustainable conservation of pangolins in Nepal. A semi-structured questionnaire survey were conducted of 1,017 people from 105 villages located in different ecological regions across all seven Provinces of Nepal to understand local knowledge about pangolins, local uses, and people’s willingness to support their conservation. We performed generalized linear mixed modelling to investigate the key drivers influencing the level of knowledge about pangolins among the respondents. We identified provinces, ethnicity, occupation, gender, and age group as strong predictors influencing local ecological knowledge of pangolins. The respondents from provinces in the western part of Nepal represented significantly lower knowledge scores than the respondents from the eastern and central provinces. Similarly, respondents belonging to non-indigenous groups, students, females, and people aged between 18-30 years had the lowest ecological knowledge about pangolins. A range of uses and beliefs about pangolin were reported across Nepal, and traditional medicines derived from pangolin scales and meat believed to be used by 48% of respondents. The majority of respondents (71.1%) were willing to support pangolin conservation in their local areas. Thus, this study offers an important baseline to help design and execute effective community-based conservation actions and management decisions for pangolin conservation. To better understand the pattern of the pangolin hunting and trade in Nepal, data on pangolin seizures gathered from official records, grey literature, and verified public media reports were analysed from the 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2020. A total of 122 pangolin seizures were reported from 27 districts, mostly in the central Mid-hills. Seizure cases consisted of 23 live pangolins, 18 whole body skins with scales, and 1046.70 kilograms of scales (min=0.38 kg to max= 162 kg). Over the 11 years it is estimated a minimum of 1500 individuals were locally hunted. Analysis of the trade network identified the capital city Kathmandu as the main illegal pangolin trade hub; with scales being the most common item seized. The illegal trade mostly occurred in two topographic regions: central and eastern Nepal, and areas bordering China. The pangolins were hunted mainly from core habitat within rural areas, then transported to the city for trade. This data supports the future development of effective law enforcement and conservation policy interventions for this region to stop the illegal pangolin trade.