Projekt

Human activities and land-use change are causing major impacts on ecosystems. As a result, human-wildlife interactions reorganize dynamically, with fundamental consequences for zoonotic disease emergence. The processes at the human-wildlife interface are part of a complex social-ecological system whose transformation towards increased sustainability requires disciplinary integration. The project addresses (1.) how wildlife consumer behavior and associated risk, along a social-ecological gradient from rural areas to agroforestry landscapes and (peri)-urban areas in West Africa, is motivated by a mix of ecological and socio-economic factors, cultural norms, and personality traits; and (2.) how in turn this can be altered by targeted behavioral change interventions (BCI) and alternative supply chains. It works with formal and informal restaurants ('maquis') as field laboratories to assess drivers of motivation for wildlife consumption and to conduct BCI for a wide range of people and contexts. This work will be integrated with assessments of wildlife communities and prevalence of pathogen families along the social-ecological gradient to provide essential context. The work will highlight effectiveness of innovative, scalable and low-cost BCI, demonstrate the potential for altering wildlife consumption and thus offering concrete solutions towards increased sustainability taking into account pressing social, ecological, and economic needs of stakeholders.

• Prof. Dr. Hjalmar Kühl

  Senckenberg Gesellschaft für
  Naturforschung
  Senckenberg Museum für Naturkunde Görlitz
  Frankfurt
  

• Dr. Andrée Prisca Ndjoug Ndour

  Ecole Inter-Etats des Sciences et
  et Médecine Vétérinaires (EISMV)
  Microbiologie-Immunologie-Pathologies infectieuses
  Dakar
  Senegal
  

• Dr. Gilbert Fokou

  Swiss Center of Scientific Research
  (CSRS)
  Department of Research and Development
  Abidjan
  Elfenbeinküste (Côte d'Ivoire)
  

• Prof. Dr. Björn Vollan

  Universität Marburg
  FB02: School of Business and Economics
  Sustainable Use of Natural Resources
  Marburg
  

• Dr. Celestin Yao Kouakou

  University of Daloa
  Department of Biodiversity and sustainable
  Conservation of Ecosystems
  Daloa (Côte d'Ivoire)
  Elfenbeinküste (Côte d'Ivoire)