Paper short abstract:

One decade of research on the relationships among humans and biodiversity in the W of Niger showed how local cultures live in a total biodiversity environment, conserving the natural vegetation cover and macrofauna. It also showed a need of integration among conservation policies and local cultures

Paper long abstract:

One decade of anthropological and ethnobiological research on the relationships among humans, lions and biodiversity in the W of Niger allowed to compile information about how local cultures manage to live in a total biodiversity environment, conserving the natural vegetation cover and macrofauna. Developing a methodology formerly applied by me in India and Portugal, all relevant factors that determine the relationships among humans and the other species have been studied in the field. Those factors are ecological, ethological, hunting-gathering, agrarian, socio-cultural, psychological and political. A special attention is given to the coexistence with large carnivores, in this case the lion, as they are essential for ecological balance, their presence indicates a large range of biodiversity, they are the ones with which the coexistence may be more problematic, and they usually have a strong cultural signification that may indicate the relationship that a society has towards nature. In the W of Niger, most communities are of Gourmantché people. Before the current research, few studies were made on their civilisation. Local communities have a large range of uses of natural resources, including gathering, bow and arrow hunting, agriculture and cattle grazing. Their cultural representations include the belief on the existence of spiritual beings linked to nature, that manage all beings and reality. Those representations regulate their relationships with wildlife and their uses of natural resources. Additionally, they keep practises that allow a balanced coexistence with macrofauna. A reality that current policies should take in account to promote both biological and cultural conservation