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A case study of this scenario is the saiga antelope (Saiga
tartarica) which inhabits the semi-arid rangelands of Central Asia.
Following a population crash at the end of the 1990s, the past
three years have seen a very encouraging recovery in saiga
population in Kazakhstan according to the official national
estimates and the population estimate for 2006 stands more than
twice the estimate for 2003. There is reason to believe however
that the methods used are not reliable and that sightability may
have altered due to changes in herd size distribution.
This project focuses on exploring the feasibility of community
based trophy hunting of the Betpak-dala population of saiga
antelopes (Saiga tartarica). Literature on trophy hunting and
community based wildlife management was investigated as well as
using a population model to assess approaches to sustainable
hunting.
The study provides an insight into how knowledge, attitudes and behavioural intent may have been influenced by the campaign, and the major variables which may influence the success of the campaign. Additionally, it aims to outline how 'external' conservation measures and processes are judged by local people, and how this impacts their success.
This study aims to investigate the potential for participatory
monitoring of the saiga in the Russian Republic of Kalmykia, a
stronghold for one of the five remaining populations. A pilot
project was set up and monitors were selected from villages
neighbouring two nature reserves. They recorded observations of
saiga on an opportunistic basis, and twice a month spent some time
deliberately searching for saiga as a measure of effort.
Attitudinal surveys were performed to ascertain local people's
opinion of the participatory monitoring scheme, and costs were
compared with those of rangers at the reserves. Both monitors and
rangers were assessed in terms of their accuracy when counting
saiga.