Ethnoecology, Resource Use, Conservation And Development In A ...

of spider monkey meat may, however, be significant here, particularly as hunting for
this species preferentially targets females.
Whether the system of prohibitions described actually fulfils this function is a
matter on which for now it is only possible to speculate. A more thorough
examination of this question could take the form of precise documentation of the
extent and duration of prohibitions on the consumption of tapir meat, comparison of
levels of hunting and meat consumption in the presence and absence of prohibitions
on both inter- and intra-household bases, and tapir censuses to assess the
sustainability of prevailing levels of hunting. The presence of tapirs within even the
most frequently visited and heavily hunted areas in Maruranau is in favourable
contrast to the situation reported from other areas of forest where tapirs are hunted
(e.g., Fragoso 1991). Overall, the system of prohibitions on game consumption is
one similar in many respects to that described in greater detail and in a situation of
far lesser acculturation among the Tukano (Reichel-Dolmatoff 1976). The form of the
Wapishana system is consistent with the suggestion that it functions to regulate
game harvest. Whether it does, in fact, have adaptive value as a mechanism to
maintain species-specific hunting rates within sustainable levels is a far more complex
question. A broader version of the research programme suggested above might go
some way towards answering it.
The activities of the malevolent nature spirits discussed in chapter 5.3 have the
effect of keeping significant areas of forest, savannah and river largely free of human
activity on a close to permanent basis. These areas may effectively function as
preserves where ecological processes may take place unaffected by human impacts.
There is much evidence that such areas can form a key feature of an overall strategy
for the conservation of exploited species and ecosystem functions. Modelling of the
dynamics of animal populations subject to hunting pressure indicates that the
existence of spatial or temporal refuges from hunting is an effective strategy for
preventing the extinction of game populations under hunting pressure (Joshi and
Gadgil 1991). This finding is supported by preliminary data on the ecology of Tapirus
terrestris which suggests that declines in hunted populations may be buffered by
immigration of animals from adjacent areas free from hunting (Novaro et al. 2000).
Sacred groves in India, in a situation of high levels of forest clearance and
degradation, were observed to contain populations of economically important plants
rare or extinct in surrounding areas (Gadgil and Vartak 1976). Among the Rungus of
Sabah, sacred groves were formerly maintained on the basis of fear of spirits thought
to reside there, and appear to have contributed to the maintenance of populations of