Naturaleza y Sociedad. Desafíos Medioambientales

Nat. Soc.: Desafíos Medioambient. | eISSN 2805-8631

Zero hunger and biodiversity conservation. Challenges for the conservation of top predators and sustainable livestock production in Latin America

No. 2 (2022-05-01)
  • Cristian Bonacic
    Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (Chile)
  • Skarleth Chinchilla
    Universidad Zamorano (Honduras)
  • Constanza Arévalo
    Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (Chile)
  • Heliot Zarza
    Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana - Unidad Lerma (México)
  • Jesús Pacheco
    Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (México)
  • Gerardo Ceballos
    Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (México)
https://doi.org/10.53010/nys2.01

Abstract

Biodiversity conservation and livestock development have not gone hand in hand in Latin America. On the one side, a priority of livestock production is to provide protein of animal origin to local communities; and, on the other, the increasing shift of land use from jungles and forests to grazing lands results, in many cases, in increasing conflicts between livestock producers and large carnivores. Historically, no studies have addressed both priorities together. The principal mission of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is to integrate, coordinate, and propose options that allow a better quality of life and sustainable development. Sustainable Development Goals 2 and 15 of the 2030 Agenda make zero hunger and biodiversity conservation explicit as part of the strategy. This paper analyzes the conflict between livestock activity and big felines—top predators—such as the puma (Puma concolor) and the jaguar (Panthera onca) in Latin America. Neither the jaguar nor the puma has the habit of attacking domestic species; nevertheless, if these felines lack natural prey and share areas with livestock, they will hunt domestic animals, which leads to a conflict between conservation and food production. This article examines and proposes a strategy to comply with SDG 2 (zero hunger) and SDG 15 (biodiversity conservation) for the specific case of top predators and their conflict with livestock production in Latin America.

Keywords: jaguar, predators, SDG 2, SDG 15, sustainable livestock production, zero hunger, puma

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