Participatory agent-based simulation to foster dialogue and build trust between local communities and researchers: a case study on bushmeat hunting in the periphery of Korup National Park (South-West Cameroon)

To investigate the sustainability of bushmeat hunting activities in the region of the Korup National Park (South-West Cameroon), an agent-based model (ABM) representing snare trapping of blue duikers (Cephalophus monticola) was co-designed and used with local populations. Village meetings based on interactive computer simulations were structured in three successive steps. During the first step, an abstract representation of a village surrounded by a portion of forest was co-designed by directly manipulating the computer interface. Then, knowledge about the live-cycle traits and the behavior of blue duikers was shared through the demonstration of the individual-based population dynamics module of the ABM. The objective of the second step, introducing the hunting module of the ABM, was to elicit snare trapping practices through interactive simulation and to calibrate the hunting module by setting a value for the probability of a blue duiker to be caught by a snare trap. In a third step, a more realistic version of the ABM was introduced. The seven villages included in the process were located in the GIS-based spatial representation, and the number of 'Hunter' agents for each village in the ABMwas set according to the results of a survey. The demonstration of this realistic version triggered discussion about possible management scenarios based on reducing the number of hunters and/or the number of traps per hunter, but also on setting up temporal (rotating) reserves. A second round ofvillage meetings was organized 8 months later to collectively explore with the finalized version of the ABM the pre-identified management options. The whole process resulted in enhancing the trust-building among the local communities and the research team. Some villagers established an association to promote activities related to environmental management, and the research team was given a plot of land to establish an accommodation belonging to Dschang University in the village. (Texte intégral