Research on Sustainable Community-Based Conservation of the Last 150 Wild Yangtze Alligators

Abstract

Due to the cultural belief in dragon, indigenous communities living with the last 150 wild Yangtze Alligators spontaneously provide alligators with physical and emotional care. Being excluded from their ecological systems by policies launched for the protected zones and nature reserves as well as by outside intruders, indigenous residents always find themselves victims of conservation projects. This article articulates feasibility of community-based conservation of endangered species by describing the efforts both the communities and government have put in to protect the Yangtze alligators in Anhui Province, China. It attempts to propose re-examination of relevant government policies and sustainable commercial practices.