Derek A. Smith, Department of Geography, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045 Email: dereksmith@thedoghousemail.com. Participatory Research on Hunting, Habitat, and Wildlife Conservation among the Buglé of Panama.

Dissertation research recently documented hunting activity among several Buglé communities in the rain forest region of northern Veraguas, Panama with the help of trained local investigators over a period of ten months. Weekly questionnaires and direct observation during hunting trips recorded variables such as hunting strategy, the technologies used, and the habitat in which game were encountered, as well as precise locations of game kill sites, in order to analyze the relationships between settlement patterns, land cover, and the spatial distribution of game extraction at a regional scale. A large proportion of the game captured was encountered in agricultural lands close to the villages. Certain species, however, were obtained exclusively in rain forest far from human settlement, suggesting that they are less resistant to hunting pressure. Significant differences were also found between the type, quantity, and distribution of game caught by men versus women, using different technologies, and in areas of higher and lower population density, all of which have important, practical implications for wildlife management. The participatory research component, in addition to investigations of extensive ethnozoological knowledge, demonstrate that indigenous peoples in rain forest settings are not passive foragers independent of their cultural background, but knowledgeable folk ecologists with the skills to effectively participate in wildlife conservation initiatives.

Keyword: indigenous peoples, Central America, rain forest conservation