Sharing space: can ethnoprimatology contribute to the survival of nonhuman primates in human-dominated globalized landscapes?

Abstract

The emerging discipline of ethnoprimatology has at its core the construct that humans and nonhuman primates share a planet, an evolutionary history and a "primate perspective" on the world; more simply stated ethnoprimatolgy suggests that humans have perspectives on nonhuman primates which can contribute positively to the primates' enduring survival in our increasingly human-dominated landscapes. Here, I explore whether humans can or do contribute positively to the conservation of nonhuman primates, or whether humanity's impact on, as well as our perceptions of, primates are generally negative. I examine primate-human interactions at the intersection of agriculture with natural habitats as exemplified in several long-term studies, and explore the conservation consequences of these interactions. These interactions are then placed into an ecological-economic perspective assessing the prospects for the survival of primates in a context where humans share their subsistence space and resources with primates.