Exploring neglected places enabling conservation crime through place network investigations.

ABSTRACT: Integrating local community knowledge can enhance understanding of conservation crimes when existing knowledge relies primarily on expert elicitation. We adapted place network investigations (PNI) to structure community and expert knowledge gathering about wildlife poaching around Pù Mát National Park, Vietnam. Using participatory mapping, we identified the distribution of PNI's four crime-associated place types: corruption spots, comfort spaces, convergence settings, and crime sites. We compared knowledge between conservation experts and local villagers, then explored spatial patterns of these locations. Analyses revealed previously neglected places extending beyond park boundaries. Communities contributed more extensive knowledge than experts, particularly reg

SUBMITTER: Xu EJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12834101 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature