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Environmental Impacts
The management of vicunas is in a transition phase between
conservation and sustainable use. Though fibre harvesting is non-lethal, there
are many ways in which the management systems may impact on vicuna ecology.
The MACS team is conducting an investigation of the
external effects of management systems. Post harvest effects on ecology
and behaviour will be tracked. Dra Bibi ana Vila, principle MACS scientist
in Argentina, has many years of scientific study of the
behaviour of wild vicuņa. The same analytical techniques will be used for the
first time to evaluate post-harvest changes in, for example, herd structure,
home ranges and population dynamics. This research will also develop a GIS-based decision
support system to make an effective web-based interface for site-specific data
relevant to vicuņa management. This tool will be based on existing census data
and estimates of carrying capacity of the vegetation resources, using NDVI
Landsat TM satellite images to link spatial data from disparate sources in such
a way that policy options, which have a strong spatial component can be
evaluated effectively.
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Resources
Wild management
Vicuna use
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