Policy Analysis and Adaptive Management Guidance for Addressing Invasive Wild Boar in the State of São Paulo

Abstract

The introduction of invasive wild boar (sus scrofa) in the 1990’s has caused significant harm to the native ecology, economy, and society of Brazil’s wealthiest and most populated state, São Paulo. This report draws upon the experiences and management approaches taken at the state and federal level in the United States to provide the Secretariat of the Environment of São Paulo: (1) a review of policies and methods utilized at the state and federal-level in the United States for managing wild boar, (2) a policy analysis of three state-wide wild boar management policy alternatives revolving around public participation in wild boar management, and (3) final recommendations for a state-wide policy approach for wild boar management with an adaptive management framework, including a maximum entropy model for suitable wild boar habitat in the state of São Paulo. This report ultimately recommends that the Secretariat of the Environment of São Paulo (SMA) adopt policy alternative 4, Government Implemented Wild Boar Control, and create a state-wide wild boar management plan implemented by state and local wildlife agencies with minimal private wild boar management efforts. This report recommends limiting public participation in boar removal to control on private land and strictly prohibiting public participation on all State and Federal Conservation Units within São Paulo. The SMA’s Wildlife Department should implement an adaptive management plan that maximizes removal effectiveness by (1) utilizing modern removal methods in an effective sequence and (2) prioritizing removal efforts to protect critical natural resources in areas susceptible to wild boar damage and invasion before resilient populations can be established.