Mapping Minds to Manage the Tiger of Rivers: A Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping Approach to Understanding Multi-Stakeholder Perspectives on Mahseer Conservation

Conservation of mahseers, a group of charismatic freshwater fishes native to the South, East and South-East Asia, situated at the intersection of complex social, ecological and economic landscapes, necessitates the integration of the knowledge, mental models, and expectation of different stakeholders. Using a Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping approach, this study generated collective mental models of mahseer conservation in two Indian states distinct in their geography, ecology and socio-cultural aspects - Assam and Uttarakhand. Although many core system components were similar in the cognitive map generated for the focal states, notable divergences emerged in the drivers, perceived relationships among the components, etc. indicating regional specificity in socio-cultural governance structures and stakeholder priorities. In both states stakeholder communication emerged as the most central, and the component with highest outdegree, underscoring its shaping effect on system-wide variable interactions. The other influential components were community fishing (destructive and traditional) and human-human conflict (in Assam), and illegal destructive fishing and community involvement in decision-making (in Uttarakhand). The what-if scenario analyses simulating potential interventions, demonstrated that enhancing communication, awareness and education, promoting local identity and cultural significance of community fishing, providing subsistence fishing opportunities for the locals, and community involvement in decision-making could help in reducing human-human conflicts, illegal fishing, and strengthen stakeholder collaboration for mahseer conservation in both states. Our results also indicate that these improvements alone are insufficient to result in measurable mahseer conservation outcomes until cultural revitalisation and governance reforms are integrated with habitat restoration, improved hatchery performance, evidence-based policies and strict law enforcement. We discuss various leverage points that emerged from the FCMs of both focal states and their implication for a broader mahseer conservation policy with a scope for integrating region-specific characteristics.