Improving biodiversity’s resilience to climate-and human-induced threats through nursing positive Human-Herpetofauna Interactions

<< Background >>Herpetofauna (reptile and amphibian) species are currently one of the most endangered groups worldwide, with theirnumbers on the decline due to both climate change and a series of human-related threats such as persecution, pollution, and habitat fragmentation.Μost people are unaware of their importance to the environment and incapable of distinguishing them which leads to ophidiophobia (an irrational fear of all snakes), even for the harmless species, that in turn leads towards unnecessary persecution.Moreover, uncontrolled urban and agricultural development is irreversibly degrading and fragmenting important habitats of herp species. Targeted conservation actions are urgently needed for their protection.Luckily, those conservation actions are not necessarily large or expensive and can make a huge difference, improving biodiversity’s resilience (including herps) to both climate- and human-induced threats. The HerpTrust Project, tailored to Erasmus+ KA2 priorities, adresses this need for both identification of human pressures on herps, and suggestions for targeted conservation, through educational material created for both citizens and professionals working in environmental and relevant fields. << Objectives >>Τhis project, focused on identifying human-relevant issues that affect herpetofauna in order to contribute to improving biodiversity’s resilience. Measures created by nursing and promoting positive Human-Herpetofauna Interactions (HHI) through herpetofauna-related adult education to citizens and VET were suggested. Additionally, the project highlights the importance of professionals who live and work in nature (e.g. farmers, shepherds, hunters), and are in contact with herpetofauna species on a regular basis, as the real countryside managers and can actually make a difference, safeguarding herps and the rest of biodiversity.The practical objective of the HerpTrust Project implementation was to create a complete, cohesive and easily comprehensive set of resources in the form of educational material and online tools to be used for the promotion of positive HHI. This was achieved through 5 activities: producing an e-learning course about (HHI), developing an interactive online tool, producing a replicability package and organising two multiplier events, in Cyprus and Malta respectively. << Implementation >>In the context of the HerpTrust Project, and to complete its objectives, five activities were implemented, as follows:Activity 1: Producing an e-learning course about Human-Herpetofauna Interactions (HHI)Activity 2: Developing an interactive online tool that allows users to report herpetofauna species sightings and acess information on the species present in their area.Actiity 3: Production of a replicability package for education & training activities related to HHI.Activity 4: Interact with the target groups and increase output uptake by implementing multiplier events in Cyprus.Activity 5: Interact with the target groups and increase output uptake by implementing multiplier events in Malta.Piloting and feedback collection was implemented.<< Results >>The outputs of the project, following the described activities, are the following:Activity 1: An e-learning course on HHI has been produced, comprised by four modules with each containing a study guide, three courses with educational material, activities and a quiz, taking into account the IT literacy of the audience. All course content is available in English, Greek and Maltese.Activity 2: An interactive tool has been developed and published, with two functions available to the public: A) the Data Input Form, which can be used to record herpetofauna species sightings and B) the Interactive map through which users can see herp records in their location or another area. For more info on the online tool's use, the users can refer to the manual that accompanies the tool. Two iNaturalist projects (for Cyprus and Malta) were also created to promote citizen involvement.Activity 3: The replicability package has been developed and available in EN, GR and MT, accompanied by a Zotero database with additional supporting material.Additional: Feedback has been collected from stakeholders in the form of questionnaires answered. Project final materials have been promoted to be used by Higher and Secondary Education