Development vs conservation
The conservation and use of wildlife-based resources: the bushmeat crisis
How can the "bushmeat crisis" be resolved?
Authors:
R. Nasi; D. Brown; D. Wilkie
Publisher:
Convention on Biological Diversity , 2008
This paper addresses the hunting of tropical forest wildlife for food (known as “bushmeat”, “wildmeat” and/or “gamemeat”). It argues that this is an issue of concern primarily for three reasons:
- there is strong evidence illustrating that the scale of hunting occurring in these regions poses a real threat to many tropical forest species
- the depletion of wildlife is intimately linked to the food security and livelihood of numerous tropical forest-region inhabitants, as many of these forest-dwelling or forest-dependent people have few alternative sources of protein and income
- the so-called “bushmeat crisis” is the focus of many conservation organisations and of a number of development programmes throughout the tropics. However many of the ways in which hunting and wildlife trade operate, as well as their links to livelihood or ecosystem function, are either poorly understood or not properly taken into account
The “bushmeat crisis”, the authors assert, is first and foremost a problem resulting from an unmanaged common resource being unsustainably harvested because of inadequate governance and policy frameworks. The problem arises, the paper argues, out of the way in which the state monopolises control over high value timber and mineral resources in the forest, without necessarily having the capacity to manage those resources for real public benefit. As such it should be considered as a facet of the “tragedy of the commons” and be dealt with in the broader framework of renewable resource management (like timber or fuelwood).
While recommendations are given in relation to both the national and international levels, the authors assert that no universal solutions exist to solve the problem of unsustainable bushmeat hunting in tropical forests. They argue that approaches must be:
- nation, site and context-specific
- based on a detailed knowledge of hunting patterns and the ecology of the hunted species
- tailored to local cultural, socio-economic and political conditions.
However, overall management actions may include a monitoring and feedback mechanism, an iterative process to ensure that management is achieving its goal of ensuring sustainability of harvest, and sustainable livelihoods of local communities.
