The bushmeat commodity chain: patterns of trade and sustainability in a mature urban market in west Africa

This report explores the social, economic and biological dimensions of the bushmeat trade in west Africa. There is growing concern that current levels of bushmeat extraction are unsustainable, leading to the loss of bushmeat as a natural resource and to the extinction of many threatened species.

The report discusses a study that explores the structure and sustainability of a bushmeat commodity chain supplying the city of Takoradi in Ghana, drawing implication for policy development.

Policy conclusions drawn from the study include:

• bushmeat trade comprises many different actor groups along the commodity chain, including hunters, wholesalers, market traders and chopbars. Management policy may be most likely to succeed when all actor groups are involved
• in Takoradi, rural hunters appear to make more profit per transaction than urban traders. Bushmeat sales might play an important role in rural livelihoods
• following the disappearance of vulnerable species, the remaining robust species appear to be harvested sustainability. Such post-depletion sustainability may be typical of mature urban bushmeat markets
• once an extinction filter has been passed, bushmeat markets such as Takoradi should no longer be treated as high conservation priorities
• scarce conservation funds should be concentrated on new markets where vulnerable species may be under threat, but have not yet disappeared
• Takoradi evidence suggests that large urban centres can be sustainability supplied in bushmeat by robust species from an agricultural landscape.

[adapted from author]