Bushmeat consumption soars as forest cover declines

19/10/2009

The scale of bushmeat trade in Central Africa may be much larger than
originally thought.

Cambridge, UK - New analytical techniques have revealed that the scale
of bushmeat trade in Central Africa may be much larger than originally
thought, according to a study published today by TRAFFIC, the wildlife
trade monitoring network.

The study, based on an analysis of food balance sheets provided by the
UN Food and Agriculture Organization's statistical database FAOSTAT,
strongly supports the view that the current situation surrounding
bushmeat hunting in Central African rainforests is precarious. According
to the analysis, bushmeat extraction rose considerably in the Congo
Basin between 1990 and 2005, despite the overall decrease in forest
cover in Central Africa.

Cameroon appears to be exceeding-by more than 100%-an estimated
sustainable offtake of 150 kg of game meat per square kilometre of
forest, and Gabon and the Republic of Congo are both close to this
limit. The greatest rise in bushmeat production was in the Democratic
Republic of Congo, where the yield rose from 78,000 tonnes in 1990 to
90,000 tonnes in 2005. In the Republic of Congo, production almost
doubled, from 11,000 to 20,000 tonnes per year in the same time period.

"While the FAOSTAT bushmeat data are probably underestimates and should
be regarded with caution, the data are the most readily available
official sources of information on production of wild meat in the Congo
Basin and are valuable indicators of bushmeat production and consumption
trends," says Stefan Ziegler, Programme Officer with WWF Germany, and
author of the report.

Wildlife is a significant and direct source of protein for more than 34
million people living in the Congo Basin and bushmeat hunting is a key
component of many peoples' livelihoods in Central Africa.

Earlier studies have demonstrated that bushmeat extraction increases
with human population growth. However, the latest study finds that
bushmeat consumption increases significantly with personal wealth too.

"Bushmeat consumption is higher in countries with large urban
populations, and the increasing urbanization in the Congo region is
likely to place even greater pressure on wild animal populations there,"
says Ziegler,

"The danger is unsustainable offtake of wild game will lead to a
collapse in wild animal populations and widespread human hunger in the
region," says Ziegler.

Unsustainable harvest levels are widely believed to be the most
immediate threat to the region's forest mammals.

"Local people have hunted for centuries, for food and for barter, but
the last 20 years have seen the emergence of a commercial bushmeat
market due to rural people being increasingly drawn into the cash
economy," says Nathalie van Vliet, TRAFFIC Bushmeat Strategic Advisor.

"The impacts of subsistence hunting was previously balanced by the fact
of the hunting was done on a rotation basis on alternate tracts of
forest areas. However, shifts in human population dynamics and
socio-economic factors are leading to rising, and increasingly
unsustainable demands on wild animal populations."

An earlier WCS study found that offtake by commercial hunters in
south-eastern Cameroon was ten times more per immigrant hunter than for
local subsistence hunters.

"What is clear is that management strategies to prevent over-harvesting
need to be implemented and measures put in place to provide alternative
sources of protein for the inhabitants of the region."

However, the study also indicated that the development of animal
husbandry may not be an ideal solution to provide substitute protein for
game meat.

The study, Application of food balance sheets to assess the scale of the
bushmeat trade in Central Africa, was launched today at the Convention
on Biological Diversity's Bushmeat Liaison Group Meeting, currently
taking place in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Further to the results of the study, TRAFFIC is encouraging countries in
Central Africa to enhance enforcement efforts and establish concrete law
enforcement mechanisms targeted at curbing commercial bushmeat poaching.
"Central African countries can cooperate in addressing this growing
problem through the development of a regional enforcement plan and
creating the political will to combat commercial bushmeat poaching in
regional fora such as the upcoming Yaounde +10 Summit." says Germain
Ngandjui, TRAFFIC's representative in Central Africa.

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