The bushmeat trade in African savannas: impacts, drivers, and possible solutions

Peter Andrew Lindsey; Guy  Balme; Matthew  Becker; Colleen  Begg; Carlos Bento; Clara  Bocchino; Amy Dickman; Richard W.  Diggle; Heather  Eves; Philipp Henschel; Dale  Lewis; Kelly  Marnewick; Jaco Mattheus; J. Weldon McNutt; Rachel  McRobb; Niel Midlane; James  Milanzi; Robert  Morley; Michael Murphree; Vincent Opyene; Joe Phadima; Gianetta Purchase; Dennis Rentsch; Christopher Roche; Joanne  Shaw; Hugo van der Westhuizen; Nathalie van Vliet; Patience  Zisadza-Gandiwa

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2012.12.020

The bushmeat trade in African savannas: impacts, drivers, and possible solutions

Peter Andrew Lindsey, Guy Balme, Matthew Becker, Colleen Begg, Carlos Bento, Clara Bocchino, Amy Dickman, Richard W. Diggle, Heather Eves, Philipp Henschel, Dale Lewis, Kelly Marnewick, Jaco Mattheus, J. Weldon McNutt, Rachel McRobb, Niel Midlane, James Milanzi, Robert Morley, Michael Murphree, Vincent OpyeneJoe Phadima, Gianetta Purchase, Dennis Rentsch, Christopher Roche, Joanne Shaw, Hugo van der Westhuizen, Nathalie van Vliet, Patience Zisadza-Gandiwa

Geography

149 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The bushmeat trade, or the illegal acquisition and exchange of wild meat, has long been recognised as a severe problem in forest biomes, but receives little attention in savannas, perhaps due to a misconception that bushmeat hunting is a low-impact subsistence activity. Though data on impacts are scarce, indications are that bushmeat hunting is a widespread problem in savannas, with severe impacts on wildlife populations and wildlife-based land uses. The impacts of the bushmeat trade in savannas vary from edge-effects around protected areas, to disproportionate declines of some species, to severe wildlife declines in areas with inadequate anti-poaching. In some areas, bushmeat contributes significantly to food security, but these benefits are unsustainable, and hunting is wasteful, utilising a fraction of the wildlife killed or of its financial value obtainable through tourism, trophy hunting and/or legal game meat production. The bushmeat trade appears to be becoming increasingly commercialised due to elevated demand in rural areas, urban centres and even overseas cities. Other drivers for the trade include human encroachment of wildlife areas; poverty and food insecurity; and inadequate legal frameworks to enable communities to benefit legally from wildlife, and to create incentives for people to desist from illegal bushmeat hunting. These drivers are exacerbated by inadequate wildlife laws and enforcement and in some areas, political instability. Urgent efforts are needed to address these drivers and raise awareness among local and international governments of the seriousness of the threat. Failure to address this will result in severe wildlife declines widely in African savannas, with significant ecological, economic and social impacts.

Original language	English
Journal	Biological Conservation
Volume	160
Pages (from-to)	80-96
Number of pages	17
ISSN	0006-3207
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2012.12.020
Publication status	Published - Apr 2013

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Lindsey, P. A., Balme, G., Becker, M., Begg, C., Bento, C., Bocchino, C., Dickman, A., Diggle, R. W., Eves, H., Henschel, P., Lewis, D., Marnewick, K., Mattheus, J., Weldon McNutt, J., McRobb, R., Midlane, N., Milanzi, J., Morley, R., Murphree, M., ... Zisadza-Gandiwa, P. (2013). The bushmeat trade in African savannas: impacts, drivers, and possible solutions. Biological Conservation, 160, 80-96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2012.12.020

Lindsey, PA, Balme, G, Becker, M, Begg, C, Bento, C, Bocchino, C, Dickman, A, Diggle, RW, Eves, H, Henschel, P, Lewis, D, Marnewick, K, Mattheus, J, Weldon McNutt, J, McRobb, R, Midlane, N, Milanzi, J, Morley, R, Murphree, M, Opyene, V, Phadima, J, Purchase, G, Rentsch, D, Roche, C, Shaw, J, van der Westhuizen, H, van Vliet, N & Zisadza-Gandiwa, P 2013, 'The bushmeat trade in African savannas: impacts, drivers, and possible solutions', Biological Conservation, vol. 160, pp. 80-96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2012.12.020

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abstract = "The bushmeat trade, or the illegal acquisition and exchange of wild meat, has long been recognised as a severe problem in forest biomes, but receives little attention in savannas, perhaps due to a misconception that bushmeat hunting is a low-impact subsistence activity. Though data on impacts are scarce, indications are that bushmeat hunting is a widespread problem in savannas, with severe impacts on wildlife populations and wildlife-based land uses. The impacts of the bushmeat trade in savannas vary from edge-effects around protected areas, to disproportionate declines of some species, to severe wildlife declines in areas with inadequate anti-poaching. In some areas, bushmeat contributes significantly to food security, but these benefits are unsustainable, and hunting is wasteful, utilising a fraction of the wildlife killed or of its financial value obtainable through tourism, trophy hunting and/or legal game meat production. The bushmeat trade appears to be becoming increasingly commercialised due to elevated demand in rural areas, urban centres and even overseas cities. Other drivers for the trade include human encroachment of wildlife areas; poverty and food insecurity; and inadequate legal frameworks to enable communities to benefit legally from wildlife, and to create incentives for people to desist from illegal bushmeat hunting. These drivers are exacerbated by inadequate wildlife laws and enforcement and in some areas, political instability. Urgent efforts are needed to address these drivers and raise awareness among local and international governments of the seriousness of the threat. Failure to address this will result in severe wildlife declines widely in African savannas, with significant ecological, economic and social impacts.",

author = "Lindsey, {Peter Andrew} and Guy Balme and Matthew Becker and Colleen Begg and Carlos Bento and Clara Bocchino and Amy Dickman and Diggle, {Richard W.} and Heather Eves and Philipp Henschel and Dale Lewis and Kelly Marnewick and Jaco Mattheus and {Weldon McNutt}, J. and Rachel McRobb and Niel Midlane and James Milanzi and Robert Morley and Michael Murphree and Vincent Opyene and Joe Phadima and Gianetta Purchase and Dennis Rentsch and Christopher Roche and Joanne Shaw and {van der Westhuizen}, Hugo and {van Vliet}, Nathalie and Patience Zisadza-Gandiwa",

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AU - Lindsey, Peter Andrew

AU - Balme, Guy

AU - Becker, Matthew

AU - Begg, Colleen

AU - Bento, Carlos

AU - Bocchino, Clara

AU - Dickman, Amy

AU - Diggle, Richard W.

AU - Eves, Heather

AU - Henschel, Philipp

AU - Lewis, Dale

AU - Marnewick, Kelly

AU - Mattheus, Jaco

AU - Weldon McNutt, J.

AU - McRobb, Rachel

AU - Midlane, Niel

AU - Milanzi, James

AU - Morley, Robert

AU - Murphree, Michael

AU - Opyene, Vincent

AU - Phadima, Joe

AU - Purchase, Gianetta

AU - Rentsch, Dennis

AU - Roche, Christopher

AU - Shaw, Joanne

AU - van der Westhuizen, Hugo

AU - van Vliet, Nathalie

AU - Zisadza-Gandiwa, Patience

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N2 - The bushmeat trade, or the illegal acquisition and exchange of wild meat, has long been recognised as a severe problem in forest biomes, but receives little attention in savannas, perhaps due to a misconception that bushmeat hunting is a low-impact subsistence activity. Though data on impacts are scarce, indications are that bushmeat hunting is a widespread problem in savannas, with severe impacts on wildlife populations and wildlife-based land uses. The impacts of the bushmeat trade in savannas vary from edge-effects around protected areas, to disproportionate declines of some species, to severe wildlife declines in areas with inadequate anti-poaching. In some areas, bushmeat contributes significantly to food security, but these benefits are unsustainable, and hunting is wasteful, utilising a fraction of the wildlife killed or of its financial value obtainable through tourism, trophy hunting and/or legal game meat production. The bushmeat trade appears to be becoming increasingly commercialised due to elevated demand in rural areas, urban centres and even overseas cities. Other drivers for the trade include human encroachment of wildlife areas; poverty and food insecurity; and inadequate legal frameworks to enable communities to benefit legally from wildlife, and to create incentives for people to desist from illegal bushmeat hunting. These drivers are exacerbated by inadequate wildlife laws and enforcement and in some areas, political instability. Urgent efforts are needed to address these drivers and raise awareness among local and international governments of the seriousness of the threat. Failure to address this will result in severe wildlife declines widely in African savannas, with significant ecological, economic and social impacts.

AB - The bushmeat trade, or the illegal acquisition and exchange of wild meat, has long been recognised as a severe problem in forest biomes, but receives little attention in savannas, perhaps due to a misconception that bushmeat hunting is a low-impact subsistence activity. Though data on impacts are scarce, indications are that bushmeat hunting is a widespread problem in savannas, with severe impacts on wildlife populations and wildlife-based land uses. The impacts of the bushmeat trade in savannas vary from edge-effects around protected areas, to disproportionate declines of some species, to severe wildlife declines in areas with inadequate anti-poaching. In some areas, bushmeat contributes significantly to food security, but these benefits are unsustainable, and hunting is wasteful, utilising a fraction of the wildlife killed or of its financial value obtainable through tourism, trophy hunting and/or legal game meat production. The bushmeat trade appears to be becoming increasingly commercialised due to elevated demand in rural areas, urban centres and even overseas cities. Other drivers for the trade include human encroachment of wildlife areas; poverty and food insecurity; and inadequate legal frameworks to enable communities to benefit legally from wildlife, and to create incentives for people to desist from illegal bushmeat hunting. These drivers are exacerbated by inadequate wildlife laws and enforcement and in some areas, political instability. Urgent efforts are needed to address these drivers and raise awareness among local and international governments of the seriousness of the threat. Failure to address this will result in severe wildlife declines widely in African savannas, with significant ecological, economic and social impacts.

U2 - 10.1016/j.biocon.2012.12.020

DO - 10.1016/j.biocon.2012.12.020

M3 - Review

SN - 0006-3207

VL - 160

SP - 80

EP - 96

JO - Biological Conservation

JF - Biological Conservation

ER -

The bushmeat trade in African savannas: impacts, drivers, and possible solutions

Abstract

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