NWFP newsletter

Dear readers,

In this first issue for 2015, we tackle bushmeat, or the harvesting of wild animals from forests for food and non-food purposes (medicine, culture, recreation). Bushmeat has long been a part of the diets of forest dwellers as an important source of protein, micronutrients, fats and also fibre and is increasingly consumed in urban areas. It is also an important source of income for many communities.

At the same time, the scale of wildlife hunting threatens important forest species and ecosystems. Compounding the problem is the threat of zoonoses – diseases transmitted from animals to humans – arising from bushmeat hunting, trade and consumption. Ebola is a recent reminder of this threat.

To help us better understand these challenges, Noëlle F. Kümpel, Andrew A. Cunningham, John E. Fa, Julia P.G. Jones, J. Marcus Rowcliffe and E.J. Milner-Gulland help us distinguish myth from reality and provide updates from the UK Bushmeat Working Group which met in January 2015. John E. Fa and Robert Nasi from the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) share findings from a recent study on bushmeat and human nutrition. Christopher Golden, ecologist and epidemiologist tells us about the links between wildlife consumption and nutrition from experiences in Madagascar in this issue’s interview.

In our regional dispatches, Jean Claude Nguinguiri provides an update from the FAO-Global Environment Facility (GEF) project in the Congo Basin; Alexandra Mannerings, PhD graduate from Cambridge University introduces us to the One Health concept through her experiences in Ghana; Susan Tsang shares her work on quantifying bat bushmeat consumption in Indonesia; and Martin Reinhardt Nielson from the University of Copenhagen shares experiences from Tanzania on motivations behind bushmeat hunting.

HIGHLIGHTS


Bushmeat and human nutrition publication	CPW Bushmeat sourcebook	Conservation research project	World Wildlife Day 3 March

SPECIAL FEATURES

Ebola and bushmeat: myth and reality

Noëlle F. Kümpel, Andrew A. Cunningham, John E. Fa, Julia P.G. Jones, J. Marcus Rowcliffe and E.J. Milner-Gulland

In particular, the forest regions of Central and West Africa have a high level of extraction of, and dependence on, wild meat, as alternative sources of protein are limited and there are still some relatively intact faunas which can support high levels of offtake. In Asia, by contrast, there is comparatively more marine fish available and wildlife populations are depleted in many areas. In Latin America, domestic livestock and fish are more widely consumed, although the bushmeat trade is more significant than commonly assumed.

In the Congo basin, high human population densities and a substantial trade of wildlife into cities have triggered concerns about a “bushmeat crisis”. Despite objections to its African connotations, the term bushmeat has to some extent stuck; it is used by international conventions and increasingly to refer to wild meat on other continents. Read more

Bushmeat and human nutrition – closing in on links?

In Africa's Congo Basin, people eat an estimated five million tons of bushmeat per year, and there is evidence that bushmeat is an important source of many nutrients for both rural and urban households throughout Africa. However, the magnitude of exploitation and consumption, varies between countries and regions, determined primarily by its availability, and influenced by such factors as governmental controls on hunting, socio-economic status and cultural prohibitions. Read more

INTERVIEW

"In developing country settings, there are several factors that increase the importance of wildlife as a food source: 1) limited market access and inadequate sources of domesticated meats; lack of fortification and biofortification of foods; and 3) lack of nutritional supplements at broad population levels.”

REGIONAL DISPATCHES

Congo Basin: Update on bushmeat and sustainable wildlife management project

Jean Claude Nguinguiri

A sub-regional strategy on the sustainable use of wildlife by indigenous and local communities was adopted in January 2015 by COMIFAC countries as a part of a project financed by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and implemented by FAO which is piloting a Participatory Wildlife Management (PWS) approach to the legal and sustainable harvest of non-protected species in the Congo Basin. The strategy seeks to give communities well-defined rights to wildlife and highlight the inherent link between sustainable wildlife management and food and nutritional security in the region. It is an outcome of multi-stakeholder consultations and sub-regional validation workshops held throughout 2014 in response to the absence of a wildlife resource management strategy, weak legal and regulatory frameworks in the region and the need for improved coordination on transboundary issues such as poaching. This sub regional strategy also contributes to the implementation of the UNEP/CBD/COP/12/L.13 Decision in Central Africa on “Sustainable use of biological diversity: bushmeat and sustainable wildlife management”, particularly to Articles 9, 10 and 11 of the Decision. The COMIFAC member countries have committed to implement the strategy at the national and local levels. Read more

Ghana: Bushmeat hunting highlights the need for more “one health” approaches

Alexandra Mannerings

If the recent movements against vaccinations and pasteurization are any evidence, much of the western world seems to be forgetting how devastating infectious diseases can be. In 2014, Ebola was a stark reminder of the real threat of pathogens. Even before the epidemic, contagious diseases have annually accounted for a quarter of human deaths worldwide; but the burden is largely shouldered by developing nations.

Indonesia: Managing the flying fox bushmeat trade requires understanding local culture in North Sulawesi

In the central Indonesian island of Sulawesi, the bushmeat trade is concentrated in North Sulawesi province, one of the only Christian-dominated areas in the entire country. Every day, a massive influx of wildlife heads from forests to markets within the province, contributing to the “empty forest” syndrome common in Southeast Asia. Of all the animals found in the market, flying fox bats are considered one of the most iconic delicacies of the province. Flying foxes of the species Pteropus alecto and Acerodon celebensis are CITES-protected and face the greatest threat from unsustainable levels of hunting despite their importance for proper ecosystem functioning. Their lengthy reproductive cycles and low reproductive rates make it especially difficult for populations to recover, to the extent that flying fox colonies are now locally extirpated. However, they are not protected species under Indonesian law and there is no enforcement of trade quotas on the ground. Read more

Tanzania: Managing the bushmeat trade – is law enforcement the answer?

The bushmeat trade threatens wildlife populations in many parts of Africa compromising the integrity of protected areas, conservation of biodiversity and the future of rural households that depend on wildlife as a source of income or protein. As a result there are frequent calls to tighten enforcement to deter poachers. But limited information is available to determine whether enforcement is the solution given interactions between enforcement agents and poachers, the cost-benefit ratios of actors in the bushmeat trade and the effect of different attributes on the choice between engaging in the bushmeat trade or pursuing alternative income generating options. Limited information is furthermore available about the bushmeat trade is Tanzania where it occurs clandestinely and is difficult to study. Here I synthesize relevant results pertaining to these questions based on three recent papers about the bushmeat trade in the Kilombero Valley of Tanzania. Read more

PRODUCT WATCH

Gorilla beringei, endangered primate

This issue’s “product” watch highlights a CITES-species long hunted for its bushmeat.

The mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei) is the largest and most endangered of the great primates. It lives in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Uganda, and is listed in Appendix I. Discovered in 1902, the mountain gorilla has endured uncontrolled hunting for bushmeat, war, disease, habitat destruction and capture for the illegal pet trade. Having survived several periods of political instability in the region, mountain gorilla numbers are once again climbing, with 620 individuals recorded in 1989 and 786 today. Conservation efforts, transboundary collaboration, better law enforcement, and sharing the benefits of ecotourism with local communities have led to this increase, as have the CITES controls that prohibit the international trade in live apes and bushmeat. Read more

GENERAL NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

Collaborative Partnership on Wildlife publishes e-sourcebook on bushmeat

The e-sourcebook on bushmeat provides an objective and comprehensive understanding of the global tropical bushmeat issue, by disentangling the topic into the following sections: conservation, governance, international trade, climate change, extractive industries, human health, local livelihoods, sustainable management and recommendations from the Liaison Group on Bushmeat of the CBD. The Sourcebook was jointly prepared by the following CPW members: Secretariat of Convention on Biological Diversity (SCBD), Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and FAO. Read more

FAO: Forthcoming Unasylva article explores the role of wildlife in the introduction of Ebola

This article outlines the global scientific community’s knowledge of the clinical characteristics and epidemiological features of the disease, the biology of the virus, its known and suspected ecological features, and the role of wildlife in the introduction of Ebola virus into communities. It also summarizes the global response to the current epidemic, highlighting FAO’s role in that response, and pointing out the need for a comprehensive multisectoral approach such as One Health to ensure that future outbreaks are contained. Read more

FAO: Ebola-ravaged rural communities in Guinea to benefit from new food security initiatives

Tens of thousands of people in rural areas of Guinea worst-hit by the Ebola epidemic will receive training on how to prevent the spread of the disease and support in producing food and generating income, through an agreement involving the World Bank, the country's government, and FAO. As part of the initiative, US$5 million will be invested in FAO's Ebola Response Programme which aims to assist rural households whose livelihoods and access to food are severely threatened by the impact of Ebola. Read more

Ambitious study maps species vulnerability to overhunting across central africa

An innovative new model has mapped the potential sustainability of bushmeat hunting across the Congo Basin, shedding light on where more resilient species exist – and where certain species are at risk of extinction from overhunting. The importance of bushmeat to the diets of rural people has come into the spotlight in recent months due to the potential links between bushmeat and Ebola virus disease, which has killed thousands of people this year in parts of West Africa. Read more

Urban taste for bushmeat poses threat to Amazonian wildlife

Research has uncovered alarming evidence of an under-reported wild-meat crisis in the heart of Amazonia. Scientists from Lancaster University and Brazil interviewed households in two Brazilian “prefrontier” cities – cities which are surrounded by more than 90 percent of their original forest cover.
They found virtually all urban households in these cities (Borba and Novo Aripuanã) consumed wildlife for food, including fish (99%), bushmeat (mammals and birds; 79%), turtles and tortoises (48%) and caimans (28%). Some of the wildlife species being eaten are classed as endangered, vulnerable and threatened. Read more

Understanding the bushmeat bat market: why do people risk infection from bat meat?

Ebola, as with many emerging infections, is likely to have arisen due to man’s interaction with wild animals – most likely the practice of hunting and eating bushmeat. A team of researchers led by the University of Cambridge and the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) has surveyed almost six hundred people across southern Ghana to find out what drives consumption of bat bushmeat – and how people perceive the risks associated with the practice. Read more

RECENT LITERATURE

Fa, J. E. et al. 2014. Integrating sustainable hunting in biodiversity protection in central Africa: hot spots, weak spots, and strong spots. PLoS ONE 9, e112367.

Fa, J.E., et al. 2015. Disentangling the relative effects of bushmeat availability on human nutrition in central Africa. Scientific Reports 5, 8168 doi:10.1038/ srep08168

FAO. 2014. Sustainable forest management in Central Africa - Information note No. 4, Enhancing the contribution of non-wood forest products to food security in Central Africa. (available in English and French).

FAO. 2015. Sustainable forest management in Central Africa - Information note No. 5, Contribution of Non-Wood Forest Products to the Millennium Development Goals: Evidence from COMIFAC countries. (available in English and French).

Hunter L. Doughty, Sarah M. Karpanty and Henry M. Wilbur. 2015. Local hunting of carnivores in forested Africa: a meta-analysis. Oryx, 49, pp 88-95.

Nielsen, M.R., Jacobsen, J.B. and Thorsen, B.J. 2014. Factors affecting the choice of hunting and trading bushmeat in the Kilombero Valley, Tanzania. Conservation Biology 28(2): 382-391.

Sheherazade and S.M. Tsang. 2015. Quantifying the bat bushmeat trade in North Sulawesi, Indonesia, with suggestions for conservation action. Global Ecology and Conservation 3: 324-330. (available at: www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989415000049).

Parry, L., Barlow, J. and Pereira, H. 2014. Wildlife Harvest and Consumption in Amazonia's Urbanized Wilderness. Conservation Letters, 7: 565–574. doi: 10.1111/conl.12151