The importance of bushmeat in the livelihoods of cocoa farmers living in a wildlife depleted farm-forest landscape, SW Ghana Björn Schulte-Herbrüggen Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Anthropology, University College London Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London May 2011 Declaration I, Björn Schulte-Herbrüggen, hereby declare that this thesis was composed by myself and that the work described within is my own, except where explicitly stated otherwise. ................................................. Björn Schulte-Herbrüggen May 2011 ii Abstract Bushmeat is an important source of cash income and animal protein in rural sub-Saharan Africa. However, hunting levels are largely unsustainable, resulting in the widespread depletion and local extinction of prey species. This is a problem for both the conservation of biodiversity and the sustainable development of rural African communities. This thesis investigates the consequences of wildlife depletion for the livelihood security of Ghanaian cocoa farmers with diversified incomes. The overarching hypothesis that runs through the study is that the importance of bushmeat in livelihoods increases with household vulnerability (i.e. poor households and female-headed households), especially during the agricultural lean season. The study is based primarily on repeated socio-economic questionnaires (N=804), conducted over twelve months among 63 households in Wansampo: an agricultural community situated in a forest reserve in SW Ghana. The research found that the amount of bushmeat harvested was low and limited to small- bodied species, suggesting severe depletion of wildlife populations around the study village. Protein insecurity and income poverty were widespread but neither co-varied strongly with household vulnerability. While income poverty was highest during the lean season, total protein consumption/security did not vary across seasons. Hunting was efficiently integrated into agricultural activities, with bushmeat being a minor part of household income and protein consumption. Contrary to expectations, household vulnerability had little effect on the importance of bushmeat in livelihoods. However, during the lean season, the bushmeat harvest increased. Since most bushmeat was consumed by the hunter’s household, the relative dietary importance of bushmeat was highest during the lean season, enabling households to reduce their meat/fish expenditures while maintaining protein consumption levels. Moreover, when income shortages were highest, bushmeat sales increased, preventing some households from falling into income poverty. iii In summary, despite local wildlife depletion, the importance of bushmeat for both income and protein security increased during the lean season. This suggests that bushmeat is an im- portant safety-net for some households in this community. The thesis concludes by outlining the study’s limitations, before suggesting further research and policy implications. iv Acknowledgements I am deeply grateful to my supervisors, Katherine Homewood, Marcus Rowcliffe and Guy Cowlishaw for their support, encouragement and advice during the course of this Ph.D.. You were always there when needed and gave me the freedom that I wanted. This study would not have been possible without the friendly and sometimes challenging but mostly very cooperative people of Wansampo. Now you are on the map! I am in great debt to my research assistants Raphael Asare, Albert Tawia, Dora Amponsah and Albert Asieyie. Without your hard work this study would be based on only half the sample size. Thank you for helping me appreciate the complexities of cocoa farmers’ livelihoods. I owe special thanks to the volunteers who accompanied me on this journey and were great company both to me and the people of Wansampo: Emily Coleman, Anthony Turner and Hazel Watson. I will always be grateful to Laura Kurpiers for friendship, company, hard work and sharing uncounted bags of Socker. You suffered the most during this project and bore it with deeply humbling strength. My research scholarship, field expenses and funding for language training were jointly provided by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). Additional funding for field expenses was provided by The Parkes Foundation, and both the British Ecological Society and UCL Graduate School are thanked for funding conference fees and travels. I am grateful to John Bitar Ltd. and Logs and Lumber Ltd. for logistical support and invaluable help in dealing with Ghanaian custom officials. Thanks to Diana Goforth, Amrit Dehal and Jo Keogh for making sure that I filled in all the forms and helping out in countless situations! I wish to thank Katherine Homewood for encouraging me to present my work to the Human Ecology Research Group. Discussions in the group greatly improved this study - thanks to everyone! I owe special thanks to Phil Burnham and Barrie Sharp for challenging my early views on how field work should be conducted, providing a thorough reality check and helping me to understand the difference v between a biological and a social anthropologist. Sara Randall is thanked for her early comments on economic household budgets (“impossible”) that made me think harder. This hopefully resulted in a credible study. For a second home on the hill, much fun, excellent food, sanity and taking care of me when I was ill, I am grateful to Steffen Köhler, Nicole Grafe and Johann Köhler. Thanks to Gregor Walczak for hospitality, fun and getting me online; Lars Holbech for reminding me of the biological aspects of sustainability after spending months in the world of hunting statistics and gift exchange patterns; Nana Azule and the people of Betenase for allowing me to stay in their village and for taking part in the pilot study; the people of Kessekrom for more piloting of questionnaires; Adu for trying to teach me Twi and introducing me to the Sefwi culture; Tiina Heussala for company and accommodation in Takoradi, and making the Twi sessions more fun; and Basil and Sridher for helping out on computer issues in the field. Thanks to Daria Dadam, Nick Hill and Sophie Allebone-Webb for lively discussions and a sofa in London. Thanks to Emmanuel Blei for introducing me to LATEX and providing the template that I used for writing this thesis; Alex Friedmann for suggesting to use MySQL and help with the initial intricacies of query writing; Ben Phalan for company in Ghana and providing last minute literature; and the Ubuntu community for providing help when the computer crashed. I am grateful to my family for always being there for me and encouraging me to choose my own path. Finally, thank you Helfrid, for not giving up on me during the long months in the field, paying the telephone bills, storing my stuff, visiting me in Wansampo for yet another weeding session and sharing and enriching my life during the last years! vi Contents Declaration ii Abstract iii Acknowledgementsv 1. Introduction1 1.1. Chapter overview.............................................2 1.2. The bushmeat crisis...........................................2 1.2.1. The scale of the bushmeat harvest...........................3 1.2.2. The biological impacts of unsustainable bushmeat harvesting.......5 1.2.3. The drivers of unsustainable bushmeat hunting.................7 1.2.4. Comparing wildlife depletion in West and Central Africa...........9 1.2.5. Cocoa landscapes and impacts on wildlife...................... 11 1.3. The importance of bushmeat in livelihoods.......................... 14 1.3.1. Bushmeat as a source of protein............................. 16 1.3.2. Bushmeat as a source of income............................. 17 1.4. The importance of bushmeat for poverty alleviation.................... 21 1.4.1. NTFPs and poverty....................................... 22 1.4.2. Bushmeat as a safety net for vulnerable households............... 25 1.4.3. The role of income diversification in rural livelihoods............. 28 1.5. Summary................................................... 30 1.5.1. Limitations of bushmeat literature........................... 30 1.5.2. Thesis objectives........................................ 32 1.5.3. Thesis structure......................................... 33 2. Study site 34 2.1. Chapter overview............................................. 35 2.2. Ghana..................................................... 35 2.2.1. Geography and politics.................................... 35 2.2.2. Economic development & poverty in Ghana.................... 38 2.3. Study site location............................................ 39 2.4. Physical characteristics......................................... 40 2.5. Biological characteristics........................................ 40 2.6. Deforestation and wildlife decline................................. 42 2.6.1. Historical perspective on resource depletion.................... 43 vii Contents 2.6.2. Wildlife management in Ghana.............................. 46 2.7. The Ghanaian cocoa farmer..................................... 49 2.8. Sefwi Wiawso................................................ 51 2.8.1. Wansampo............................................ 52 2.8.1.1. Sui Forest Reserve................................. 55 2.8.1.2. Farming........................................ 55 2.8.1.3. Demography.................................... 59 3. General Methodology 61 3.1. Chapter overview............................................