Volume 21, Issue 1, 2006 Hunting and Bushmeat Colophon Nature & Faune is an international publication dedicated to the exchange of information and practical experience in the field of wildlife and protected areas management and conservation of natural resources on the African continent. Nature & Faune has been in wide circulation since 1985. Nature & Faune is dependent upon your free and voluntary contributions in the form of articles and announcements in the field of wildlife and nature conservation in the Region. For publication of articles or any further information, please contact: Nature & Faune Email: [email protected] FAO Regional Office for Africa P.O. Box GP 1628 Accra Ghana Fax: (+233-21) 7010943 (+233-21) 668 427 Editor: M. Laverdière Assistant Editors: L. Bakker, A. Ndeso-Atanga Advisers: F. Salinas, R. Czudek, A. Yapi, P. Lowe. Disclaimer The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Volume 21, Issue 1, 2006 Nature & Faune Table of contents Click on the item to be taken to that section Item Page Editorial 3 News 4 News in the press – Africa 4 News in the press – Worldwide 7 FAO News 9 Theme: Hunting and Bushmeat 15 News 15 Special Feature 16 The Bushmeat Crisis Task Force: Roles and Resources for Conservation Collaboration Bailey, N. and Eves, H.E., 2006 Articles 18 Wild game and its use in the tropical environment, Cameroon Madzou, Y.C and Ebanega, M. O., 2004 18 The dependence of local people on bushmeat in the Afadjato and Agumatsa conservation Area, Ghana Owusu, E. H., Ntiamoa-Baidu, Y. and Kodzo Ekpe, E., 2004 33 Sports hunting in Benin: inventory after ten years of practice (1990 – 2000) Kidjo, F.C., Sinadouwirou, T. and Yehouenou-Tessi, J., 2001 44 Summarized articles 51 Some economic implications of Cane Rat in Nigeria rural development Meduna, A.J. and Ayodele, I.A., 1999 51 A comparison of two population models to predict sustainable hunting levels in the National Park of Upper Niger in Guinea Ziegler, A., 1999 51 A simple pastoralist ostrich husbandry supporting sustainable dry woodland management in Southern Kenya Odera, J.A., 2002 53 Local frog rearing trial in closed natural environment, Democratic Republic of Congo Kakule, M. P. and Paulus, J., 2001 55 FAO activities 56 West-African Bushmeat Conference, Ghana 2005 56 2 Nature & Faune Volume 21, Issue 1, 2006 Assessment of the bushmeat issues in Guinea, Guinea, 2005 58 Control of hunting activities in cross-border areas of OCFSA member countries: a study. Cameroon, Gabon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, 2005 59 International forum: Promoting the Business of Grasscutter production in West-Africa, Ghana, 2005 60 Links 61 Guidelines to authors 63 Subscription 63 Correspondence 63 Editorial Introduction to this edition The long awaited on-line edition of Nature & Faune has finally arrived in your inbox. This is the first digital copy of the journal, after being produced in hard copy since 1985. The editorial board is delighted to announce the expanded contents of the journal. In addition to research articles on African wildlife and protected areas, this journal now contains natural resources news from Africa and beyond, links to more information resources on the Internet and on FAO activities in the field. As you will observe, some articles date a few years back; notwithstanding, they contain relevant information from field practitioners. Another innovative feature is that each edition of the journal shall have a theme. For this first edition, the theme is ‘Hunting and Bushmeat’. Hunting for wild animals has been at the heart of African societies for centuries. Populations are dependent upon resources which are found in the local natural environment, such as portable water, fuelwood for heating and cooking, herbs for medication and meat from wild animals for protein. Life in the city has altered people’s way of living in many ways; water comes from taps, gas is used to cook and medicines can be bought at a pharmacy. But not everything changed: cravings for wild animal meat remains. Whereas before, hunting was mainly done for subsistence by farmers and harvesting levels of wild fauna were low and local, now hunting for bushmeat has become a profession and hunters travel long distances to shoot wildlife on a large scale. The more sophisticated techniques and more professional hunters not only allow people to exploit abundant wildlife species such as grasscutters, but the large scale of the business also threatens many endangered species (see the report from Guinea by Dia). Determining sustainable hunting levels is not an easy task (see the article by Ziegler). The result is that populations of wild animals are becoming depleted, local community members have to travel further to hunt and some species are on the brink of extinction. It is a serious threat to both food and nutrition security and biodiversity conservation efforts. 3 Nature & Faune Volume 21, Issue 1, 2006 Answers to the bushmeat crisis are not easy and straightforward, and often involve a range of activities at varying levels. Some advocate that law enforcement should be strengthened and the culprits who hunt legally protected animals and/or hunt without a license should be punished; others argue that it is a matter of poverty alleviation and finding alternative sources of protein (see the articles by Madzou and Owusu). There is however another side to bushmeat and hunting - sports hunting. The article by Kidjo et al. in this edition illustrates that income from wildlife could be derived through hunting of selected species by wealthy hunters, mostly from developed countries. These hunts often have a double benefit; on one hand more money is generated for conservation and poverty alleviation programs, and on the other hand the community benefits from the meat from the hunting expedition. Yet another development is the domestication of wildlife species (see the summaries of articles by Meduna, Odera and Kakule Mbonzo), which could provide a stable source of income and protein. Sustainable hunting for bushmeat could be seen as a means to enhance the food and nutrition security of the rural poor who rely on game meat for subsistence and also as a tool to enhance sustainable use of forest and wildlife resources and ultimately to protect the environment and conserve the biological diversity in the region. It is the hope that the information provided in this issue, will contribute to the progress made toward resolving some of the intractable problems intrinsic to bushmeat and unsustainable hunting. Back to table of contents News News items from the press, FAO and other sources News in the press –Africa them for diseases and then imported them into South Africa. The San Diego zoo employee arranged Congolese monkeys find new home in for the monkeys to be housed in U.S. U.S. zoos zoos to avoid them from being sold as Source: National Geographic pets. In April 2005 a South African Critics claim that the sale of the businessman phoned the San Diego zoo Congolese monkeys was not in line with with an unusual question. He wanted to CITES regulations, and these kind of know how much monkeys were worth as deals are counterproductive to pets in South Africa. The man had found conservation efforts and would only 33 monkeys of five different species in a encourage the bushmeat trade. It might bushmeat market in the Democratic give the impression that there is a market Republic of Congo. He bought the for selling live animals to institutions such monkeys, put them into quarantine to test as zoos and private persons. 4 Nature & Faune Volume 21, Issue 1, 2006 Wildlife and people in Virunga tourism sector, and the mountain gorillas National Park, Democratic Republic are seen as an important tourist attraction, of Congo they feel it’s important to prevent further Source: Reuters, BBC, WWF poaching of the gorillas. A recent survey of the Virunga area in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo Rhinos translocated to Zambia carried out by WWF and the Institut Source: Reuters, SADC Congolais pour la Conservation de la Under a plan of Southern African Nature (ICCN) found 17 Okapi (Okapia Development Community (SADC) to Johnstoni) tracks and evidence of its restock animals that were killed off locally presence. Due to the problems in the by poachers, 10 South African Black country, many feared that heavy poaching Rhinos (Diceros bicornis) have been had caused the animal to go extinct in this translocated to Zambia. The rhinos have park. found a new home in North Luangwa The Okapi, was first discovered in 1901 National Park. in this area, but had not been found in the In the Regional Programme for Rhino park since 1959. The Okapi also lives in Conservation the fourteen SADC the Okapi Wildlife Reserve in eastern DR countries will cooperate and share Congo. information and knowledge, with the aim A census by the Wildlife Conservation to manage the fragmented rhino Society and the ICCN found that the populations as a metapopulation. It is number of forest elephants (Loxodonta hoped that the case of the rhino can be an cyclotis) has increased from 265 to 340 example for the regional management of during the last three years, while the other wildlife species.