Bushmeat hunting in African savannahs: using expert and community knowledge for conservation

Abstract

Bushmeat hunting and consumption, which involves utilising wild animals for food, is a key challenge for conservation. These practices, if undertaken unsustainably, can result in the generalised decline of wild animals, and consequently have large ecological effects such as trophic cascades and loss of ecosystem services. However, bushmeat also provides an important source of both protein and income to millions of people around the world. Therefore, managing these practices is extremely challenging, given the multiple (and often contradictory) perspectives and motivations of different stakeholders. The majority of research, policy and public attention on this issue has focussed on tropical forests, despite increasing evidence that bushmeat hunting and consumption pose a substantial threat to wildlife in other ecosystems as well, including savannahs. Key gaps in knowledge exist in regions outside of the tropical forests of Africa, including a lack of robust estimates of prevalence, a detailed understanding of drivers and motivations, and an understanding of which interventions to implement to reduce illegal hunting and consumption to sustainable levels. Decision-making in these contexts is also challenging, given limited information and the complexity of the social-ecological systems. Without adequate scientific evidence, it is difficult to achieve conservation outcomes while also ensuring that communities are able to benefit from wildlife. This thesis seeks to reduce these gaps in knowledge. To begin, I synthesise the current scientific knowledge about bushmeat hunting and consumption outside of tropical forests, with the aim of identifying key geographic and conceptual gaps in research. The systematic review in Chapter 2 outlined that, despite increasing attention on this issue in recent years, there was a lack of scientific research in the southern and North African savannah regions. Additionally, information regarding the drivers of both hunting and consumption was scarce or contradictory, and that studies which investigated the effect of interventions were especially lacking. This thesis then provides an in-depth case study of the southern African country of Malawi, to expand the knowledge base regarding bushmeat hunting in areas outside of tropical forest regions. Chapters 3 and 4 explore the prevalence, drivers and motivations of bushmeat hunters and consumers at four protected areas in Malawi, and seek to understand which interventions may work best to reduce these activities. Incorporating this information in a decision-making context is, however, vital to achieve progress, and in Chapter 5 I undertake a participatory modelling process to explore the knowledge of conservation experts, and facilitate social learning. Generating robust estimates of prevalence of illegal or illicit activities is challenging, and Chapter 3 illustrates the utility of using methods drawn from social science to understand what proportion of households hunt and consume bushmeat. I find that bushmeat hunting and consumption both exist at relatively high levels in communities, and that the drivers of hunting differ from those of consumption. This study also illustrates the motivations for hunting and consumption, which show a mixture of economic, social and cultural rationales. The next stage of the process investigates a range of interventions that may change the behaviours of hunters and consumers, and cause a substitution of unsustainable livelihood choices with others. Chapter 4 shows that interventions that rely on harvesting of natural resources, a strategy currently favoured by conservation authorities, is not preferred and may not cause these behavioural substitutions. Interventions that provide long-term empowerment opportunities may, however, achieve conservation goals and be acceptable to communities. Finally, to facilitate decision-makers’ understanding of these complex systems, I undertook a two-stage process in Chapter 5 to explore both individual and group knowledge of bushmeat hunting and consumption. This process highlighted assumptions and areas for further research, as well as explored the potential impact of certain interventions on the system as a whole. Overall, this thesis furthers the understanding of bushmeat hunting and consumption in areas outside of tropical forests, and allows the identification of key actions to improve the management of these activities in Malawi. The information presented in this thesis highlights the contribution that bushmeat represents in terms of local livelihoods in Malawi, and that there is a clear need to create socially acceptable, legitimate interventions to complement enforcement. Such interventions need to be designed to recognise the differences between hunters and consumers of bushmeat, and incorporate knowledge from sectors outside of conservation, to ensure that both biodiversity and sustainable development objectives can be met.