The Impacts of Sport Hunting on the Livelihoods of Local People: A Case Study of Bénoué National Park, Cameroon

Abstract

This article highlights the social impacts of sport hunting on the livelihoods of local people using a case study around Bénoué National Park, Northern Cameroon. Sport hunting is a way for local people to receive economic benefits from wildlife resources concerning community conservation. However, social impacts on local people, including displacement and restriction of access to natural resources, have rarely been considered. Nineteen months of fieldwork, mainly based on interviews and observations in one village, showed that sport hunting in Northern Cameroon generated tax revenues of about US$1.2 million in 2008 and also provided profit sharing and employment opportunities to local communities. However, this figure is less than that in other African countries such as Tanzania, as both employment opportunities and profit sharing are inequitable in this community. Simultaneously, locals’ rights over natural resource use, especially hunting rights, even for their livelihoods, were regulated.