Toward a sustainable, participatory and inclusive wild meat sector

Cawthorn D-M,El Bizri H.R,Fa J.E,Nasi R,Santamaria C,Wilkie D,Abernethy K,Ingram D.J,Van Vliet N,Coad L

doi:10.17528/cifor/007046

Abstract

The meat of wild species, referred to in this report as ‘wild meat’, is an essential source of protein and a generator of income for millions of forest-living communities in tropical and subtropical regions. However, unsustainable harvest rates currently endanger the integrity of ecosystems and threaten the livelihoods of many vulnerable households. This report, produced in response to a call from the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), is a technical tool to help users guide actions towards a more sustainable wild meat sector. Here, we present an extensive compilation of the current knowledge on wild meat use, drivers and impacts, and provide recommendations on how to improve wild meat governance and management.In all tropical and subtropical regions, greater wildlife offtakes are being enabled by advances in hunting technologies, as well as the increased penetration of new lands by infrastructure, logging, mining and agriculture. Consumers in fast-growing urban centers largely drive demand for wild meat, where it is eaten as a luxury item rather than as a food staple. This greater pressure from large towns and cities has had significant impacts on wildlife populations and ecosystem integrity. In turn, this jeopardizes the financial ‘safety nets’ and food security of remote rural and indigenous communities, for whom wild meat can account for much of their dietary protein, as well as an important source of other nutrients.Key to the success of sustainable management is ensuring that wild meat use is considered a cross-sectoral issue; firmly incorporated in national resource and land-use planning. The success of management strategies will depend on an enabling environment at the national level. In many countries a key first step will be the revision of national hunting laws and land tenure governance systems in consultation with multiple stakeholders. Research efforts must focus on producing science-based evidence that governments, communities, NGOs and industries can use to improve management policies and practices.The creation of a sustainable wild meat sector requires interconnected interventions along the entire value chain – focused on local hunting communities, urban consumers and wider society. Well-designed, participatory approaches can enable sustainable management of wild meat supply for local communities, but only if this is strongly complemented by approaches that aim to reduce urban demand

Highlights

CHAPTER 11.1 The need to consider the sustainability of wild meat harvestingExpanding human demands on land, sea and fresh water have led to our planet experiencing unprecedented levels of wildlife declines and extirpations (Ceballos et al 2017)
The assumptions of the model are that increased income from ecotourism will lead to a reduction in illegal hunting and trade that will contribute to increased sightings of wildlife and an increase in tourism livelihoods, creating a positive, synergistic loop for wildlife protection. (Created in Miradi 4.4.0)
The file contains a set of yellow cards, one card for each monitoring theme or topic, e.g. there is a card for illegal hunting, one for human–wildlife conflict, one for rainfall, and so on

Summary

Introduction

CHAPTER 11.1 The need to consider the sustainability of wild meat harvestingExpanding human demands on land, sea and fresh water have led to our planet experiencing unprecedented levels of wildlife declines and extirpations (Ceballos et al 2017). The Living Planet Index, an indicator of global vertebrate abundance, recorded a decline of up to 58% between 1970 and 2012 (WWF, 2016). Larger species are suffering the steepest and most irreversible declines (Dirzo et al 2014; Ripple et al 2014, 2015). Biodiversity is reduced and ecosystem integrity suffers (Dirzo et al 2014; Young et al 2016). 20% of the IUCN Red List’s threatened and nearthreatened species are directly threatened by hunting (Maxwell et al 2016), including over 300 threatened mammal species (Ripple et al 2016). Wildlife hunting is a major driver of biodiversity loss (Mayor et al 2018), and the 2 | Introduction most frequently reported threat to protected areas (PAs; Tranquilli et al 2014; Schulze et al 2018). Hunting is a direct threat to endangered wildlife in all tropical regions (Griser-Johns and Thomson, 2005; Koh and Sodhi, 2010; Lee et al 2014; Harrison et al 2016; Schwitzer et al 2017)

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