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Bushmeat Research in West and Central Africa
Unsustainable levels of hunting are believed to threaten the survival of many target species around the world, particularly in the Tropics.
© Janna RistBushmeat is the meat of wild animals hunted by local people for income or subsistence in West and Central Africa and this harvest of wild meat has become a focus of global concern.
Extinctions resulting from this unsustainable level of hunting will not only threaten ecosystem services but are also likely to seriously impact upon the food security and livelihoods of those people who use this resource.
There is therefore an urgent need to develop successful initiatives that will promote the long-term sustainability of the bushmeat harvest - both to protect threatened biodiversity and to secure the trade’s social and economic values.
ZSL is involved in research to enhance our understanding of the bushmeat trade in West and Central Africa, with the aim that this heightened knowledge will assist both policy makers and project managers to develop effective methods of regulation and management for sustainability.
The work is interdisciplinary in its design: it tackles the biological, economic and social aspects of the trade, using a variety of approaches including field research and mathematical modelling.
