Species protection, the changing informal economy, and the politics of access to the bushmeat trade in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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Published source details
De Merode E. & Cowlishaw G.U. (2006) Species protection, the changing informal economy, and the politics of access to the bushmeat trade in the Democratic Republic of Congo.. Conservation Biology, 20, 1262-1271.
Published source details De Merode E. & Cowlishaw G.U. (2006) Species protection, the changing informal economy, and the politics of access to the bushmeat trade in the Democratic Republic of Congo.. Conservation Biology, 20, 1262-1271.
Actions
This study is summarised as evidence for the following.
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Implement community control of patrolling, banning hunting and removing snares Action Link |
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Implement community control of patrolling, banning hunting and removing snares
A site comparison study in 1996-1997 in localities near Garamba National Park and Azande Hunting Reserve, Democratic Republic of Congo found that traditional community control discouraged more efffectively illegal bushmeat hunting of protected species, including chimpanzee Pan troglodytes, during both times of peace and war, compared to the centrally run national park. In village markets, where the community village chief regulated bushmeat hunting, protected species represented a low proportion of total bushmeat quantity (21% in peacetime; 18% during the war) while in urban markets, bushmeat originating from the centrally-run national park was mostly illegally-hunted protected species (68% of total quantity in peacetime; 91% during the war). The village chief discouraged owning of automatic weapons, needed for large-bodied protected species, and hunters relied on shotguns, snares and nets. Legally hunted bushmeat included nine species of primates (Cercopithecus sp., guereza colobus Colobus guereza, olive baboon Papio anubis, etc) while most illegal bushmeat included elephant Loxodonta africana, buffalo Syncerus caffer, etc. Five bushmeat markets were monitored over 15 months for the urban trade and the two markets for the rural trade.
(Summarised by: SP)
