Controlling the Bushmeat Problem

Wildlife Conservation Society research has revealed that over one million metric tons of bushmeat (wildlife killed by commercial and subsistence hunters) are taken each year from African forests alone. The result is what many scientists now call the “empty forest syndrome” -- a seemingly healthy looking landscape devoid of wildlife. Wild areas throughout the world, particularly in tropical regions, are now threatened by this vexing problem.

WCS is working tirelessly on solutions to control the taking of bushmeat, using a combination of hard science, and the involvement of local communities, national governments, and even logging companies.

In Africa, WCS is involved in both the Banyang-Mbo Wildlife Sanctuary in Cameroon and the Okapi Wildlife Reserve in Democratic Republic of Congo helping to establish a zoning system that will allow hunting in certain areas, while protecting and maintaining core regions to safeguard wildlife. WCS operates similar projects in Latin America as well, specifically in Guatemala, Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia and Brazil - most notably in the Mamirauá and Amanã Sustainable Development Reserves in the heart of the Amazon. In these two regions, where commercial fishing is vital to the economy, scientists have helped declare sanctuaries where fish can spawn and disperse into regions where harvesting is then permitted. The result has been a greater abundance of many fish species.

Since logging companies often provide access into wildlife-rich areas by establishing road systems, WCS has targeted these players as keys to controlling the export of bushmeat out of logging concessions. In Congo Republic, for example, WCS is developing a protocol for reducing hunting of all species and eliminating hunting of endangered wildlife in an area owned by the logging company CIB. The company has already agreed to ban the transport of wild meat from their logging trucks -- an all-too common practice in many regions. The World Bank has also taken interest in this endeavor, and has shown interest in working with other logging companies following the WCS/CIB lead. Similar projects are underway in Bolivia, Guatemala and Ecuador, where WCS is developing programs to reduce hunting in forestry concessions.

Without government buy-in, controlling bushmeat hunting would be a lost cause in many areas. WCS has helped develop a “Master Plan for Wildlife” in the Malaysian state of Sarawak, which recommended a total ban on commercial hunting of wildlife and wildlife products. This led to the passage of a law in 1998. By permitting traditional subsistence hunting to continue, Sarawak’s rural people could continue to hunt for their families as they have done for centuries. Already conservationists are seeing a return of some species that were depleted just a few years ago due to over-hunting. Building on the success in Sarawak, WCS is now working to implement a similar plan in Bolivia to better control hunting on community lands, with the eventual goal of establishing a national policy.

Information and public awareness campaigns are also a critical element to combating the bushmeat problem. In Gabon, Ghana and the Peruvian Amazon, WCS is studying the economics behind the commercial hunting in wild areas. In China, WCS has undertaken a major public awareness campaign on the use of traditional Chinese medicines, which often use endangered species like the tiger as their main ingredients.

WCS is also a member of the Bushmeat Crisis Task Force, a coalition of conservation organizations and zoos fighting to control bushmeat, operating under the auspices of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA).

For more information on the bushmeat crisis, visit www.bushmeat.org