Assessment, Conservation and Sustainable Use of Forest Biodiversity

Conservation and Sustainable Use (sustainable forest management)
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FAO AND THE BUSHMEAT CRISIS
ElHadji Sène and Douglas Williamson
Forestry Department, FAO, Rome
E-mail:douglas.williamson@fao.org
Keywords: Bushmeat, FAO, agriculture
Introduction
The formation of groups like the Ape Alliance and the Bushmeat Crisis Task Force, the establishment of a
CITES Working Group on bushmeat as a trade and wildlife management issue, the predictions of primate
extinctions and regular media reports of the devastation of forest wildlife, create an aura of crisis about the
wild meat issue. The purpose of this paper is to consider what the implications of this situation are for FAO
and to explore appropriate responses to it.
Wild meat is directly relevant to FAO’s mandate in at least two contexts. The first is the context of food
security, the second is the context of forest conservation, broadly defined to include sustainable forest
management.
Wild meat and food security
There is copious evidence that wild meat is an important component of the dietary intake of many people
[e.g. Barnett 1997, Bennett & Robinson 2000, Caspary 1999a and 1999b, Caspary et al. 2001, Hofmann et al.
1999, Ntiamoa-Baidu 1997, Ojasti 1996]. In some countries wild meat is the basis of a substantial business. In
Côte d’Ivoire, for instance, it was estimated that in 1996 around 120,000 tonnes of wild meat was harvested by
over a million hunters [Caspary 1999b]. This was more than twice the yearly production of meat from
domestic livestock, and its market value of around US$ 150 million represented 1.4% of the gross national
product. But even though the cash value of wild meat can be substantial, this does not necessarily capture the
full value of the contribution that wild meat makes to the well-being of poor rural people [Barnett, 1997].
In the sense of being a dietary component, wild meat is directly related to food security, but the relationship is
not a simple one. The importance of the contribution that wild meat makes to food security is greatest where
it is the only or the main source of animal protein and is difficult to replace. Importance to food security
declines when wild meat is simply one of a number of interchangeable choices that are readily available to the
consumer.
Wild meat also contributes indirectly to the food security of those who derive some or all of their income from
the harvesting, distribution, sale and/or marketing of wild meat. The magnitude of its contribution to the
food security of such people depends on what proportion of their income it provides and how readily it is
replaceable as a source of income.
Another way in which wild meat [in the form of animal parts] can contribute indirectly to food security, is
through its role in the practice of traditional medicine, which provides livelihoods for many people.
Since wild meat manifestly contributes to food security and is derived from wild animals, which are a
component of biodiversity, this is one way in which there is an unequivocal link between biodiversity and food
security. There are other linkages between biodiversity and food security, but they are not relevant to this paper.
Because wild meat manifestly contributes both directly and indirectly to the food security of many people, a
decline in the availability of wild meat to the people who depend on it will have a negative effect on food
security. This must be a cause of concern for FAO.
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