Recipes for Survival_English_tcm46-28192

WSPA/APE ALLIANCERECIPES FOR SURVIVAL(though the cost of increasing bushmeat supply in the forest would match or exceedthat of livestock rearing). Alternatives should be palatable and economically competitive(initial subsidisation may be required to make the products cheaper than bushmeat –BCTF, 2000c). In Liberia, replacing protein from wildlife with domestic meat could costup to US$100 million per annum, more than the income generated from bushmeattrade (Bowen-Jones & Pendry, 1999).Willingness to accept alternatives can vary from region to region. In the Uttaranchalregion of the Indian western Himalayas, 80% of hunting respondents were willing tostop hunting if alternative protein was supplied free of charge, but in the neighbouringHimachal Pradesh, 41% would not give up hunting under any circumstances(Kaul et al, 2004).Domestication can involve economic constraints such as the cost of fencing andveterinary care, but many species can breed in very simple facilities, harnessed fromlocal materials; cane rat and giant rat production are possible even using domesticfood scraps and agricultural waste. Some farmers have expressed interest in canerat domestication, because the species is more popular than livestock and is notassociated with any cultural taboos (Stein et al, 2002a). It is important, therefore,to research cane rat biology to assess the risks of zoonotic disease transmission.Rabbit raising has been effective in Cameroon in areas where bushmeat is alreadyscarce (Wilkie & Carpenter, 1999), and intensive breeding of cane rats and Emin’s ratshas had some success (Bowen-Jones & Pendry, 1999). Pilot projects with blue duikers,sitatunga, red river forest hogs and brush-tailed porcupines have also been attempted(Bowen-Jones & Pendry, 1999; Jori et al, 1998).Domestication enterprises may result in wildlife habitat loss as forests are convertedinto pasture or fodder. Where there is cultural, taste or other preference for bushmeat,it will be more difficult to institute alternatives. Equally, there is no reason to expectpeople not to exercise their ‘right’ to cost-free bushmeat. But if bushmeat alternativesare not available, the continuing demand for bushmeat will drive supplies down andprices up, inviting yet more people to enter the trade.Development of protein alternatives, ecologically sound community farms andbushmeat-free markets should be focused in village, farm and urban areas wherethey are needed most – where bushmeat is currently irreplaceable.In West Africa, marine and freshwater fish are the primary source of protein. Improvedfisheries management by foreign and domestic fleets could help prevent extinctions.Large, heavily subsidised foreign fleets fish off the West African coast. The EU has thelargest foreign presence, and its harvest increased by a factor of 20 between 1950and 2001. Pirate fishing vessels from foreign ports are also a major problem, andincreased policing of exclusive fishing zones could help (Brashares et al, 2004).POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS8.1.2 Improving agricultural infrastructureDevelopment of traditional agricultural economies has been proposed to satisfy tandemneeds for alternative protein and economic opportunities (BCTF, 2000a). A variety ofreasons exist to support hostile attitudes towards agriculture in Africa. These includethe higher costs of rearing livestock relative to hunting free bushmeat and theprevalence of trypanosomiasis affecting domestic animals. Furthermore, poor soiland high rainfall leaching away nutrients means that both wild and domestic meatproduction in forests is limited, whether the land has been cleared or not (Barnes,2002). The most predominant foliage is at canopy level, out of reach of herbivores,and energy passing through trophic levels tends to go directly from plants toinvertebrate decomposers (Barnes, 2002). Mammalian biomass is therefore low.Domestic stock is also commonly regarded as a cultural and capital asset andexploited only in times of hardship.Fa et al (2003), proposed necessary changes for instituting increased agriculturalproduction in the Congo Basin:1. Changes in policies and institutions that encourage private investment and moreeffective public investment in basic education, health, and nutrition;2. Research extension;3. Development of appropriate technologies;4. Rural infrastructure;5. Developing and strengthening social organisations representing farms and localcommunities;6. Approaches that address the needs of women farmers.Ecological zones other than forest are better suited to pastoralism. Forest edge, forexample, is twice as productive as the interior. Edge species such as rodents representopportunities for sustainable hunting (Barnes, 2002). Savannah is ten times moreproductive than forest (Robinson & Bennett, 2000). Cattle and pigs have beenadvocated as the best livestock to focus on (Bowen-Jones & Pendry, 1999; Newing,2001), but breeding would have to be restricted to areas where tsetse flies andtrypanosomiasis were not a problem. Improved land tenure management could helpimprove willingness to undertake agricultural practices (Stein & BCTF, 2001).Ecoagriculture integrates farm and forest production, with the provision of ecosystemfunction at a landscape scale. Large-scale development and adoption of ecoagricultureis urgent. The strategies include: expanding natural areas, establishing reserves thatbenefit farmers, creating habitat networks, raising farm productivity, managing wildspecies, enhancing ecosystem value of lands under production, reducing agriculturalpollution, modifying management of soil, water and natural vegetation, mixing speciesto mimic the structure and function of natural ecosystems, and diversifying householdincomes (ABCG, 2004). Human livelihoods are most effectively sustained in highlymodified ecosystems, where humans have intensified agriculture and grazing systems(ABCG, 2004).83WSPA/APE ALLIANCE82