Wild Meat, Livelihoods Security and Conservation in the Tropics Global Partners          Start date 01-2003 End date 12-2004 Commitment (£) $200,000   * Overseas Development Institute ODI * Zoological Society of London ZSL Funder * John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation under the Conservation and Sustainable Development Programme. Contacts * Dr David Brown d.brown@odi.org.uk * ODI Bushmeat and Livelihoods Website www.odi-bushmeat.org Purpose This research project aims to examine the human and social dimensions of hunting for consumptive use in tropical forests, including bushmeat and the bushmeat trade. Most research previously carried out has focussed on the ecological and biodiversity impacts of bushmeat hunting. In contrast, this project aims to much expand understanding of bushmeat as an important dimension of livelihoods security for poor people, often in weak states. It is anticipated that through attaining a better understanding of the human and social dimensions of hunting, new approaches towards bushmeat management (and addressing, where necessary, the alleged ‘bushmeat crisis’) will be developed.

	Lessons:
	Is the best the enemy of the good? Livelihoods perspectives on bushmeat harvesting and trade – some issues and challenges D. Brown. May 2003 CIFOR Centre for International Forestry Research Conference. This paper makes a case for bushmeat as a theme of interest to development policy. PDF
	The case for bushmeat as a component of development policy: issues and challenges D. Brown and A. Williams. June 2003 International Forestry Review 5 (2). This paper makes a case for bushmeat as a topic of interest to development policy. PDF
	Conference on the theme of ‘Bushmeat and Livelihoods' was held at the Zoological Society of London on 23-24 September, 2004. For outline, structure and outputs see HTML
	Wildlife Policy Briefs
	Wild resources and livelihoods of poor households in the Democratic Republic of Congo E. de Merode, K. Homewood and G. Cowlishaw. Wildlife Policy Brief No 1. November 2003. PDF
	Bushmeat and Poverty Alleviation: Implications for Development Policy November 2003 David Brown Wildlife Policy Brief 2 PDF
	Contribution of forest insects to food security and forest conservation: The example of caterpillars in Central Africa January 2004 Paul Vantomme, Daniela Göhler and François N'Deckere-Ziangba. Wildlife Policy Brief 3 PDF
	The bushmeat trade and Fishing Licence Agreements in West Africa March 2004 Ian Watson and Justin Brashares Wildlife Policy Brief 4 PDF
	Barren ground caribou co-management in the Eastern Canadian Arctic: Lessons for bushmeat April 2004 Andrew Hurst Wildlife Policy Brief 5. PDF
	Wild meat harvest and trade in Liberia: Managing biodiversity, economic and social impacts April 2004 Reginald Hoyt, Wildlife Policy Brief 6 PDF
	The Bushmeat Commodity Chain: Patterns of trade and sustainability in a mature urban market in West Africa June 2004 Guy Cowlishaw, Samantha Mendelson, and J. Marcus Rowcliffe. Wildlife Policy Brief 7 PDF

Use of Sustainable Livelihoods Approaches

Bushmeat has long played a role in the livelihoods of people living in tropical forest and savannah areas. For many rural people, bushmeat is not only an important source of animal protein in their diets, but it may also increasingly be a key component of their livelihoods in providing flexible cash incomes from its sale to traders and local consumers.

Areas of interest to the project are those emphasising and focussing on bushmeat as a central component of rural forest livelihoods. Key to the project’s approach is the fundamental importance of working towards solving ecological sustainability issues from a livelihoods perspective and framework.

A number of underlying themes have been identified as being of particular relevance:

• Policy and legislative changes relating to the rules of resource tenure and other forms of resource-use restraint;
• Organisational innovations and institutional reforms – from local to regional level
• Land use and landscape planning arrangements – examining the potential for multi-layered forest utilisation practices and ecologically ameliorable (eg source - sink) solutions
• The role of bushmeat in rural livelihoods – further developing understanding of its socio-economic nature and siginifcance
• Marketing restructuring and targeted economic incentives
• Environmental awareness and education - and its relation to local cultural interpretations and understandings of the landscape
• Financing change - Options for generating assured long-term investment in local forest-governance institutions and livelihoods

	Other Natural Resources Projects:
	Wildlife Integration for Livelihood Diversification (WILD) (Namibia)
	Creating a Policy Framework for National Parks (Russia)
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