Food Insecurity and the Unsustainable Hunting of Wildlife in a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Abstract

Madagascar faces dual challenges in biodiversity conservation and public health. In order to identify strategies to reduce the unsustainable hunting of threatened species while maintaining or improving child nutrition, we quantified interactions among ecosystem indicators (lemur density and habitat biodiversity indices), health indicators (stunting, underweight, wasting, and anemia), nutrition, food security, and wildlife hunting through interviews of 1,750 people in 387 households and surveys of 28 wildlife transects with 156 habitat plots at 15 sites on Madagascar's Masoala Peninsula, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The surveyed population ate 6,726 forest animals (mammals and birds), or a mean of 3.27 kg of wild meat per person (4.48 kg per adult equivalent) during the prior year. Local Malagasy were also highly food insecure (78% of households) and malnourished (for children under five, as many as 67% were stunted, 60% were underweight, 25% were wasted, and 40% were anemic). In some communities, nearly 75% of animal-sourced calories, 76% of protein, and 74% of iron came from forest animals-demonstrating a strong dependence on wild foods. Few micronutrient-rich alternatives to wild meats were available in adequate supply and many were highly volatile; for example, 79% of chickens died from Newcastle disease in the prior year. The survivorship of lemurs (94% of lemur species are threatened with extinction) depends on providing food security to a malnourished human population who commonly hunts wildlife for food. Currently, wildlife provides a critical source of micronutrients, yet the hunting of threatened species is an untenable solution to poor diet and food insecurity. Given the established connection between wild foods and human nutrition, reductions in forests and wildlife populations will also threaten the local food supply. In order to reduce the unsustainable hunting of threatened species while improving household food security and child health, we suggest testing the effects of increasing the affordability, accessibility, and stability of micro-nutrient rich animal-sourced foods in communities where forests contribute the most to food security.

A nutrient‐rich traditional insect for improving food security and reducing biodiversity loss in Madagascar and sub‐Saharan Africa

“…We applied the following multidisciplinary methods, from January 2019 through December 2020, to examine the potential of dedicated Z. tenebrosa (locally known as sakondry) rearing to improve food security and nutrition, while increasing the sustainability of wildlife hunting on the Masoala Peninsula of Madagascar. To maximize project impact, we invited five communities (two control and three test), comprised of 312 households, whose food security relied most on forests to collaborate in our research (identified from Borgerson et al, 2019). All participants provided verbal free and informed verbal consent and/or assent prior to the start of the project.…”

“…Madagascar is also one of world's least food secure nations, with nearly 70% of its population living under the global poverty line, half of whom are undernourished (EIU, 2019). Within Madagascar, lemur hunting is highest in biodiverse northeastern Madagascar (Borgerson et al, 2021), where food insecurity, malnutrition, and hunting are common (Borgerson, McKean, Sutherland, & Godfrey, 2016; Borgerson, Razafindrapaoly, Rajoana, Rasolofoniaina, & Golden, 2019; Golden, Fernald, Brashares, Rasolofoniaina, & Kremen, 2011). The diet here is severely deficient in both calories and fat, and 40% of meat eaten by pregnant or lactating women comes from wildlife (Golden et al, 2019).…”

Food insecurity related to agricultural practices and household characteristics in rural communities of northeast Madagascar

“…Subsistence agriculture is the only livelihood for most people in the rural countryside. Unsustainable farming practices, especially shifting agriculture on steep slopes with short fallow periods, put pressure on natural resources and biodiverse hotspots (Borgerson et al, 2018;Borgerson et al, 2019;Golden et al, 2011;Laney & Turner, 2015;Messerli, 2006;Styger et al, 2007). Crop yields are decreasing due to declining soil health, and traditional methods are becoming less productive (Harvey et al, 2014;Laney & Turner, 2015;Messerli, 2006;Styger et al, 2007;Styger et al, 2009).…”

Teasing Apart Impacts of Human Activity and Regional Drought on Madagascar’s Large Vertebrate Fauna: Insights From New Excavations at Tsimanampesotse and Antsirafaly

“…The initial stimulus may involve a climate event, but ultimately, extinction occurs because normal population recovery mechanisms are disrupted, particularly for species that have dietary or locomotor specializations. Agropastoralists can disrupt normal population recovery mechanisms by cutting typical dispersal pathways, modifying habitats, competing directly with vulnerable endemic species for resources such as fresh water, competing indirectly by introducing other competitors, and indeed killing endemic wild animals for food or because the latter may pose threats to domesticated animals or crops (e.g., Borgerson, 2016;Borgerson et al, 2019). When humans are present, waterholes that formerly provided sanctuary can pose new risks (Janzen, 1983).…”