Managing bushmeat hunting in Okapi Wildlife Reserve, Democratic Republic of Congo

Wilkie, David; Curran, Bryan; Tshombe, Richard; Morelli, Gilda A.

doi:10.1017/s0030605300029872

Cited by 11 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…In the 2012–2014 Primates in Peril report, hunting was identified as a threat to survival for 19 of the top 25 most endangered primates, with 10 primate species explicitly being hunted for meat, including Eastern Lowland Gorilla ( Gorilla berengei graueri ) [40]. Hunting for meat, not habitat loss, has been identified as the greatest immediate threat to primate conservation in African forests [41], [42]. More than 20 years ago, a worldwide review of primate hunting concluded that the primary reason people in all countries kill primates was to eat them [43], and a more recent review concluded that in most cases, hunting was responsible for primate population declines well before deforestation occurred [44].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

It’s Not Just Conflict That Motivates Killing of Orangutans

et al. 2013

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We investigated why orangutans are being killed in Kalimantan, Indonesia, and the role of conflict in these killings. Based on an analysis of interview data from over 5,000 respondents in over 450 villages, we also assessed the socio-ecological factors associated with conflict and non-conflict killings. Most respondents never kill orangutans. Those who reported having personally killed an orangutan primarily did so for non-conflict reasons; for example, 56% of these respondents said that the reason they had killed an orangutan was to eat it. Of the conflict-related reasons for killing, the most common reasons orangutans were killed was fear of orangutans or in self-defence. A similar pattern was evident among reports of orangutan killing by other people in the villages. Regression analyses indicated that religion and the percentage of intact forest around villages were the strongest socio-ecological predictors of whether orangutans were killed for conflict or non-conflict related reasons. Our data indicate that between 44,170 and 66,570 orangutans were killed in Kalimantan within the respondents’ active hunting lifetimes: between 12,690 and 29,024 for conflict reasons (95%CI) and between 26,361 and 41,688 for non-conflict reasons (95% CI). These findings confirm that habitat protection alone will not ensure the survival of orangutans in Indonesian Borneo, and that effective reduction of orangutan killings is urgently needed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

It’s Not Just Conflict That Motivates Killing of Orangutans

et al. 2013

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“…It belongs to the North Eastern Congolian forest block [31]. More than 90% of the reserve is covered by dense tropical forest consisting of either humid mixed evergreen forest with dominant canopy species such as Cynometra alexandri , Julbernardia seretii and Brachystegia laurentii , or monodominant forest dominated by almost pure stands of Gilbertiodendron dewevrei (called Mbau).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Along them are numerous small villages where people live on subsistence agriculture and hunting. Around these villages, small fields are cleared in secondary forest [31]. Four larger towns exist around the reserve (Mambasa, Niania, Wamba and Mungbere).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Resource Wars and Conflict Ivory: The Impact of Civil Conflict on Elephants in the Democratic Republic of Congo - The Case of the Okapi Reserve

Beyers

Hart²,

Sinclair

et al. 2011

PLoS ONE

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Human conflict generally has substantial negative impacts on wildlife and conservation. The recent civil war (1995-2006) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) resulted in a significant loss of wildlife, including elephants, due to institutional collapse, lawlessness and unbridled exploitation of natural resources such as minerals, wood, ivory and bushmeat. We used data from distance sampling surveys conducted before and after the war in a protected forest, the Okapi Faunal Reserve, to document changes in elephant abundance and distribution. We employed Generalized Additive Models to relate changes in elephant distribution to human and environmental factors. Populations declined by nearly fifty percent coinciding with a major increase in elephant poaching as indicated by reports of ivory trade during the war. Our results suggest that humans influenced elephant distribution far more than habitat, both before and after the war, but post-war models explained more of the variation. Elephant abundance declined more, closer to the park boundary and to areas of intense human activity. After the war, elephant densities were relatively higher in the centre of the park where they were better protected, suggesting that this area may have acted as a refuge. In other sites in Eastern DRC, where no protection was provided, elephants were even more decimated. Post-war dynamics, such as weakened institutions, human movements and availability of weapons, continue to affect elephants. Survival of remaining populations and recovery will be determined by these persistent factors and by new threats associated with growing human populations and exploitation of natural resources. Prioritizing wildlife protection, curbing illegal trade in ivory and bushmeat, and strengthening national institutions and organizations in charge of conservation will be crucial to counter these threats.

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“…Where research has taken place, the results have shown that this trade is one of the major threats to the survival of rain‐forest fauna in Africa. Wilkie et al . (1998) stated that it is not habitat loss but defaunation that poses the greatest immediate threat to animal conservation in the forests of West and Central Africa.…”

Section: The Effect Of the Bushmeat Trade On Different Taxamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One way to do this would be by taxing the transportation of bushmeat, with taxes targeted at bushmeat traders. This would then avoid the need to confiscate bushmeat and the inherent problem of what to do with it after confiscation ( Wilkie et al ., 1998 ). If demand and profits fall, the price that traders pay hunters would decline and the income from hunting will also decline.…”

Section: Recommendations To Reduce Supply and Demand Of Bushmeatmentioning

confidence: 99%

The threat to primates and other mammals from the bushmeat trade in Africa, and how this threat could be diminished

Jones-Bowen¹,

Pendry

1999

Oryx

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The threat that the bushmeat trade presents to primates and other taxa was assessed from the literature, including data from markets, village hunting studies and logging concessions in Central and West Africa. In many cases the numbers of both common and protected species of primate being killed throughout the region are thought to be unsustainable. This is also the case for other taxa involved in the bushmeat trade, which crosses geographic, cultural and economic boundaries. A suite of measures must be considered to mitigate the effects of this trade, and these measures will have to recognize the local, regional and national socio‐economic importance of the trade if they are to result in long‐term conservation success.

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Managing bushmeat hunting in Okapi Wildlife Reserve, Democratic Republic of Congo

Abstract: Projected rates of agricultural clearing in the Ituri Forest of north-eastern

Cited by 11 publications

References 27 publications

It’s Not Just Conflict That Motivates Killing of Orangutans

It’s Not Just Conflict That Motivates Killing of Orangutans

Resource Wars and Conflict Ivory: The Impact of Civil Conflict on Elephants in the Democratic Republic of Congo - The Case of the Okapi Reserve

The threat to primates and other mammals from the bushmeat trade in Africa, and how this threat could be diminished

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