Modeling the Spatial Distribution of the Economic Costs and Benefits of Illegal Game Meat Hunting in the Serengeti

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Illegal game meat hunting in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, and adjacent game reserves provides an important source of protein and cash income to local communities. We construct a profitability model that describes the spatial distribution of the economic costs and benefits of illegal hunting in the Serengeti during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Costs included capital investment in hunting weapons, WR, and the opportunity cost of hunting, WO, both held to be constants; and two spatially variable components, the logistic effort of traveling to hunting areas, WL, and the penalties incurred if arrested, WP. Benefit was the expected income from the sale of meat from resident wildlife species. The model suggests: (1) WR is the most important cost. (2) WL is the second most important cost and likely to determine the spatial distribution of hunting activity if hunters seekto minimize costs. (3) WO and WP are of minor importance, the former because alternative sources of income provide low pay, the latter because the overall chance of being arrested is low. (4) WP exceeds WL only in areas close to the boundary of protected areas. (5) Although resident wildlife contributes only a minor share of illegal offtake compared to the migratory herds, hunting resident wildlife is profitable in 68% of the area. This suggests that hunting of resident and migratory wildlife is highly profitable and may explain why the utilization of the target populations has become increasingly unsustainable.

The bushmeat trade in African savannas: Impacts, drivers, and possible solutions

“…Logging companies often perceive bushmeat as a free commodity with which to supplement workers' income (Wilkie et al, 2011). The frequency of bushmeat hunting and rate of bushmeat consumption declines with distance from human settlements (Hofer et al, (Fitzgibbon et al, 1995) ; 4 (Saru, 2012) ; 5 (Fusari and Carpaneto, 2006) ; 6 (Lindsey and Bento, 2012) 7 C. Roche, unpublished; (Warchol and Johnson, 2009) Hofer 2000, Barnett 2002, 1996Muchaal and Ngandjui, 1999;Brashares et al, 2011;Lindsey et al, 2011a) and wildlife populations fare better where human settlement is not permitted .…”

“…Within protected areas, bushmeat hunting is more prevalent close to the borders and near human settlements (Muchaal and Ngandjui, 1999;Hofer et al, 2000;Wato et al, 2006;Marealle et al, 2010). Greater distances mean increased time, effort and costs for hunters to find wildlife and transport meat, and higher risk of apprehension (Hofer et al, 2000). Bushmeat hunters typically focus efforts in areas where wildlife concentrates, such as near water, game trails, green-flushes or flowering/fruiting trees (Lindsey and Bento, 2012;Becker et al, 2012).…”

“…Lack of research focus has perhaps reflected a misconception that bushmeat hunting in savannas is typically a low impact, subsistence phenomenon (Barnett, 2000;Lindsey et al, 2011a). Literature on the bushmeat trade in savannas is limited to a review of the bushmeat trade in southern and East Africa (Barnett, 2000), and sporadic studies in Serengeti National Park (Hofer et al, 2000;Hofer et al, 2000;Loibooki et al, 2002;Marealle et al, 2010), other sites in Tanzania (Nielsen, 2006;Wilfred and MacColl, 2010), Mozambique (Fusari and Carpaneto, 2006;Lindsey and Bento, 2012), Zimbabwe (Gandiwa et al 2012;Lindsey et al 2011 a,b) and Zambia (Lewis and Phiri, 1998;Lewis, 2005;Brown, 2007;Lewis et al, 2011;Becker et al, 2012). While these studies demonstrate significant negative ecological impacts, the drivers, impacts and interventions needed to address the bushmeat trade in savannas are not well understood.…”

Evaluating the protection of wildlife in parks: the case of African buffalo in Serengeti

“…We analyzed the impacts of these three factors-hunting, food supply and natural predation-using a spatial analysis to separate out their effects. Thus, human population density and rate of increase, which we show are related to hunting within the reserve (Campbell and Hofer 1995;Hofer et al 2000), are greatest in the west and northwest. In contrast, food limitation, which is a function of rainfall (Sinclair 1977), is most severe in the east and south, while predation is evenly spread over the buffalo range.…”

Emerging issues and challenges in conservation of biodiversity in the rangelands of Tanzania

“…Also, the available literature are sporadic and biased towards certain geographic locations and protected ecosystems particularly Serengeti (e.g. Hofer et al 2000, Loibooki et al 2002, Marealle et al 2010 and Katavi (Caro 2008, Martin andCaro 2012) leaving other equally impacted ecosystems, such as Tarangire, Mikumi, and Ruaha, under-researched. Illegal hunting is a big problem in the Simanjiro plains, a seasonal refuge for wildlife dispersing from Manyara and Tarangire National Parks (Rija 2009).…”