In the face of increased defaunation in tropical regions, embracing the complexity of wildlife population trends is important to guide the development of effective conservation and restoration strategies. Here, based on a case study in Democratic Republic of the Congo, we use an ethnozoological approach, with a protocol that captures spatially explicit and temporal ecological knowledge on defaunation. Our case study evidences the overall depletion profile for the majority of mammal species in the whole landscape and particularly for red colobus, orycterope, and chimpanzee. The elephant has already disappeared locally, and okapi and forest buffalo only persist in the northern part of the landscape. On the other hand, postdepletion sustainability seems to characterize Yangambi Reserve, with more stable populations of fast-reproducing/ small-sized species. Local extinctions or sharp declines in mammal populations in our landscape are either the direct consequence of conflict or the result of cascading effects that have their origins in the rebellions between 1996 and 2002. From a conservation perspective, the challenge is to understand how the depletion process can be reversed in a postconflict context and to identify the levers that can inverse the cascading effect to allow species recovery. We encourage the use of our methodology in regions that are regularly used by a significant number of observers. The proposed methodology provides cost-effective, reliable, and spatially explicit data on population trends, covering for a wide range of species and allows to understand the historical pattern of defaunation as well the wider context in which changes occurred.
Given the importance of wildmeat for local and national economies, understanding the structure and operations of the informal wildmeat value chains is necessary to provide recommendations for a sustainable wildmeat sector. However, the limited number of case studies available hinders our capacity to understand general patterns in wildmeat trade chains and provide recommendations that apply in different contexts. This study contributes to our understanding of wildmeat trade chains with another case study from the Yangambi landscape, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. We use a value chain approach to explore the structure and functioning of the trade and identify the main barriers to entry into the business, as well as the main levers that can be used to reverse unsustainable use. Bushmeat remains the most consumed source of meat both in the main urban area and in surrounding villages. Urban consumption generates a trade of about 103-145 tons of bushmeat per year for a human population of 37,997 inhabitants. Yangambi combines all the factors for a depletion scenario: a quasi-open access system and high levels of dependency on the resource at all levels of the chain (from consumers to hunters). Despite this, emblematic species such as the chimpanzee, buffalo, okapi, red colobus and giant pangolin are still present in the area. The trade chain follows a "redundant" structure with few barriers to participation in the sector: (1) many hunters and rights holders; (2) many traders; (3) significant demand. Hunters, on average, obtain a higher profit than traders, who bear the highest costs of transportation, fines and bribes. Reducing unsustainable trade in this context, will necessarily imply reducing the burden on natural ecosystems as the main providers of animal protein. Moreover, supporting processes to restructure local governance systems in this post-conflict context will also support efforts to reverse unsustainable use. The differences observed in Yangambi as compared to other well-studied wildmeat trade chains illustrates that no two bushmeat market chains are alike. Recommendations to reduce unsustainable trade in urban areas need to be tailored to specific contexts, taking into consideration differences in terms of whether markets are open or underground, the length of the trade chains (from local to international trade chains), the existence and type of barriers to entry, the number and type of stakeholders involved and the factors influencing the demand-supply equilibrium.
Pangolin exploitation has recently increased in diverse forms such as bushmeat consumption; species or parts trade, medical use. This species is protected in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and worldwide, unfortunately it is threatened by numerous human actions. The purpose of this study was to determine the profiles of actors using pangolins, the reasons for pangolin exploitation and its products and their use within the local community in and surrounding the reserve. We carried out surveys in the households of hunters, farmers and people practicing other professions in 12 villages, located within the Tayna Nature Reserve (RNT) and surroundings areas. Two interview techniques were used: the individual interview and the participatory diagnostic technique. During one month of data collection, 175 respondents were interviewed. Respondents had diverse profiles according to sex, age, education level and ethnicity. Men were more represented as actors in pangolin exploitation (71.70%) than women (28.30%); the most represented age interval was 20-30 years. The education level is distinct amongst respondents: illiterate (37%), primary school (32.4%) and graduate from university (2.9%). An average number of respondents are motivated to consume pangolin as meat obtained by hunting at 50%. The main reason for its consumption is preference (44%) and habit (33%). The scales are pangolin derivatives most recognized by local people and widely used in the pharmacopoeia. Consequently,
We elucidate the value orientations (VOs) towards wild meat/wildlife in the Tshopo Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, distinguishing between the provincial capital and rural areas. Based on stories prompted by four primary emotions, the most frequently encountered VOs were: concern for safety, nutrition and taste, and caring/respect. Rural people were more likely to express anthropocentric VOs. However, their stories did not necessarily associate negatively with caring/respect, suggesting that wildlife users may also be sensitive to biocentric values. Age, gender, and wealth were good predictors for biocentric VOs, with young women from the city more likely to express biocentric values. VOs and emotions related differently to specific wildlife species. Mutualism was not frequently elucidated in the stories. The associations we found provide crucial information to understand differences in value orientations across groups, identify barriers to change, and tailor behavior change campaigns to the local context.
Marketing strategies to promote behavioral change are increasingly used to reduce the unsustainable use of wild meat. One of the mayor keys for success of behavior change campaigns lies in the choice of the channel for communication and the messaging. In this research, we present a behavioral change campaign implemented in Yangambi, Democratic Republic of Congo framed around an integrated conservation and development objective: improve food security in rural communities, reduce the unsustainable use of wildlife for food and promote locally grown pork and chicken. The campaign was co-developed based on the research team’s knowledge of the hunting system in the study area and the participation of key local stakeholders (village leaders, hunters and their families). It used participatory community theater, various printed materials, radio and face to face interactions. We evaluated the efficiency and clarity of messaging for channels used through semi-structured interviews with hunters, households and wildlife traders. We found that participatory community theater resulted in increased clarity and understanding among hunters and households. Moreover, community theater promoted word-of-mouth communication that reached an audience well beyond the location where the theater was held. Messages that were framed positively and used amusing channels of communication triggered positive receptiveness by our audience. Using local languages, avoiding written materials for illiterate audiences, and using repetitive means of communication may be among the strategies that could help increase the clarity of communication messages, particularly for sensitive topics such as this one. Our work calls for more lessons learnt from the ground about the most appropriate communication channels and messages, keeping in mind the social and cultural background of the audience, and ensuring that messages trigger emotions that lead to the desired changes.
The rise of zoonotic disease-related public health crises has sparked calls for policy action, including calls to close wildlife markets. Yet, these calls often reflect limited understanding of where, precisely, exposure to risk occurs along wildlife and wild meat trade chains. They also threaten to negatively impact food security and livelihoods. From a public health perspective, it is important to understand the practices that shape food safety all along the trade chain, resulting in meat that is either safe to eat or managed as a potential vector of pathogens. This article uses ethnographic methods to examine the steps that lead a wild animal from the forest to the plate of an urban consumer in Yangambi and Kisangani in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Focusing on hunters, village-level consumers, transporters, market traders and urban consumers, we highlight specific practices that expose different actors involved in the trade chain to wild meat related health risks, including exposure to food borne illnesses from contaminated meat and zoonotic pathogens through direct contact with wild animals, and the local practices in place to reduce the same. We discuss interventions that could help prevent and mitigate zoonotic and food borne disease risks associated with wild meat trade chains.
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