Incentives for Hunting: The Role of Bushmeat in the Household Economy in Rural Equatorial Guinea

Abstract

Bushmeat is an important component of the informal economy throughout West and Central Africa. In order to formulate effective policy to ensure the sustainability of bushmeat hunting for both development and conservation reasons, there is a need to understand its position within the wider rural economy. We conducted interviews with households and hunters over a 15-month period in a village in continental Equatorial Guinea which supplies substantial quantities of bushmeat to the urban market, to evaluate (1) whether hunting is predominately for income or consumption and through choice or necessity, and (2) the factors influencing household production of and consumption and expenditure on bushmeat. Hunting for trade to urban markets is a major component of household incomes, carried out by around 60% of poor-tomiddle income households, while richer households have other income-generating activities. The greater a hunter's bushmeat offtake, the higher the proportion sold. Bushmeat forms a minor component of household expenditure and is less widely consumed than alternative protein sources. It is a necessity good, with consumption and expenditure on bushmeat related less than proportionately to income. While they prefer the security of a regular wage, hunting is an important source of fall-back income for men in the absence of preferable alternative livelihood opportunities.

Bushmeat harvest in tropical forests: Knowledge base, gaps and research priorities

“…Throughout the year bushmeat was important to the community as a source of income. This basic pattern has also been documented in Equatorial Guinea (Kumpel et al 2010). …”

“…Urban markets have a profound effect on the species that are targeted by hunters. In Equatorial Guinea, where hunting for urban markets is an important contribution to many household incomes (Kumpel et al 2010), villages that rely on traders target species with the greatest markup in price; villages with easy access to markets target other species that are more profitable for the hunter (Allebone-Webb et al 2011). Such market forces are more important than other factors in determining the target species.…”

Socio-Economic impacts of protected areas on people living close to the Mount Cameroon National Park

“…In forest zones of West and Central Africa, hunting for trade to urban markets has been shown to contribute 60 per cent of the income of poor to middle income households (Coad et al, 2010;Endamana et al, 2010;Kümpel et al, 2010). Kayambazinthu (1988) Thus, dispossessing local communities of their customary lands, can significantly affect livelihoods, because these communities lose their main source of income (Kümpel et al, 2010). This can seriously frustrate local communities, especially if no compensatory measures are put in place , further impoverishing communities who are already part of the poor to middle income households.…”

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“…reported that restrictions to forest resources led to increased income losses, and significant changes in their diets, and reduced access to native medicinal plants (Bajracharya et al, 2006;Ferraro, 2002;Coad et al, 2008). In the Congo Basin, bushmeat has been reported to be an important source of fall-back income in the absence of alternative livelihood opportunities (Kümpel et al, 2010), and also provides from 30 to 80 per cent of the daily protein requirements (Foppes & Ketphanh, 2004;Wilkie & Carpenter, 1999). In forest zones of West and Central Africa, hunting for trade to urban markets has been shown to contribute 60 per cent of the income of poor to middle income households (Coad et al, 2010;Endamana et al, 2010;Kümpel et al, 2010).…”