Integrating Sustainable Hunting in Biodiversity Protection in Central Africa: Hot Spots, Weak Spots, and Strong Spots

Abstract

Wild animals are a primary source of protein (bushmeat) for people living in or near tropical forests. Ideally, the effect of bushmeat harvests should be monitored closely by making regular estimates of offtake rate and size of stock available for exploitation. However, in practice, this is possible in very few situations because it requires both of these aspects to be readily measurable, and even in the best case, entails very considerable time and effort. As alternative, in this study, we use high-resolution, environmental favorability models for terrestrial mammals (N = 165) in Central Africa to map areas of high species richness (hot spots) and hunting susceptibility. Favorability models distinguish localities with environmental conditions that favor the species' existence from those with detrimental characteristics for its presence. We develop an index for assessing Potential Hunting Sustainability (PHS) of each species based on their ecological characteristics (population density, habitat breadth, rarity and vulnerability), weighted according to restrictive and permissive assumptions of how species' characteristics are combined. Species are classified into five main hunting sustainability classes using fuzzy logic. Using the accumulated favorability values of all species, and their PHS values, we finally identify weak spots, defined as high diversity regions of especial hunting vulnerability for wildlife, as well as strong spots, defined as high diversity areas of high hunting sustainability potential. Our study uses relatively simple models that employ easily obtainable data of a species' ecological characteristics to assess the impacts of hunting in tropical regions. It provides information for management by charting the geography of where species are more or less likely to be at risk of extinction from hunting.

Mapping Bushmeat Hunting Pressure in Central Africa

“…, Fa et al . ,b). However, our data also illustrate that protected areas can obviously withstand increased hunting pressure due to better road access as long as patrolling is effective (Bruner et al .…”

Mammalian biogeography and the Ebola virus in Africa

“…There is evidence that the richness and population structure of mammals found in the central part of the Congo basin is considerably lower than in areas along the western, northern and eastern side of the Congo River (Fa et al. ). The limiting role of the zoogeographical factor south to the Congo River (Appendix S4) supports this possibility, but we cannot discard the possibility of observation bias, since the central Congo is not an easily accessible area.…”

Environmental factors determining the establishment of the African Long‐legged BuzzardButeo rufinus cirtensisin Western Europe

“…This descriptor was added to the list of variables in the modelling process as described in Fa et al . ().…”

“…When Pearson's correlation between two variables within a model was ≥ 0.8, multicollinearity was avoided by retaining only the variable that most significantly predicted species presence (Fa et al . ). The significance of every variable that was entered in the models was assessed using Wald's () test.…”

“…A spatial trend variable was used to create a purely spatial descriptor, following the trend surface approach (Legendre & Legendre 1998). This descriptor was added to the list of variables in the modelling process as described in Fa et al (2014).…”