Urban wild meat consumption and trade in central Amazonia

Bizri, Hani R. El; Morcatty, Thaís Q.; Valsecchi, João; Mayor, Pedro; Ribeiro, Jéssica E. S.; Neto, Carlos F. A. Vasconcelos; Oliveira, Jéssica Sara de Sousa Macêdo; Furtado, Keilla M.; Ferreira, Urania Cavalcante; Miranda, Carlos Fabre; Silva, Ciclene H.; Lopes, Valdinei Lemos; Lopes, Gerson Paulino; Florindo, Caio César Ferreira; Chagas, Romerson C.; Nijman, Vincent; Fa, John E.

doi:10.1111/cobi.13420

Cited by 64 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Economic shocks may be the biggest risk, for female traders/wholesalers. 24 , 30 , 31 USA Low overall, relatively high in some areas High High Food system can adapt overall; though impacts would be felt by some rural and relatively food-insecure groups. Agricultural expansion may occur, the hunting industry – and revenues generated for conservation – would suffer large economic losses.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating the risks of removing wild meat from global food systems

et al. 2021

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Summary The COVID-19 pandemic has brought humanity’s strained relationship with nature into sharp focus, with calls for cessation of wild meat trade and consumption, to protect public health and biodiversity. 1 , 2 However, the importance of wild meat for human nutrition, and its tele-couplings to other food production systems, mean that the complete removal of wild meat from diets and markets would represent a shock to global food systems. 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 The negative consequences of this shock deserve consideration in policy responses to COVID-19. We demonstrate that the sudden policy-induced loss of wild meat from food systems could have negative consequences for people and nature. Loss of wild meat from diets could lead to food insecurity, due to reduced protein and nutrition, and/or drive land-use change to replace lost nutrients with animal agriculture, which could increase biodiversity loss and emerging infectious disease risk. We estimate the magnitude of these consequences for 83 countries, and qualitatively explore how prohibitions might play out in 10 case study places. Results indicate that risks are greatest for food-insecure developing nations, where feasible, sustainable, and socially desirable wild meat alternatives are limited. Some developed nations would also face shocks, and while high-capacity food systems could more easily adapt, certain places and people would be disproportionately impacted. We urge decision-makers to consider potential unintended consequences of policy-induced shocks amidst COVID-19; and take holistic approach to wildlife trade interventions, which acknowledge the interconnectivity of global food systems and nature, and include safeguards for vulnerable people.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating the risks of removing wild meat from global food systems

et al. 2021

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“…At the moment, although T. inunguis is protected by law in many countries, its hunting is a deeply embedded cultural practice that remains widespread. This practice is conducted by Indigenous and riverine communities, and the illegal trade in its meat persists in most Amazonian markets (El Bizri et al, 2019). In the Purus River, the species was once very abundant and intensely hunted (Domning, 1982; Pereira, 1944).…”

Section: Key Threatsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conservation of Amazonian aquatic mammals

Brum

Rosas-Ribeiro

Amaral³

et al. 2021

Aquatic Conservation

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Aquatic mammals worldwide are highly threatened in freshwater ecosystems where they are affected by direct human activities (e.g. hunting) as well as indirect human alteration of freshwater ecosystems (e.g. dams, mining activity). Although aquatic mammals of the Amazon Basin are experiencing many growing threats, little is known about the escalating impacts on them, current limitations in protection mechanisms, and possible strategies to ensure their conservation. This study synthesizes the available information on Amazonian aquatic mammals, including the ecological characteristics of these species, key threats, population status and conservation prospects. Amazonian aquatic mammals comprise seven species – Inia geoffrensis, Inia boliviensis, Inia araguaiaensis, Sotalia fluviatilis, Trichechus inunguis, Pteronura brasiliensis and Lontra longicaudis – which are characterized by low reproductive rates and keystone ecosystem roles. These species are endangered mainly by biological resource use, natural ecosystem modifications, energy production and mining, and climate change. Although information is sparse, there is evidence that these threats are inducing population declines of Inia spp., and hindering the recovery of populations of P. brasiliensis. Protection mechanisms for these species mostly include national and international laws and agreements, legislation governing environmental licensing and protected areas. Each of these protection mechanisms, however, has limited capacity to protect Amazonian aquatic mammals, largely because they are poorly enforced, lack transnational coordination or require population trend data that do not exist. Reversing the current state of affairs for Amazonian aquatic mammals requires an integrated research and policy approach that, at a minimum, substantially increases the present capacity to monitor their population responses to human impacts, establishes effective enforcement of existing legislation and prevents further impacts from hydropower development. To implement such an approach, information on the ecology of these species is necessary to create public and scientific awareness.

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“…Instead, we focused on the consumption of wild meat by urban residents. Wild meat consumption in urban areas is associated with several factors, including wealth, livelihood, and proportion of the population living in rural areas within each municipality (Parry et al 2014;Chaves et al 2018;El Bizri et al 2020). A major gap in research is how demographic shifts, such as rural-to-urban migration, urbanization, and generational change, affect the demand for wild meat.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of rural to urban migration, urbanization, and generational change on consumption of wild animals in the Amazon

Chaves

Valle

Tavares

et al. 2021

Conservation Biology

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For the first time in history, more people live in urban areas than in rural areas. This trend is likely to continue, driven largely by rural-to-urban migration. We investigated how rural-to-urban migration, urbanization, and generational change affect the consumption of wild animals. We used chelonian (tortoises and freshwater turtles), one of the most hunted taxa in the Amazon, as a model. We surveyed 1356 households and 2776 school children across 10 urban areas of the Brazilian Amazon (6 small towns, 3 large towns, and Manaus, the largest city in the Amazon Basin) with a randomized response technique and anonymous questionnaires. Urban demand for wild meat (i.e., meat from wild animals) was alarmingly high. Approximately 1.7 million turtles and tortoises were consumed in urban areas of Amazonas during 2018. Consumption rates declined as size of the urban area increased and were greater for adults than children. Furthermore, the longer rural-to-urban migrants lived in urban areas, the lower their consumption rates. These results suggest that wild meat consumption is a rural-related tradition that decreases as urbanization increases and over time after people move to urban areas. However, it is unclear whether the observed decline will be fast enough to conserve hunted species, or whether children's consumption rate will remain the same as they become adults. Thus, conservation actions in urban areas are still needed. Current conservation efforts in the Amazon do not address urban demand for wildlife and may be insufficient to ensure the survival of traded species in the face of urbanization and human population growth. Our results suggest that conservation interventions must target the urban demand for wildlife, especially by focusing on young people and recent rural to urban migrants. Article impact statement: Amazon urbanite consumption of wildlife is high but decreases with urbanization, over time for rural to urban migrants, and between generations.

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Urban wild meat consumption and trade in central Amazonia

Cited by 64 publications

References 25 publications

Investigating the risks of removing wild meat from global food systems

Investigating the risks of removing wild meat from global food systems

Conservation of Amazonian aquatic mammals

Impacts of rural to urban migration, urbanization, and generational change on consumption of wild animals in the Amazon

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