Expected Effects of Land-use Patterns on Future Supplies of Bushmeat in Africa South of the Sahara

Abstract

Bushmeat is meat, of whatever nature, that is obtained from wild animals, and historically people everywhere in the inhabited world have, at some stage in the evolution of their culture, been dependent on it to some extent. Wildlife conservation is essential for varied bushmeat production, and the two are particularly closely interconnected in the countries of Africa lying to the south of the Sahara; this brings in environmental conservation as a third factor of basic importance.The economic incentive being often considerable, the record of protection and management of wildlife in some countries in Africa south of the Sahara is impressive, though in others it is lagging, while even in the famous National Parks the failure to cull large mammals may lead to drastic habitat deterioration due to over-population: wider, regularized use of bushmeat could provide a beneficial answer to this problem. Meanwhile there is a great demand for bushmeat in Ghana and many other African countries, and it is expected that this demand—and hopefully the supply—will increase with changing patterns of land-use.There is thus strong economic and other justification for environmental management with the objective inter alia of maintaining and increasing bushmeat production in most countries of Africa south of the Sahara.