Biodiversity conservation in parks and protected areas in Africa in general and especially in Nigeria is seriously threatened by the explosion of commercial bushmeat hunting activities in buffer zone communities. Several fauna species are becoming endangered and the list of extinct species is increasing due to commercial bushmeat hunting activities. Using a combination of qualitative and quantitative research techniques, this paper assesses the livelihoods vulnerability underpinnings of commercial bushmeat hunting activities in Cross River National Park (CRNP). Results reveal that commercial bushmeat hunting activities are shaped by a vulnerability context that hinges on different elements of environmental shocks, seasonal challenges and surrounding societal trends. The paper highlights the conservation and global sustainable development implications of uncontrolled commercial bushmeat hunting practices and concludes with options on policy recommendations and future research trajectories.
Cross River National Park (CRNP) in south eastern Nigeria is a global biodiversity hotspot and region of species endemism. The park is contiguous in landmass with the Korup National Park and Takamanda Forest Reserve of the Republic of Cameroon. Fauna species like the Cross River Gorilla (gorilla gorilla diehli) are not found anywhere else on planet Earth. The wildlife resources of CRNP are seriously threatened by commercial bushmeat hunting activities in buffer zone communities of the park. The paper assesses rural livelihoods vulnerabilities and commercial bushmeat hunting challenges in buffer zone communities of Cross River National Park. Targeted fauna species by hunters include large mammals (e.g. elephants, buffalos, antelopes, bush pigs, duikers, gorillas, chimpanzees and assorted monkeys). Fauna species like leopards, giant pangolin, black deer, and bush cow are no longer seen or have become extinct in Cross River National Park due to commercial bushmeat hunting challenges [
The paper starts with literature review that offers a synopsis on African biodiversity conservation and commercial bushmeat hunting challenges, followed by a brief overview on the livelihoods and vulnerability context of commercial bushmeat hunting activities. Insights on the nature of the problem in some African countries are provided which include Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Cameroon, Kenya, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania and South Africa. The ecological impacts of commercial bushmeat hunting activities are highlighted, followed by a presentation of methods of the study. This is followed by details on the results of the study and the discussion section. The paper concludes with highlights on the dangers facing African biodiversity conservation and the global sustainable development agenda, as a result of commercial bushmeat hunting activities, and offers recommendations on policies and future research trajectories on the subject. In a nutshell, the paper argues that commercial bushmeat hunting challenges are seriously underpinned by livelihoods vulnerabilities (which ought to be addressed) and that authoritarian park protection measures alone cannot overcome or solve the problem.
African biodiversity has become highly threatened by commercial bushmeat hunting activities in parks and protected areas, culminating in increasing international attention on the problem, drawn by conservation organisations, development agencies, and natural and social science researchers. Reference [
Commercial bushmeat hunting by villagers in and around African of parks and protected areas has become a major source of tension and persistent conflicts between park managers and buffer zone communities. It is a major factor responsible for declining and extinct animal populations across Africa [
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Plants and animals are two very important components of biodiversity in any given ecosystem. Reference ([
1) The “diversity-stability” hypothesis upholds that “the productivity of ecological systems and their capacity to react to disturbance increase steadily with a rise in the number of species in the system”.
2) The “rivet” hypothesis is derived through analogy: “An airplane wing has more rivets than are actually necessary to hold the wing together. If rivets are progressively eliminated, this may cause the wing to collapse suddenly, once a certain threshold is past.” Thus there may be a global ecological collapse if unsustainable biological species extraction around the world is not controlled.
3) The “drivers and passengers” hypothesis emanates from the principle that species play different roles in an ecosystem: “Many species are superfluous (passengers), while only some (drivers) play an essential role in maintaining the ecosystem as a whole. Species with more important ecological functions include, for example, ecological engineers and keystone species. Their presence or absence determines the stability of an ecological function.”
4) The final hypothesis (idiosyncratic hypothesis) “considers the possibility that no relationship exists between the species diversity of an ecosystem and how it functions. Ecosystem system functioning is modified when biological diversity changes; however, the magnitude and direction of the modification are not predictable, because the role of each species is unpredictable and may vary from one area to another”.
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1) Declining animal populations, and exacerbation of depletion and extinction rates.
2) Rising prices of bushmeat which “have motivated hunters and traders to maintain supply from an ever increasing variety of species from ever decreasing populations”.
3) Intense hunting pressure in parks and protected areas by villagers, violation of wildlife management laws, and frequent conflicts with park management staff.
4) Perpetration of unsustainable and profit driven hunting practices which seriously undermine biodiversity conservation objectives, and promote failure of integrated conservation and development (ICDPs) initiatives embarked upon by parks and protected areas.
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The commercialization and utilization of bushmeat in many developing nations remains a frontline issue at the intersection between biodiversity conservation, livelihoods and food security [
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· Trends: e.g. Population trends, resource trends (including conflict), national and international economic trends, political (governance) trends and technological trends. Trends may have serious effects on rates of return (economic or otherwise) on livelihood activities.
· Shocks: e.g. Human health shocks, natural shocks, economic shocks, conflict and crops/livestock health shocks. Shocks such as floods, storms, civil conflict, drought, etc., can force people to migrate prematurely, as a form of coping strategy.
· Seasonality: e.g. of prices, production, health and employment opportunities. Seasonal change in prices, employment opportunities and availability of food constitutes a serious source of hardship to poor people.
From the above, suffice it to say that the degree of vulnerability of the poor is determined by multiple factors closely related to trends, shocks, and seasonality concerning economic, social, political, geographical, and natural resource factors [
In forest communities, where there are no formal insurance services, social security, or social welfare schemes, [
In support of the above argument, [
Reference ([
Commenting on the relative effectiveness of household vulnerability coping strategies, [
Coping Strategy | References |
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1) Kinship and community-support networks and the reciprocity of money, goods, land and labour | [ |
2) The sale of assets (including livestock) | [ |
3) The use and/or sale of NTFPs | [ |
4) Out migrations and remittances | [ |
5) Livelihood diversification | [ |
6) Redistribution/reallocation of labour, the removal of children from school, the relocation of dependents to extended family and the adoption of children | [ |
7) Saving schemes, stokvels (credit groups), buying on credit and the withdrawal from stokvels to save on payments | [ |
8) Agricultural diversification, changes in agricultural practices, changes in crop type and food storage | [ |
9) Changes to household spending and food consumption (including changes to both the quantity and quality of meals as well as reductions in the number of meals consumed) | [ |
10) Wage labour | [ |
11) Selling food, goods and services (including prostitution) | [ |
Source: [
The study was carried out in three local communities (two in the buffer zone and one outside the buffer zone) of Cross River National Park in Nigeria. The two buffer zone communities are Abo Mkpang and Old Ekuri, while Akwa Ibami is the non-buffer zone community (chosen for comparative purposes). Field research activities was preceded by a reconnaissance exercise on bushmeat hunting in buffer zone villages which culminated in purposive sampling selection of two communities in Oban division (Old Ekuri and Akwa Ibami), and one in Okwangwo division (Abo Mkpang). The above was also based on prior knowledge of local communities with markets for bushmeat in Cross River State, Nigeria. Reference ([
A combination of quantitative and qualitative techniques was used for data collection. On quantitative method, a household survey of current livelihood strategies in the sampled communities was carried out. The list of registered voters (more current than census data) was used as sample frame, and proportional to the voting population size of the sampled communities, a sample size of 267 was chosen. The sampled villages were stratified, culminating in the identification of groups (e.g. hunters/bush meat traders, Chiefs/village councils, women and youth), to whom questionnaires were randomly and carefully administered.
The qualitative data collection techniques comprised document research, focus group discussions, key informant interviews, participatory rural appraisal exercises and observations. Multiple data collection tools in social research is referred to as triangulation [
Reference [
Field research evidence (animal footprints on farmlands, dung, hairs, and assorted teeth marks on cassava, yams, plantain and melon) reveal that wildlife pests and persistent raiding of agricultural crops in buffer zone farms undermine agricultural production/output, exacerbate food scarcity, cause poor returns on agricultural investments, and culminate generally in disappointing livelihood outcomes. The Cross River National Park pays no compensation to farmers on the above losses. As a result of the above, buffer zone villagers trespass into the territory of Cross River National Park (as safety net or informal insurance) for different income generating livelihood activities. During participatory rural appraisal exercises in the study villages the names of animals that raid agricultural crops were compiled and is presented in
On the strength of the above, the study concludes that persistent wildlife raiding of agricultural crops and disappointing livelihoods outcomes in the buffer zone communities of CRNP creates and sustains a livelihoods vulnerability context that continuously shape and push villagers into commercial bushmeat hunting activities.
Field evidence also reveals that apart from their limited size in the study villages, buffer zone forestlands do not have uniform physical characteristics (e.g. topography, geology, soils, plants species distribution and abundance
S/No. | Wildlife Species (Common/Botanical Name) | Crops Consumed/Damaged |
---|---|---|
1 | Bush Pig (Potamochoerus porcus) | Maize, Yams, Cassava, Sweet Potato |
2 | Assorted Monkeys (e.g. Cercopithecus pygerythrus) | Maize, Banana, Plantain, Sugar Cane, Fruits, etc. |
3 | Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) | Maize, Banana, Plantain, Sugar Cane, Fruits, Sweet Potato, Ground nuts,etc. |
4 | Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla) | Maize, Banana, Plantain, Sugar Cane, Fruits, Sweet Potato, Ground nuts, etc. |
5 | Squirrels (Oenomys, Stochomys, Funisciurus Spp.) | Cocoa, Oil Palm fruits, Banana, Plantain |
6 | Giant Rat (Cricetomys Sp.) | Cocoa, Oil Palm Fruits, |
7 | Grass Cutter or Cane Rat (Thryonomys swinderianus) | Rice, Cassava, Maize, Sugar Cane |
8 | Bongo Antelopes (Tragelaphus euryceros) | Yam Leaves (foraging), Yams |
9 | Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) | Maize, Rice, Vegetables |
10 | Elephants (Loxodonta africana) | Maize, Plantain, Banana, Sweet Potato, Sugar Cane, Fruits, etc. |
11 | Drills (e.g. Mandrilus leucophaeus) | Banana, Plantain, Maize, Sweet Potatoes, Ground Nuts, Sugar Cane, Fruits, etc. |
12 | Buffalos (Syncerus nanus) | Yams, Coco Yams, Plantain, Banana, Cocoa, etc. |
13 | African Brush-Tailed Porcupines (Atherurus africanus) | Cocoa, Melon |
14 | Assorted Bird Species | Rice, Maize, Cassava, Banana, Plantain, Pawpaw, Groundnuts, Melon, Vegetables, Fruits (e.g. Pear), etc. |
15 | Duiker (Cephalophus spp.) | Cocoa |
16 | Civet Cat (Viverra civetta) | Cocoa |
17 | Assorted Snakes Species | Oil Palm Fruits, Melon, Cocoa, Ground Nuts, etc |
18 | Spotted Hyaena (Crocuta crocuta) | Oil Palm, Cocoa |
19 | Assorted Rodents Species. | Oil Palm, Cocoa, Melon, Ground Nuts, |
20 | Assorted Insects Species (e.g. Grasshoppers, Locusts, etc) | Rice, Maize, Sugar Cane, Plantain, Banana, Melon, Ground nuts, Fruits, Yams, etc. |
Source: Field work 2012.
of other biological resources). A key informant discloses that within the buffer zone, some areas are hilly or mountainous, and have rocky outcrop and poor soils that make them unsuitable for agriculture. As the buffer zone territory is fixed, and certain families had scrambled for and acquired the fertile areas in the past, other families were left with no option but to take up the less fertile areas. Interviews at both Abo Mkpang and Old Ekuri reveal that some families continue to relatively do better than others in local food production due to the location of their farms on fertile areas.
Attempts by disadvantaged households to relocate and go into rich agricultural fallow lands belonging to certain families or households, have been resulting in serious conflicts, police cases and court cases. Some household heads attributed their poverty and inability to sell agricultural food crops to disadvantages in farm location. They lament that the richer agricultural lands are in the Cross River National Park territory, which they cannot migrate into. At Old Ekuri examples were cited of some mysterious deaths which they believed were due to land conflicts amongst different households and individuals. A key informant named a certain woman, along with her daughter who is both currently blind due to farm land conflicts with another villager who is alleged to have juju or evil spiritual powers. In an interview, a hunter at Old Ekuri disclosed that he resorts to hunting activities because he hardly generates any income from agricultural activities (due to hilly location and poor soils) and in order to avoid involvement in land conflicts.
At Abo Mkpang village, another hunter commented that when the Cross River National Park promised a livelihoods programme (at its inception in 1989), he developed keen interest in either livestock or fish farming. He said his farmland is in a rocky area, and the soil there is not good for crops like Yams, Plantain and Cassava. That is why he had high hope on livestock or fisheries. But the CRNP and their donor partners (WWF and EU) disappointed them by not implementing the livelihoods programme to this day. He stressed that hunting is the only means of income generation due to land conflicts and the park’s inability to implement a robust livelihoods programme with off-land livelihoods options.
Inequitable distribution of timber and non-timber forest products (NTFPs) in acquired buffer zone forest lands has created a livelihoods vulnerability context where certain families have advantage over others in the control and exploitation of NTFPs. In an interview, a villager at Abo Mkpang disclosed that he hunts because of disadvantages that emanates from parental acquisition and control of resource poor area of their buffer zone forest. He stressed that attempts by disadvantaged households to exploit NTFPs in areas controlled by other families / households usually result in squabbles and violent clashes.
From the PRA exercises and Seasonal Calendar that was produced in each of the villages of this study, it was discovered that there was uniformity in the activities embarked upon by households. This is because the villages are all in the tropical rainforest region of Nigeria, with common weather and climate, flora and fauna species, geology and soil characteristics, local knowledge on biological resources values, and cultural affinity. On the strength of the above, a common seasonal calendar was produced which reflects the reality in each of the communities (see
From the above Seasonal Calendar, food is not usually available all year round. Food is available from the
Activities | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | June | July | Aug | Sept | Oct | Nov | Dec |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Agriculture | ||||||||||||
Clearing/Burning | X | X | X | |||||||||
Planting/Sowing | X | X | X | |||||||||
Weeding | X | X | X | |||||||||
Harvesting | X | X | X | |||||||||
Food Availability | X | X | X | X | X | X | ||||||
NTFP Gathering | ||||||||||||
Bush Mango | X | X | X | X | X | |||||||
Wild Vegetables | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
Wild Mushrooms | X | X | X | X | X | X | ||||||
Rattan | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
Assorted fruits | X | X | X | X | X | |||||||
Mimosup Oils | X | X | X | X | X | |||||||
Hunting Activities | ||||||||||||
Gun | X | X | X | X | X | X | ||||||
Trapping | X | X | X | X | X | X | ||||||
Food Poisoning | X | X | X | X | ||||||||
Fishing | X | X | X | X | ||||||||
Water Poisoning | X | X | X | X |
Source: Field work 2012.
harvesting period (November) up to the end of the planting season (April). From interviews, a combination of factors: wildlife raiding of agricultural crops, crop diseases/crop failure, poor commodity prices, and climate change, all combine to exacerbate food scarcity in the buffer zone communities. At Old Ekuri (30 kilometres of jungle terrain from the highway), it was observed that villagers were always trooping out to farming communities along the highway (e.g. Ochon, Ohana, Apiapum, Ekukunela, etc.) to buy their needs (especially food). The food from their farms is just not enough to sustain them. Accordingly, they resort to hunting activities and use the money to buy food during food scarcity.
The hungry season sets in from May to October (
Though Nigeria’s national population census figures in the past few decades have been disputed, figures released by the World Bank in 2014 indicate that Nigeria’s population is 173.6 million, with an increasing growth
rate trend of 2.7 (in 2009), 2.7 (in 2010), 2.8 (in 2011), and 2.8 (in 2013). Accordingly, Nigeria is said to be experiencing population explosion and has one of the highest growth and fertility rates in the world. The lack of acceptable national census figures makes it difficult to ascertain the true population size of her villages, including the villages of this study. However, a community leader at Old Ekuri commented that the increasing trend in primary school enrolment of pupil in the study villages strongly indicate population increase and confirm the above World Bank data. Given the high unemployment situation in the country, the above population trend has serious implications on pressure on environmental resources (especially commercial bushmeat hunting activities) by rural dwellers.
Analysis of the human population segments involved in commercial bushmeat hunting in the study villages indicate that unemployed secondary school leavers dominate hunting activities in buffer zone communities. In an interview, a teacher at St. Joseph’s Primary School, Old Ekuri commented that every year more secondary school leavers return to the village with failed statement of results (West African School Certificate Examination). The school leavers can neither gain admission to tertiary institutions nor get employed in the private or public sectors. All end up becoming hunters in their villages. According to the above teacher, failure in West African School Certificate Examination (WASCE) and youth unemployment have become trend setting events that annually fuel the population of hunters in the study villages.
From field observations, early polygamous marriages are ubiquitous, culminating in high rate of procreation amongst villagers. There are no laws that control or limit how many wives a man can marry, and how many children a man can raise. Villagers have a free hand in procreating more children than they can cater for. There are no family planning programmes or services to assist women on reproductive health matters. Teenage pregnancies are quite normal in the experiences of villagers.
The feasibility study and management plan document of Cross River National Park prepared by WWF/ODNRI in 1989 made provision for a buffer zone or support zone development programme (SZDP) which included rural livelihoods activities and the resettlement of enclave communities (villages located in the core area of the park). The above programme was proposed to take place within the first seven years of the park’s existence (1991- 1998). Unfortunately, that period coincided with the time several researchers and reviewers reported in several journals that integrated conservation and development projects (ICDPs) in tropical parks and protected areas were not enhancing the actualization of biodiversity conservation objectives [
Consistent with renewed calls for authoritarian park protection (away from ICDPs) [
With the explosion of commercial bushmeat hunting activities in CRNP and worsening depletion and extinction of several fauna resources, conservationists should revisit the parks-poverty debate, in frameworks that recognise 1) the challenges of authoritarian park protection in the context of tropical parks; 2) commercial bushmeat hunting challenges and the need to address livelihoods vulnerabilities in buffer zone communities; 3) the widening development gap between rural communities with MDG programmes and buffer zone communities of parks without such programmes (wallowing in poverty); 4) the need to address other anthropogenic contestations in tropical parks (e.g. park establishment on colonially nationalised forest territories and the suppressed property rights of local communities).
Reference [
In South Africa, the establishment of Ndumo Game Reserve in 1924 resulted in Mbangweni community (the original land owners) being evicted and dispossessed of their rights to their ancestral lands. Following the end of apartheid in 1994, the South African government negotiated and arrived at a legally binding agreement which “transformed the eastern part of the Ndumo Game Reserve from what was essentially a state property regime to a common property regime” ([
The above example should serve as a lesson to other African parks like Cross River National Park. Reference ([
African biodiversity in general and that of Cross River National Park in particular have become highly threatened by commercial bushmeat hunting activities, culminating in increasing international attention on the problem, drawn by conservation organisations, development agencies, and natural and social science researchers. Several fauna species are becoming endangered and the list of depleted and extinct species in Africa continues to increase in the IUCN red list of depleted and extinct species. This paper assesses the livelihoods vulnerability underpinnings of commercial bushmeat hunting activities in Cross River National Park (CRNP). It reveals that commercial bushmeat hunting activities are shaped by a vulnerability context that hinges on different elements of environmental shocks, seasonal challenges and surrounding societal trends. The need for conservation to address the livelihoods vulnerability underpinnings of commercial bushmeat hunting activities in CRNP is stressed.
The paper notes that the feasibility study and management plan document of Cross River National Park prepared by WWF/ODNRI in 1989 made provisions for a buffer zone or support zone development programme (SZDP) which included rural livelihoods activities and the resettlement of enclave communities (villages located in the core area of the park). Unfortunately, the SZDP which was supposed to implement in the first seven years of the park’s existence (1991-1998) is yet to be executed. The wider literature on parks—poverty debate and its impacts on people oriented programmes in CRNP is briefly discussed. Policy options for a best way forward are highlighted with insights from South Africa’s post-apartheid negotiations and measures that have resolved property rights contestations and other allied sources of conflicts between parks and local communities.
However, further empirical studies are required to ascertain the financial costs associated with annual wildlife raiding of agricultural crops in the buffer zone communities of CRNP. Such data will immensely help to convince the government, donors, and park authorities on the economic impacts of biodiversity conservation on local people and the need to address such problems—in the interest of effective tropical biodiversity conservation initiatives and commitment to the global sustainable development agenda. Wildlife surveys to ascertain the impacts of commercial bushmeat hunting activities on different wildlife populations in CRNP are very important. Without such studies, policy measures to address commercial bushmeat hunting activities will continue to be weak as they are now.
This paper is one of the outcomes of my doctoral research programme: “Buffer Zone Communities, Commercial Bushmeat Hunting and Biodiversity Conservation in Cross River National Park, Nigeria”. The programme ended in December 2012, at the University of Reading, UK, and its sponsorship by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission, London, is hereby acknowledged and highly appreciated.