Bushmeat

A symposium on community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) for the conservation of CITES-listed species was organized by the Austrian Ministry of the Environment and the European Commission in Vienna, Austria, in May 2010. Its aim was to provide the necessary knowledge base for a broad policy discussion within the European Union on the relevance of local conservation programmes for CITES to achieve the goals as set out in its current Strategic Vision 2008-2013 (Res. Conf. 14.2).

The IUCN/SSC African Elephant Specialist Group AfESG) has been charged by MIKE with implementing a project to investigate the linkages between the elephant meat trade and larger social and economic dynamics at play, including, but not limited to, ivory trade, logging (legal and illegal), mining, infrastructure development, global economic trends, law enforcement at the national and international level, and community forest governance.

The objective of the study is to enhance knowledge of contemporary elephant bushmeat market dynamics, patterns and trends in north-eastern DRC and determine the impact of elephant meat trade on the Okapi Faunal Reserve (OFR) population.

This pilot study was instigated by the Monitoring of Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE) programme of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and is being implemented by the IUCN African Elephant Specialist Group (AfESG). It seeks to explore the many causes and motivations driving the illegal killing of elephants, particularly the trade and commerce of elephant meat and ivory.

The pilot study presented in this report is part of an International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) African Elephant Specialist Group (AfESG) project initiated by the Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE) programme of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). The project aims to improve understanding of the impact of elephant meat trade on elephant populations in Central Africa.

L'objectif global de l'étude est d'améliorer les connaissances de la dynamique actuelle et les tendances du marché de la viande d'éléphant dans les pays d'Afrique centrale en procédant à une étude de l'impact du commerce de la viande d'éléphant. Les résultats visent à créer une série de variables de données de référence qu'on pourra ensuite suivre afin d'évaluer les tendances du commerce de la viande et de l'ivoire au niveau du site.

The overall objective of the study is to enhance knowledge of contemporary elephant meat market dynamics, patterns and trends in Central African countries by undertaking an elephant meat trade impact study. The results aim to establish a baseline data set of variables that can subsequently be monitored to assess trends in meat and ivory trade at the site level.

There is growing awareness of the social significance of wild resources, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) making a clear link between biodiversity, ecosystem services and human well-being. There remains, however, much ignorance concerning the role that trade in wild products plays in supporting the livelihoods of poor people and the potential of this trade to contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).