Primates and Bushmeat Hunting Around the High Niger National Park, Guinea, West Africa: Drivers and Patterns of Change

Humle, Tatyana and Konate, Alexandre (2015) Primates and Bushmeat Hunting Around the High Niger National Park, Guinea, West Africa: Drivers and Patterns of Change. In: 6th European Federation for Primatology Meeting, XXII Italian Association of Primatology Congress, 25-28 August 2015, Rome, Italy. (doi:https://doi.org/10.1159/000435825) (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided)

Abstract

Bushmeat hunting contributes to the decline of primate species across Africa; however, few studies have explored how such practises change over time in specific localities and how changes in land-use patterns and economic drivers may enhance threats to primates in Muslim dominated areas where, traditionally, primates are spared from such trade. The Haut Niger National Park (HNNP) is one of only two national parks in the Republic of Guinea. The park is one of the last remaining important formations of dry forest-savannah mosaics in West Africa and is a site of high conservation priority for ungulates and the western subspecies of chimpanzee. This study aimed to: (1) estimate the diversity and abundance of animal species sold for consumption across several markets in and around the HNNP, (2) analyse the evolution of the bushmeat trade since the mid-1990s, and (3) identify the players and drivers of the commercial bushmeat trade in the area. Local market assessments were conducted across four village markets and in Faranah, one of the closest urban areas abutting the HNNP. We successfully identified 5,807 wildlife carcasses of 46 species and 22 families on markets surveyed over a 7 month period spanning both the dry and wet seasons. In addition, semi-structured interviews with hunters, farmers and people involved in the bushmeat trade helped identify more recent drivers of the bushmeat trade in the HNNP. Our results indicated an increase in diversity of species targeted and the influence of crop-foraging and local microcredit systems in exacerbating the presence of primate species sold at bushmeat stalls in urban areas. Finally, whilst identifying key recommendations and gaps for future research, this study emphasises the growing risks facing primates as targets for bushmeat where people depend on agriculture and natural resource extraction for subsistence. This study complied with the International Primatological Society (IPS) Guidelines for the Use of Nonhuman Primates in Research.

Item Type:	Conference or workshop item (Paper)
Additional information:	Unmapped bibliographic data: JA - Folia Primatol. [Field not mapped to EPrints]
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) Q Science > QH Natural history > QH75 Conservation (Biology)
Divisions:	Faculties > Social Sciences > School of Anthropology and Conservation > DICE (Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology)
Depositing User:	Tatyana Humle
Date Deposited:	06 Jul 2016 12:57 UTC
Last Modified:	07 Jul 2016 13:42 UTC
Resource URI:	https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/56225 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)
Humle, Tatyana:	https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1919-631X