Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Rural Bushmeat Consumption Within Multiple-use Protected Areas: Qualitative Evidence from Southwest Madagascar

  • Published:
Human Ecology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Ensuring the sustainability of bushmeat consumption is critical for both biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation in tropical developing countries, yet we know little about the role of hunting and bushmeat consumption in the daily lives of rural communities. We provide the first detailed, qualitative examination of bushmeat hunting activities conducted by a rural community within one of Madagascar’s new, multiple-use protected areas, in order to inform appropriate management strategies. Results suggest that most species are eaten, but that few are favoured above domestic meat. Hunting is generally a secondary pursuit, carried out opportunistically during the course of other activities, although its importance does increase in times of food stress. Management focused on increasing domestic meat availability and directing hunting effort away from sensitive species may improve the sustainability of hunting, but development interventions to reduce forest dependence may be required to promote conservation and poverty alleviation simultaneously.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Angelsen, A. and Wunder, S. (2003) Exploring the Poverty-Forestry Link: Key Concepts, Issues and Research Implications. Center for International Forestry Research, Bogor.

    Google Scholar 

  • Antona, M., Biénabe, E. M., Salles, J. -M., Péchard, G., Aubert, S. and Ratsimbarison, R. (2004) Rights Transfers in Madagascar Biodiversity Policies: Achievements and Significance. Environment and Development Economics 9: 825–847.

  • Balmford, A. (1996) Extinction Filters and Current Resilience: The Significance of Past Selection Pressures for Conservation Biology. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 11(5): 193–196.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bodin, O., Tengö, M., Norman, A., Lundberg, J. and Elmqvist, T. (2006) The Value of Small Size: Loss of Forest Patches and Ecological thresholds in Southern Madagascar. Ecological Applications 16(2): 440–451.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bowen-Jones, E., Brown, D. and Robinson, E. J. Z. (2003) Economic Commodity or Environmental Crisis? An Interdisciplinary Approach to Analysing the Bushmeat Trade in Central and West Africa. Area 35(4): 390–402.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brashares, J. S., Golden, C. D., Weinbaum, K. Z., Barrett, C. B. and Okello, G. V. (2011) Economic and Geographic Drivers of Wildlife Consumption in Rural Africa. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 108(34): 13931–13936.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Breuer, T. and Mavinga, F. B. (2010) Education for the Conservation of Great Apes and Other Wildlife in Northern Congo—the Importance of Nature Clubs. American Journal of Primatology 72: 454–461.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brooks, T. M., Mittermeier, R. A., da Fonseca, G. A. B., Gerlach, J., Hoffmann, M., Lamoreux, J. F., Mittermeier, C. G., Pilgrim, J. D. and Rodrigues, A. S. L. (2006) Global Biodiversity Conservation Priorities. Science 313: 58–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burney, D. A., Burney, L. P., Godfrey, L. R., Jungers, W. L., Goodman, S. M., Wright, H. T. and Jull, A. J. T. (2004) A Chronology for Late Prehistoric Madagascar. Journal of Human Evolution 47: 25–63.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Butler, B., Tyrell, M., Feinberg, G., VanManen, S., Wiseman, L. and Wallinger, S. (2007) Understanding and Reaching Family Forest Owners: Lessons from Social Marketing Research. Journal of Forestry 106: 348–357.

    Google Scholar 

  • Casse, T., Milhøj, A., Ranaivoson, S. and Randriamanarivo, J. R. (2004) Causes of Deforestation in Southwestern Madagascar: What do we Know? Forest Policy and Economics 6: 33–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheban, S. A., Rejo-Fienena, F. and Tostain, S. (2009) Etude Ethnobotanique des Ignames (Dioscorea spp.) dans la Forêt Mikea et le Couloir d’Antseva (Sud-ouest de Madagascar). Malagasy Nature 2: 111–126.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cowlishaw, G., Mendelson, S. and Rowcliffe, J. M. (2005) Evidence for Post-depletion Sustainability in a Mature Bushmeat Market. Journal of Applied Ecology 42: 460–468.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crowley, B. E. (2010) A Refined Chronology of Prehistoric Madagascar and the Demise of the Megafauna. Quaternary Science Reviews 29(19–20): 2591–2603.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Merode, E., Homewood, K. and Cowlishaw, G. (2004) The Value of Bushmeat and Other Wild Foods to Rural Households Living in Extreme Poverty in Democratic Republic of Congo. Biological Conservation 118(5): 573–581.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dewar, R. E. (1997) Were people responsible for the extinction of Madagascar’s subfossils, and how will we ever know? In Goodman, S. M., and Patterson, B. D. (eds.), Natural Change and Human Impact in Madagascar. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington DC, pp. 364–377.

    Google Scholar 

  • Domergue, C. A. (1983) Note Préliminaire en Vue de la Mise en Réserve de la Forêt du Point Kilomètre 32 au Nord de Tuléar Madagascar. Bulletin de l'Académie Malgache 61: 105–114.

    Google Scholar 

  • Drury, R. (2009) Reducing Urban Demand for Wild Animals in Vietnam: Examining the Potential of Wildlife Farming as a Conservation Tool. Conservation Letters 2(6): 263–270.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Evers, S. and van der Zwan, N. (1998) Madagascar: the Zebu as Guide through Past and Present. Africa Museum, Berg en Dal.

  • Fa, J. E. and Brown, D. (2009) Impacts of Hunting on Mammals in African Tropical Moist Forests: A Review and Synthesis. Mammal Review 39(4): 231–264.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fa, J. E., Currie, D. and Meeuwig, J. (2003) Bushmeat and Food Security in the Congo Basin: Linkages Between Wildlife and People’s Future. Environmental Conservation 30(1): 71–78.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Favre, J. -C. (1996) Traditional utilization of the forest. In Ganzhorn, J. U., and Sorg, J. P. (eds.), Ecology and Economy of a Tropical Dry Forest in Madagascar. Primate Report, 46–1, pp. 33–40.

  • Fenn, M. D. (2003) The spiny forest ecoregion. In Goodman, S. M., and Benstead, J. P. (eds.), The Natural History of Madagascar. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, pp. 1525–1529.

    Google Scholar 

  • Foerster, S., Wilkie, D. S., Morelli, G. A., Demmer, J., Starkey, M., Telfer, P., Steil, M. and Lewbel, A. (2012) Correlates of Bushmeat Hunting Among Remote Rural Households in Gabon, Central Africa. Conservation Biology 26(2): 335–344.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fritz-Vietta, N. V. M., Ferguson, H. B., Stoll-Kleemann, S. and Ganzhorn, J. U. (2011) Conservation in a biodiversity hotspot: insights from cultural and community perspectives in Madagascar. In: Zachos, F. E. and Habel, J. C. (eds.), Biodiversity Hotspots: Distribution and Protection of Conservation Priority Areas. Springer, Heidelberg and Berlin, pp. 209–233.

  • Garbutt, N. (2007) Mammals of Madagascar: a Complete Guide. AandC Black, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Garcia, G. and Goodman, S. M. (2003) Hunting of Protected Animals in the Parc National d’Ankarafantsika, North-western Madagascar. Oryx 37(1): 115–118.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gardner, C. J. (2009) A review of the Impacts of Anthropogenic Habitat Change on Terrestrial Biodiversity in Madagascar: Implications for the Design and Management of New Protected Areas. Malagasy Nature 2: 2–29.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gardner, C. J. (2011) IUCN Management Categories Fail to Represent New, Multiple-use Protected Areas in Madagascar. Oryx 45(3): 336–346.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gardner, C. J. (2012) Social Learning and the Researcher-Practitioner Divide. Oryx 46(3): 313–314.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gardner, C. J., Kidney, D. and Thomas, H. (2009a) First Comprehensive Avifaunal Survey of PK32-Ranobe, a New Protected Area in South-western Madagascar. Phelsuma 17: 20–39.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gardner, C. J., Fanning, E., Thomas, H. and Kidney, D. (2009b) The Lemur Diversity of the Fiherenana-Manombo Complex, Southwest Madagascar. Madagascar Conservation and Development 4(1): 38–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gardner, C. J., Nicoll, M. E., Mbohoahy, T., Olesen, K. L. L., Ratsifandrihamanana, A. N., Ratsirarson, J., René de Roland, L. -A., Virah-Sawmy, M., Zafindrasilivonona, B. and Davies, Z. G. (2013) Protected Areas for Conservation and Poverty Alleviation: Experiences from Madagascar. Journal of Applied Ecology. doi:10.1111/1365-2664.12164.

  • Glaw, F. and Vences, M. (2007) A Field Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Madagascar. 3rd Edition. Vences and Glaw Verlags GbR, Köln.

    Google Scholar 

  • Godfrey, L. R. and Irwin, M. T. (2007) The Evolution of Extinction Risk: Past and Present Anthropogenic Impacts on the Primate Communities of Madagascar. Folia Primatologica 78(5–6): 405–419.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Golden, C. D. (2009) Bushmeat Hunting and Use in the Makira Forest, North-eastern Madagascar: A Conservation and Livelihoods Issue. Oryx 43(3): 386–392.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Golden, C. D., Fernald, L. C. H., Brashares, J. S., Rasolofoniaina, B. J. R. and Kremen, C. (2011) Benefits of Wildlife Consumption to Child Nutrition in a Biodiversity Hotspot. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 108(49): 19653–19656.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goodman, S. M. (2006) Hunting of Microchiroptera in South-western Madagascar. Oryx 40(2): 225–228.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goodman, S. M. and Raselimanana, A. P. (2003) Hunting of Wild Animals by Sakalava of the Menabe Region: A Field Report from Kirindy-Mite. Lemur News 8: 4–6.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goodman, S. M., Soarimalala, V. and Ganzhorn, J. U. (2004) La chasse aux animaux sauvages dans la foret de Mikea. In Goodman, S. M., and Raselimanana, A. P. (eds.), Inventaire Floristique et Faunistique de la Forêt de Mikea: Paysage Ecologique et Diversité Biologique d’une Préoccupation Majeure pour la Conservation. Recherches pour le Développement, Séries Sciences Biologiques 21: 95–100.

  • Goodman, S. M., Ratrimomanarivo, F. H., Ranivo, J. and Cardiff, S. G. (2008) The Hunting of Microchiropteran Bats in Different Portions of Madagascar. African Bat Conservation News 16: 4–7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harper, G. J., Steininger, M. K., Tucker, C. J., Juhn, D. and Hawkins, F. (2007) Fifty Years of Deforestation and Forest Fragmentation in Madagascar. Environmental Conservation 34(4): 325–333.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Irwin, M. T., Wright, P. C., Birkinshaw, C., Fisher, B., Gardner, C. J., Glos, J., Goodman, S. M., Loiselle, P., Rabeson, P., Raharison, J. -L., Raherilalao, M. J., Rakotondravony, D., Raselimanana, A., Ratsimbazafy, J., Sparks, J., Wilmé, L. and Ganzhorn, J. U. (2010) Patterns of Species Change in Anthropogenically Disturbed Habitats of Madagascar. Biological Conservation 142(10): 2351–2362.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins, R. K. B., Rabearivelo, A., Chan, C. T., Andre, W. M., Randrianavelona, R. and Randrianantoandro, J. C. (2009) The Harvest of Endemic Amphibians for Food in Eastern Madagascar. Tropical Conservation Science 2(1): 25–33.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins, R. K. B., Keane, A., Rakotoarivelo, A. R., Rakotomboavonjy, V., Randrianandrianina, F. H., Razafimanahaka, H. J., Ralaiarimalala, S. R. and Jones, J. P. G. (2011) Analysis of Patterns of Bushmeat Consumption Reveals Extensive Exploitation of Protected Species in Eastern Madagascar. PLoS ONE 6(12): e27570.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, J. P. G., Andriamarovololona, M. M. and Hockley, N. (2008) The Importance of Taboos and Social Norms to Conservation in Madagascar. Conservation Biology 22(4): 976–986.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaufmann, J.C. (1998) The cactus was our kin: pastoralism in the spiny desert of southern Madagascar. In Ginat, J. and Khazanov, A.M. (eds.) Changing Nomads in a Changing World. Sussex Academic, Brighton, pp. 124–142.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaufmann, J.C., and Tsirahamba, S. (2006) Forests and Thorns: Conditions of Change Affecting Mahafale Pastoralists in Southwestern Madagascar. Conservation and Society 4(2): 231–261.

    Google Scholar 

  • Klein, J., Réau, B. and Edwards, M. (2008) Zebu landscapes: conservation and cattle in Madagascar. In Kaufmann, J. C. (ed.) Greening the Great red Island: Madagascar in Nature and Culture. Africa Institute of South Africa, Pretoria, pp. 157–178.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kümpel, N. F., Rowcliffe, J. M., Cowlishaw, G. and Milner-Gulland, E. J. (2009) Trapper Profiles and Strategies: Insights into Sustainability from Hunter Behaviour. Animal Conservation 12(6): 531–539.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kümpel, N. F, Milner-Gulland, E. J., Cowlishaw, G. and Rowcliffe, J. M. (2010) Incentives for Hunting: The Role of Bushmeat in the Household Economy in Rural Equatorial Guinea. Human Ecology 38(2): 251–264.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leader-Williams, N. and Albon, S. D. (1988) Allocation of Resources to Conservation. Nature 336: 533–535.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lingard, M., Raharison, N., Rabakonandrianina, E., Rakotoarisoa, J.-A. and Elmqvist (2003) The Role of Local Taboos in Conservation and Management of Species: The Radiated Tortoise in Southern Madagascar. Conservation and Society 1(2): 223–246.

    Google Scholar 

  • Loudon, J. E., Sauther, M. L., Fish, K. D., Hunter-Ishikawa, M. and Ibrahim, Y. J. (2006) One Reserve, Three Primates: Applying a Holistic Approach to Understand the Interconnections among Ring-tailed Lemurs (Lemur catta), Verreaux’s Sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi) and Humans (Homo sapiens) at Beza Mahafaly Special Reserve, Madagascar. Ecological and Environmental Anthropology 2(2): 54–74.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marie, C. N., Sibelet, N., Dulcire, M., Rafalimaro, M., Danthu, P. and Carrière, S. M. (2009) Taking into account local practices and indigenous knowledge in an emergency conservation context in Madagascar. Biodiversity and Conservation 18: 2759–2777.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mbete, R. A., Banga-Mboko, H., Racey, P., Mfoukou-Ntsakala, A., Nganga, I., Vermeulen, C., Doucet, J. -L., Hornick, J. -L. and Leroy, P. (2011) Household Bushmeat Consumption in Brazzaville, the Republic of the Congo. Tropical Conservation Science 4(2): 187–202.

  • McKenzie-Mohr, D. (2000) Fostering Sustainable Behaviour Through Community-based Social Marketing. American Psychologist 25: 531–537.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKenzie-Mohr, D., Lee, N., Schultz, P. W. and Kotler, P. (2012) Social Marketing to Protect the Environment: What Works. Sage, Thousand Oaks.

    Google Scholar 

  • Milner-Gulland, E. J., Bennett, E. L. and the SCB 2002 Annual Meeting Wild Meat Group (2003) Wild Meat: The Bigger Picture. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 18(7): 351–357.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nicoll, M. E. and Langrand, O. (1989) Madagascar: Revue de la Conservation et des Aires Protégées. WWF, Gland.

  • Pailler, S., Wagner, J. E., McPeak, J. G. and Floyd, D. W. (2009) Identifying Conservation Opportunities among Malinké Bushmeat Hunters of Guinea, West Africa. Human Ecology 37: 761–774.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pangau-Adam, M., Noske, R. and Muehlenberg, M. (2012) Wildmeat or Bushmeat? Subsistence Hunting and Commercial Harvesting in Papua (West New Guinea), Indonesia. Human Ecology 40: 611–621.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raherilalao, M. J. and Goodman, S. M. (2011) Histoire Naturelle des Familles et Sous-familles Endémiques d’Oiseaux de Madagascar. Association Vahatra, Antananarivo.

    Google Scholar 

  • Raik, D. (2007) Forest Management in Madagascar: An Historical Overview. Madagascar Conservation & Development 2: 5–10.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rakotondravony, H. A. (2006) Communautés Locales et Gibiers dans la Région de Daraina, Extrême Nord-est de Madagascar. Madagascar Conservation and Development 1: 19–21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Randriamanalina, M. H., Rafararano, L., Babary, L. and Laha, R. (2000) Rapport des Enquêtes sur les Chasses dans les Fokontany d’Ivondro, d’Erara et d’Etsilesy. Lemur News 5: 11–14.

    Google Scholar 

  • Randrianandrianina, F. H., Racey, P. A. and Jenkins, R. K. B. (2010) Hunting and Consumption of Mammals and Birds by People in Urban Areas of Western Madagascar. Oryx 44(3): 411–415.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ratovonamana, R. Y. and Kiefer, I. (2009) Impact of Grazing on the Dry Ecosystems of Southern Madagascar. Unpublished report, University of Hamburg, Hamburg and WWF, Antananarivo.

  • Raxworthy, C. (1995) Field Survey of Amphibians, Reptiles and Small Mammals from the Toliara region, Madagascar, October 5–30 1995. Unpublished field report, University of Michigan, USA.

  • Razafimanahaka, J. H., Jenkins, R. K. B., Andriafidison, D., Randrianandrianina, F., Rakotomboavonjy, V., Keane, A. and Jones, J. P. G. (2012) Novel approach for quantifying illegal bushmeat consumption reveals high consumption of protected species in Madagascar. Oryx 46(4): 584–592.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Réau, B. (2002) Burning for Zebu: The complexity of Deforestation Issues in Western Madagascar. Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift – Norwegian Journal of Geography 56: 219–229.

    Google Scholar 

  • Redford, K. H. (1992) The Empty Forest. Bioscience 42(6): 412–422.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sayer, J. (2009) Can Conservation and Development Really be Integrated? Madagascar Conservation & Development 4(1): 9–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scales, I. (2011) Farming at the Forest Frontier: Land Use and Landscape Change in Western Madagascar, 1896–2005. Environment and History 17: 499–524.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schultz, P. W. (2011) Conservation Means Behavior. Conservation Biology 25(6): 1080–1083.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seddon, N., Tobias, J., Yount, J., Ramanampamonjy, J., Butchart, S. and Randrianizahana, H. (2000) Conservation Issues and Priorities in the Mikea Forest of South-west Madagascar. Oryx 34(4): 287–304.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sinclair, I. and Langrand, O. (1998) Birds of the Indian Ocean Islands. Struik, Cape Town.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stoner, K. E., Vulinec, K., Wright, S. J. and Peres, C. A. (2007) Hunting and Plant Community Dynamics in Tropical Forests: A Synthesis and Future Directions. Biotropica 39(3): 385–392.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tengö, M., Johansson, K., Rakotondrasoa, F., Lundberg, J., Andriamaherilala, J.-A., Rakotoarisoa, J.-A. and Elmqvist, T. (2007) Taboos and Forest Governance: Informal Protection of Hot Spot Dry Forest in Southern Madagascar. Ambio 36(8): 683–691.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, H., Kidney, D., Rubio, P. and Fanning, E. (2006) The Southern Mikea: A Biodiversity Survey. Society for Environmental Exploration, London, and Institut Halieutique et des Sciences Marines, Toliara. Frontier-Madagascar Environmental Research Report 12.

  • Thompson, M. H. (2008) Fostering Sustainable Behaviours in Community-based Co-managed Fisheries. Marine Policy 32(3): 413–420.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tsirahamba, S. and Kaufmann, J. C. (2008) Absence of shade: deforestation in Mahafale forest-pastures. In Kaufmann, J. C. (ed.) Greening the Great Red Island: Madagascar in Nature and Culture. Africa Institute of South Africa, Pretoria, pp. 179–196.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vargas, A., Jiménez,I., Palomares, F. and Palacios, M. J. (2002) Distribution, Status, and Conservation Needs of the Golden-crowned Sifaka (Propithecus tattersalli). Biological Conservation 108: 325–334.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilkie, D. S. and Carpenter, J. F. (1999) Bushmeat Hunting in the Congo Basin: An Assessment of Impacts and Options for Mitigation. Biodiversity and Conservation 8(7): 927–955.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wunder, S. (2001) Poverty Alleviation and Tropical Forests: What Scope for Synergies? World Development 29(11): 1817–1833.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We are extremely grateful to the participants from the Ranobe community who agreed to be interviewed. The research was funded through an African Bird Club conservation grant, and supported logistically by WWF Madagascar and Western Indian Ocean Programme Office. Assistance with translation was provided by J. J. Duchene and Eonintsoa. T. Roberts provided valuable advice and comments on an earlier draft of the paper.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, CT2 7NR, UK

    Charlie J. Gardner & Zoe G. Davies

  2. WWF Madagascar and Western Indian Ocean Programme Office, BP 738, Antananarivo 101, Madagascar

    Charlie J. Gardner

Authors
  1. Charlie J. Gardner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Zoe G. Davies
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Charlie J. Gardner.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Gardner, C.J., Davies, Z.G. Rural Bushmeat Consumption Within Multiple-use Protected Areas: Qualitative Evidence from Southwest Madagascar. Hum Ecol 42, 21–34 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-013-9629-1

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-013-9629-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation