Can beekeeping be a realistic alternative to bushmeat hunting? Juliet Wright MSc Bees for Development

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1 Can beekeeping be a realistic alternative to bushmeat hunting? Juliet Wright MSc Bees for Development

2 Bushmeat Boom in West Africa Rapid human population growth Socioeconomic change Infrastructure development Ape Alliance Technological improvements (Bennett & Robinson (2000) Hunting of wildlife in tropical forests. The World Bank)

3 Bushmeat Consumption Ungulates, rodents and primates constitute the majority of species consumed 4.9 million tonnes of bushmeat is consumed in the Congo Basin per annum Wildlife is being extracted at more than six times the sustainable rate (Robinson & Bennett, 2000; Fa et al., 2002; Fa et al., 2005)

4 WCS -TMLP Lebialem Division

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6 Cross River Gorilla Distribution (Oates et al. 2006)

7 Bushmeat and Livelihoods High value to weight ratio Good storage qualities Flexible labour inputs Minimal financial costs Few barriers to entry Substantial returns

8 Bushmeat in Cameroon: Aim To address the social dimension of bushmeat hunting in Lebialem Division, Cameroon Objectives Identify reasons for hunting bushmeat Determine economic and nutritional reliance Methods The Hunters Perspective Semi-structured interviews with 90 hunters Participatory appraisal exercises in 6 villages

9 Economic vs. Nutritional Reliance Hunters sell more bushmeat than they consume Fish is the principle source of animal protein

10 Primary Income Sources Primary occupation defined by highest income

11 Potential Alternatives Livestock Micro-livestock Captive breeding of wild species Harvesting of non-timber forest products Improved agricultural productivity Manufacture of traditional crafts Beekeeping (Archer et al., 2002; Rushton et al., 2004; Nasi et al., 2008)

12 Hunting and Beekeeping Compared Hunting Beekeeping Land requirements None None Market demand High High Market chain Short Short Environmental Impact Negative Positive Start-up costs Low Low Medium Economic returns Regular Seasonal Earnings potential High Medium -High (after 2-3 years)

13 African Honey Trade Less than 5% of Africa s honey production potential is currently exploited The domestic and regional honey markets in Africa are currently under-saturated Cameroon remains a net importer of honey, importing US$700,000 worth of honey annually (Baiya, 2006; Nuesiri and Fombad, 2006)

14 Lebialem Hunters Beekeeping Initiative Reduce financial dependence on bushmeat and the volume of species harvested by providing hunters with an alternative income source through beekeeping

15 Lebialem Hunters Beekeeping Initiative 135 hunters from 7 villages trained in beekeeping and supplied with equipment Common Initiative Groups established in each village to collectively process and market honey and bee products 30 film shows held in Lebialem since 2007 reaching more than 2000 people

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18 Conservation Education

19 Expectations and Concerns Earn enough money to send children to school Earn 500,000 CFA per year from beekeeping See benefits within one year Hives might not colonise Need money to make hives Will only get money once or twice per year No market

20 Challenges Maintaining hunter enthusiasm and commitment Realising economic returns from beekeeping as quickly as possible Ensuring high honey yields by increasing the abundance of flowering plants Establishing coordinated distribution networks Encouraging long-term financial management

21 Conclusions Beekeeping has potential as an economic alternative to bushmeat hunting Emphasis needs to be placed on market development and training in financial management to ensure profitability No single approach will reduce bushmeat hunting to more sustainable levels Further investigation is needed to understand the real costs and benefits of beekeeping as an approach to bushmeat mitigation

22 Acknowledgements International Primatological Society and the RUMPI Project for funding in 2008 International Primate Protection League and Bees for Development for funding in 2009 Louis Nkembi, Asong Gladys and Amingu David from ERuDeF and MEBEEC for project implementation Dr Nancy Priston for research supervision All the hunters involved in the Lebialem Hunters Beekeeping Initiative