Terrestrial mammals are experiencing a massive collapse in their population sizes and geographical ranges around the world, but many of the drivers, patterns and consequences of this decline remain poorly understood. Here we provide an analysis showing that bushmeat hunting for mostly food and medicinal products is driving a global crisis whereby 301 terrestrial mammal species are threatened with extinction. Nearly all of these threatened species occur in developing countries where major coexisting threats include deforestation, agricultural expansion, human encroachment and competition with livestock. The unrelenting decline of mammals suggests many vital ecological and socio-economic services that these species provide will be lost, potentially changing ecosystems irrevocably. We discuss options and current obstacles to achieving effective conservation, alongside consequences of failure to stem such anthropogenic mammalian extirpation. We propose a multi-pronged conservation strategy to help save threatened mammals from immediate extinction and avoid a collapse of food security for hundreds of millions of people.

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Bushmeat hunting and extinction risk to the world's mammals

SUMMARY Protein from forest wildlife is crucial to rural food security and livelihoods across the tropics The harvest of animals such as tapir, duikers, deer, pigs, peccaries, primates and larger rodents, birds and reptiles provides benefits to local people worth millions of US$ annually and represents around 6 million tonnes of animals extracted yearly Vulnerability to hunting varies, with some species sustaining populations in heavily hunted secondary habitats, while others require intact forests with minimal harvesting to maintain healthy populations Some species or groups have been characterized as ecosystem engineers and ecological keystone species They affect plant distribution and structure ecosystems, through seed dispersal and predation, grazing, browsing, rooting and other mechanisms Global attention has been drawn to their loss through debates regarding bushmeat, the “empty forest” syndrome and their ecological importance However, information on the harvest remains fragmentary, along with understanding of ecological, socioeconomic and cultural dimensions Here we assess the consequences, both for ecosystems and local livelihoods, of the loss of these species in the Amazon and Congo basins

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Empty forests, empty stomachs? Bushmeat and livelihoods in the Congo and Amazon Basins

Introduction 1. Conservation Biology: Past and Present 2. Biodiversity 3. Ecosystem Functions and Services 4. Habitat Destruction: Death of a Thousand Cuts 5. Habitat Fragmentation and Landscape Change 6. Overharvesting 7. Invasive Species 8. Climate Change 9. Fire and Biodiversity 10. Extinctions and the Practice of Preventing Them 11. Conservation Planning and Priorities 12. Endangered Species Management: The US Experience 13. Conservation in Human-Modified Landscapes 14. The Roles of People in Conservation 15. From Conservation Theory to Practice: Crossing the Divide 16. The Conservation Biologist's Toolbox - Principles for the Design and Analysis of Conservation Studies Index

Conservation Biology for All

This paper examines the literature on how biodiversity contributes to improved and diversified diets in developing countries. We assess the current state of evidence on how wild and cultivated biodiversity in all forms is related to healthy diets and nutrition, and examine how economic factors, knowledge and social norms interact with availability of biodiversity to influence both production and consumption choices. The paper identifies areas where evidence is lacking and ways to build synergies between nutrition-sensitive approaches and efforts to ensure sustainability of food systems and the natural environment.

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Improving diets with wild and cultivated biodiversity from across the landscape

Tropical forests are among the most species-rich ecosystems on the planet. Some authors argue that predictions of a tropical forest extinction crisis based on analyses of deforestation rates are overly pessimistic since they do not take account of future agricultural abandonment as a result of rural-urban migration and subsequent secondary regrowth. Even if such regrowth occurs, it is crucial to consider threats to species that are not directly correlated with area of forest cover. Hunting is an insidious but significant driver of tropical forest defaunation, risking cascading changes in forest plant and animal composition. Ineffective legislation and enforcement along with a failure of decision makers to address the threats of hunting is fanning the fire of a tropical forest extinction crisis. If tropical forest ecosystems are to survive, the threat of unsustainable hunting must be adequately addressed now.

The empty forest revisited.

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Conservation and use of wildlife-based resources: the bushmeat crisis

Publié par le Secrétariat de la Convention sur la diversité biologique. Les désignations utilisées et la présentation de matériel dans cette publication n' expriment aucunement une opinion quelconque de la part des détenteurs des droits d'auteur sur la situation juridique d'un pays, d'un territoire, d'une ville ou d'une région, ni de ses autorités, ni sur la délimitation de ses frontières et ses limites territoriales. La reproduction de cette publication est permise à des fins éducatives et à but non lucratif sans permission spéciale des détenteurs des droits d'auteur, à condition que la source soit mentionnée. Acronymes CIFOR : Centre pour la recherche forestière internationale CITES : Convention sur le commerce international des espèces de faune et de flore sauvages menacées d' extinction ODI : Overseas Development Institute OMS : Organisation mondiale de la santé ONG : Organisation non gouvernementale RDC : République démocratique du Congo UICN : Union mondiale pour la nature WCS : Wildlife Conservation Society 5 Conservation et utilisation des ressources fauniques : la crise de la viande de brousse Avant-propos La faune des forêts tropicales est un important moyen de subsistance. Le « syndrome des forêts vides » peut avoir des conséquences négatives directes sur la santé et le bien-être des communautés qui dépendent de la forêt. La crise de la viande de brousse nous rappelle que l' être humain a besoin de la diversité biologique : la dispari-tion de la faune dans nos forêts met sérieusement en péril l'identité culturelle et spirituelle de plusieurs com-munautés autochtones et locales et autres communautés qui dépendent de la forêt. Résoudre la crise de la viande de brousse constituera une étape importante dans la réalisation de l' objectif de 010 qui consiste à réduire substantiellement l'appauvrissement de la diversité biologique ainsi qu'à atteindre les Objectifs du Millénaire pour le développement. Ce volume de la série technique résume les connais-sances dont nous disposons sur le sujet et propose des choix d' orientation pour une utilisation plus durable de la faune. Les rapports mutuels avec les autres secteurs, plus particulièrement les forêts, l'agriculture et les pêches, sont mis en évidence. Nous remercions nos organismes partenaires, plus particulièrement l'Overseas Development Institute (ODI) et la Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) pour leur contribution à ce rapport. Nous espérons qu'il suscitera une réponse coordonnée à l'urgence croissante de résoudre la crise de la viande de brousse aux niveaux international , national et local. Directrice générale Centre …

G. van Tol

Papers

Conservation and use of wildlife-based resources: the bushmeat crisis

Conservation et utilisation des ressouces fauniques: la crise de la viande de brousse