A report warns that unsustainable demand for wild meat in central Africa -- estimated at one million tonnes a year -- poses a threat to food security in the region.
But the authors stress that banning bushmeat hunting and trade is not the solution.
The report, released yesterday (16 September) by the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), calls for region-specific policies to monitor and protect endangered species while allowing for sustainable hunting.
According to the report, bushmeat provides up to 80 per cent of the protein and fat needed in rural diets in Central Africa. The bushmeat trade has become a significant part of the informal economy, especially in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
But if current levels of hunting continue, supplies will fall dramatically -- causing protein shortages and the extinction of many forest mammals within 50 years, says the report.
The authors say a well-regulated ...