General Information

Bushmeat consumption, the consumption of meat from wild forest animals, is an important part of livelihoods in rural West- and Central Africa. In the Congo Basin, bushmeat protein supply was estimated at 30 g person'1 day'1 (Democratic Republique of Congo) to 180 g person'1 day'1 (Gabon) (2002-2003). Based on extraction-production models it has been suggested that supply would drop by 81% by 2050 in a ‘no-change’ scenario of current extraction levels (Fa et al. 2003). In order to secure this resource for the future, sustainable harvesting in community-based wildlife management (CWM) approaches is a potential option, aiming at maintaining the recommended daily protein allowance (RDA of 52 g per person per day, FAO). Flowever, the social, economic and ecological sustainability of forest wildlife management has rarely been investigated in a holistic approach. In Cameroon, CWM exists since 1994 as Zone d’lnteret Cynegetique a Gestion Communautaire (ZICGC) or Territoire de Chasse Communautaire (TCC).

This project aims to assess conditions under which CWM can be made socio-economicaily and ecologically sustainable. In a multi-agent system (MAS) approach, we study principal actors (or ‘agents’: e.g. hunters, traders, wildlife), their characteristics and their relationships and simulate effects of different approaches to manage wildlife, in particular populations of two species of small- and medium-sized antelopes (‘duikers’ Cephalophus spp.) on household economy. Data are being gathered for an ‘artificial’ model landscape of the Korup / Oban Hills region (CMR and NGR) on site, and aims at simulating a realistic picture of the current system in this and other, similar regions.