Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-x5gtn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-08T17:39:47.264Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Influence of war on hunting patterns and pressure in Sierra Leone

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 September 2016

ABU CONTEH Open the ORCID record for ABU CONTEH [Opens in a new window]  and
MICHAEL C. GAVIN
ABU CONTEH*
Affiliation:
Victoria University of Wellington, School of Geography, Environment, and Earth Sciences, P.O. Box 600, Wellington, New Zealand
MICHAEL C. GAVIN
Affiliation:
Victoria University of Wellington, School of Geography, Environment, and Earth Sciences, P.O. Box 600, Wellington, New Zealand Department of Human Dimensions of Natural Resources, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523-1480, USA
*
*Correspondence: Dr. Abu Conteh Tel: +1 780 604 5260 e-mail: abuconteh@hotmail.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Bushmeat hunting poses a huge challenge for biodiversity conservation, but bushmeat is also an important source of essential protein in many locations. Although war may have substantial impacts on hunting, how these effects vary across different spatial scales and over multiple stages of warfare remain largely unknown. In addition, despite serious conflicts that may have affected hunting patterns in West Africa, no studies have examined the impacts of war on hunting in Sierra Leone. We used the randomized response technique together with semi-structured interviews to examine variations in hunting techniques and the proportion of the population that engages in hunting over three time periods (before, during and after war) among different communities bordering a protected area. At the scale of the whole protected area, the proportion of people hunting did not vary significantly over time. Similarly, the methods used for hunting were generally consistent over time and space. However, within each community, the proportion of the population hunting varied significantly over time, and the locations with the greatest participation rates in hunting changed at each time period. Access to alternative livelihood options and the severity of the war's impact shaped patterns of change in hunting participation across different communities. Our results point to the importance of adaptive management approaches that can adjust management strategies in order to account for spatial or temporal variations in hunting behaviour.

Keywords

bushmeathunting methodsrandomized response techniqueSierra Leonetemporal and spatial variationthreats to wildlife
Type
Papers
Information
Environmental Conservation , Volume 44 , Issue 2 , June 2017 , pp. 131 - 138
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Asibey, E. O. A. & Addo, P. G. (2000) The grasscutter, a promising animal for meat production. In: African Perspectives: Practices and Policies Supporting Sustainable Development, ed. Turnham, D., pp. 23–45. Harare, Zimbabwe: Weaver Press.Google Scholar
Barnett, R. (2000) Food for thought: the utilization of wild meat in Eastern and Southern Africa. TRAFFIC East and Southern Africa, IUCN and WWF, Nairobi, Kenya.Google Scholar
Bennett, E. L. (2002) Is there a link between wild meat and food security? Conservation Biology 16: 590–592.Google Scholar
Bennett, E. L. & Robinson, J. G. (2000) Hunting of wildlife in tropical forests. Implications for biodiversity forest peoples. Biodiversity Series – Impact Studies Paper No 76, EU and WCS, New York, NY, USA.Google Scholar
Blank, S. G. & Gavin, M. C. (2009) The randomized response technique as a tool for estimating non-compliance rates in fisheries: a case study of illegal red abalone (Haliotis rufescens) fishing in Northern California. Environmental Conservation 36: 112–119.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Breidt, F. J., Gavin, M.C. & Lewis, S. G. (2015) Statistical approaches for analyzing randomized response technique data. Biological Conservation 187: 281–282.Google Scholar
Conservation International (2007). Biodiversity hotspots: Guinean forests of West Africa [www document]. URL http://www.sustainableforestprods.org/node/233 Google Scholar
Conteh, A. (2010) Impact of war on biodiversity conservation in the Western Area Peninsula Forest Reserve, Sierra Leone. PhD Thesis in Environmental Studies. Wellington, New Zealand: Victoria University of Wellington.Google Scholar
Conteh, A., Gavin, M.C. & Solomon, J. (2015) Quantifying illegal hunting: a novel application of the quantitative randomised response technique. Biological Conservation 189: 16–23.Google Scholar
Dudley, J. P., Ginsberg, J. R., Plumptre, A. J., Hart, J. A. & Campos, L. C. (2002) Effects of war and civil strife on wildlife and wildlife habitats. Conservation Biology 16: 319–329.Google Scholar
Fa, J. E., Currie, D. & Meeuwig, J. (2003) Bushmeat and food security in the Congo Basin: linkages between wildlife and people's future. Environmental Conservation 30: 71–78.Google Scholar
Fa, J. E., Ryan, S. F. & Bell, D. J. (2005) Hunting vulnerability, ecological characteristics and harvest rates of bushmeat species in afrotropical forests. Biological Conservation 121: 167–176.Google Scholar
FAO (2005) Forests and war, forests and peace. In: State of the World's Forests, 2005, ed. FAO. pp. 116–123. Rome, Italy: Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations.Google Scholar
Fofanah, A. S. (2003) An assessment of the livelihoods and use of resources in the Freetown Peninsula mountain communities (No. SSF/SIL/2003/102): Freetown, Sierra Leone: FAO/UNDP.Google Scholar
Fox, J. A. & Tracy, P. E. (1986) Randomized Response: A Method for Sensitive Surveys. Beverly Hills, CA, USA: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Gavin, M. C., Solomon, J. N. & Blank, S. G. (2010) Measuring and monitoring illegal use of natural resources. Conservation Biology 24: 89–100.Google Scholar
Gray, M. & Kalpers, J. (2005) Ranger based monitoring in the Virunga–Bwindi region of East-Central Africa: a simple data collection tool for park management. Biodiversity and Conservation 14: 2723–2741.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hanson, T., Brooks, T. M., Da Fonseca, G. A. B., Hoffmann, M., Lamoreux, J. F., Machlis, G. et al. (2009) Warfare in biodiversity hotspots. Conservation Biology 23: 578–587.Google Scholar
Hatton, J., Couto, M. & Oglethorpe, J. (2001) Biodiversity and war: a case study of Mozambique. Biodiversity Support Program, Washington, D.C., USA [www document]. URL http://www.worldwildlife.org/bsp/publications/africa/140/Synthesis.pdf Google Scholar
Koker, G. V. S. & Kamara, B. M. (2002) Assessment on the Impact of the Refugee and Internally Displaced Communities as a Result of the 10 Year Old Rebel War on Biodiversity in Sierra Leone. Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan Project (SIL01/G31/A/IG/99). Freetown, Sierra Leone, BSAP.UNSP.Google Scholar
Machlis, G. E. & Hanson, T. (2008) Warfare ecology. Bioscience 58: 729–736.Google Scholar
Mbotiji, J. (2002) Sustainable Use of Wildlife Resources: The Bushmeat Crises. Wildlife management working paper 5. Rome, Italy, Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations.Google Scholar
McNeely, J. A. (2003) Conserving forest biodiversity in times of violent conflict. Oryx 37: 142–152.Google Scholar
Muchaal, P. K. & Ngandjui, G. (1999) Impact of village hunting on wildlife populations in the Western Dja Reserve, Cameroon. Conservation Biology 13: 385–396.Google Scholar
Noss, A. J. (1998) The impacts of cable snare hunting on wildlife populations in the forests of the Central African Republic. Conservation Biology 12: 390–398.Google Scholar
Noss, A. J. (2000) Cable snares and nets in the Central African Republic. In: Hunting for Sustainability in Tropical Forests, eds. Robinson, J. G. & Bennett, E. L., pp. 282–304. New York, NY, USA: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
Plumptre, A. J., Masozera, M. & Vedder, A. (2001) The Impact of Civil War on the Conservation of Protected Areas in Rwanda. Washington, DC, USA, Biodiversity Support Program.Google Scholar
Price, S. V. (ed.) (2003) War and Tropical Forests: Conservation in Areas of Armed Conflict. New York, NY, USA: The Haworth Press, Inc.Google Scholar
Robinson, J. G. & Bennett, E. L. (eds.) (2000) Hunting for Sustainability in Tropical Forests. New York, NY, USA: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
Roe, D. & Elliot, J. (2006) Pro-poor conservation: the elusive win–win for conservation and poverty reduction? Policy Matters 14: 53–63.Google Scholar
Salafsky, N. & Margoluis, R. (2003) What conservation can learn from other fields about monitoring and evaluation. Bioscience 53: 120–121.Google Scholar
Salafsky, N., Margoluis, R., Redford, K. H. & Robinson, J. G. (2002) Improving the practice of conservation: a conceptual framework and research agenda for conservation science. Conservation Biology 16: 1469–1479.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Solomon, J., Jacobson, S. K., Wald, K. D. & Gavin, M. (2007) Estimating illegal resource use at a Ugandan park with the randomized response technique. Human Dimensions of Wildlife 12: 75–88.Google Scholar
Statistics Sierra Leone (2004). Sierra Leone 2004 population and housing census [www document]. URL www.statistics.sl Google Scholar
Thomas, A., Gavin, M. C. & Milfont, T. L. (2015) Estimating non-compliance among recreational fishers: insights into factors affecting the usefulness of the randomized response and item count techniques. Biological Conservation 189: 24–32.Google Scholar
Walpole, M. & Wilder, L. (2008) Disentangling the links between conservation and poverty reduction in practice. Oryx 42: 539–547.Google Scholar
Wolkomir, R. & Wolkomir, J. (1992) Caught in the cross-fire. International Wildlife 22: 5–11.Google Scholar
Yanggen, D. (2010) The role of alternative livelihoods in achieving a people-centered approach to conservation: lesson learned from the CARPE program. In: Land Use Planning, eds. Yanggen, D., Angu, K. & Tchamou, N., pp. 169–179, Yaoundé, Cameroon, IUCN and USAID.Google Scholar