Conservation and sustainable use of wildlife -based resources through the 

 framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) : The Bushmeat Crisis 



Tim Christophersen and Robert Nasi 



Summary 



This articlepresents a number of policy recommendations to improve the sustainability of wildlife-based 

 resources use in tropical forests, including by strengthening national ownership of this issue in a way 

 that provides long-term local and national benefits. It also argues in favour of stronger involvement of 

 civil society and the private sector in addressing governance issues and other aspects of current 

 overexploitation of wildlife; enhancing local ownership rights; and establishing links between the 

 bushmeat debate and tenurial and land-rights reform. At the international level, the authors suggest that 

 trade relations between developed and developing countries, which (directly and indirectly) affect 

 bushmeat consumption levels, must be seriously reconsidered, and that efforts should place a stronger 

 emphasis on positive incentives for better managing wildlife resources. 



Bushmeat in the framework of the CBD 



The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) recognizes the importance of the conservation and 

 sustainable use of bushmeat in several decisions of the Conference of the Parties (COP). The CBD 

 programme of work on forest biodiversity, adopted on 2002 and reviewed in 2008, contains the goal to 

 prevent biodiversity losses caused by unsustainable harvesting of timber and non-timber forest 

 resources, including bushmeat. In 2002, the CBD also established a liaison group with a focus on 

 bringing harvesting of non-timber forest products (NTFPs), particularly bushmeat, to sustainable levels. 

 This group was involved in developing the CBD Technical Series publication Conservation and Use of 

 .Wildlife Based Resources: The Bushmeat Crisis, which is the basis for this article. 



The ninth meeting of the COP, 19-30 May 2008 in Bonn, Germany, furthermore urged Parties to the CBD 

 to address, as a matter of priority, major human-induced threats to forest biodiversity, including unsustainable 

 hunting and trade of bushmeat, and their impacts on non-target species. 



Wildlife and livelihoods 



Rural people, moving from a subsistence lifestyle to a cash economy, and without access to capital, land 

 or livestock, have relatively few options for generating income. They can sell agricultural or pastoral 

 produce, work for a cash wage in agriculture or industry, or sell retail goods in local or regional 

 marketplaces. However, the harvesting of wildlife resources often offers the best return for labour input 

 in the short-term. 



Environmental Affairs Officer for forest biodiversity , Secretariat of the Convention on Biological 

 Diversity. United Nations Environment Programme, 413 St -Jacques O., Suite 800. Montreal, QC, H2Y 

 1N9, Canada. Tel.: +1-514-288-2220. Fax: +1-514-288-6588. Tim.Christophersen@cbd.int 



^ Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), P.O. Box 0113 BOCBD 

 Bogor 16000. Indonesia. Email: r.nasi(5),cgiar.org 



^ This article is a summary of the CBD Technical Series publication "Conservation and Use of Wildlife 

 Based Resources: The Bushmeat Crisis" (Nasi at al., 2008), published by the Centre for International 

 Forestry Research (CIFOR), the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), the Overseas Development Institute 

 (ODI), and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 2008. The full document is 

 available at electronically at www.cbd.int . and can be ordered free of charge in hard copy at: 

 secretariat@cbd.int , or CBD Secretariat, 413 rue St. Jacques W , Suite 800, Montreal, QC, H2Y 1N9, 

 Quebec, Canada 



'* Bushmeat is defined in this article as any non -domesticated terrestrial mammals, birds, reptiles and 

 amphibians harvested for food. While insects and other invertebrates can be locally and seasonally 

 important dietary items, it is the larger vertebrates which constitute the majority of the terrestrial wild 

 animal biomass consumed by humans. The article therefore focuses on terrestrial vertebrates, but makes 

 reference to the indirect links between harvesti ng offish to the consumption levels of bushmeat. 

 ^ Decision VI/22, Aimex, revised by decision IX/5 - see www.cbd.int 



Nature & Faune Vol. 23, Issue 1 32 



