In Gabon, the Sustainable Wildlife Management (SWM) program is helping voluntary rural communities establish sustainable hunting practices on their traditional lands while assisting them in obtaining necessary official rights from the government.
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has raised alarms in its 2024 Living Planet Report, published in October, about the accelerated decline of wildlife populations globally. The report indicates that 73% of wild species have disappeared over the last 50 years, a figure that has increased from 69% in 2022, largely due to habitat degradation, overexploitation, invasive species, and zoonotic diseases. Subsistence hunting by communities for animal protein is identified as a contributing factor to this decline.
A study published in July 2024 in the journal Nature highlights the pressure that hunting communities exert on wildlife in their territories. Conducted in Gabon, which is largely covered by dense rainforests, the research involved 314 hunters from 10 communities over a span of 42 months, documenting nearly 13,000 hunting trips and utilizing numerous camera traps to assess wildlife populations.
The findings revealed various hunting strategies among the communities, with shotgun hunting accounting for 78% of all animals harvested. The most hunted species included blue duikers and other ungulates, representing a significant portion of the wildlife taken. However, the study suggests that these hunters can play a vital role in sustainable wildlife management, contributing to the conservation of ecosystems in line with the global biodiversity framework aimed at protecting 30% of the planet by 2030.
Davy Fonteyn, a researcher at CIRAD in France, noted that hunters could actively monitor animal populations and manage hunting practices sustainably through community-based approaches. This involves establishing community hunting associations with management plans that set quotas and promote participation in wildlife monitoring.
The SWM program, funded by the European Union and other organizations, aims to promote sustainable village hunting and provide alternative protein sources to hunting communities. The program advocates for formal recognition of community rights over wildlife, enabling them to manage resources sustainably and combat illegal exploitation.
A multi-stakeholder working group on hunting and wildlife commercialization has been established, involving hunters, restaurateurs, and forest managers to address legal shortcomings and integrate traditional practices into wildlife management laws.
Lucien Massoukou, Director General of Fauna and Protected Areas, emphasized the need to adapt hunting regulations to local practices to ensure the sustainability of both wildlife and community livelihoods.