
The African Wildlife Economy Institute at Stellenbosch University
A leading academic thinktank in Africa for research, engagement, and learning on wildlife economies
In partnership with Oppenheimer Generations Research and Conservation
Impactful research to restore African landscapes through wildlife economies
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Delivering nature conservation, climate resilience, improved livelihoods, and community well-being
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Strengthening the enabling environment for sustainable wildlife economies
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Promoting best practice for responsible and inclusive wildlife enterprises
Why
Africa's wildlife is under threat from persistent rural poverty and rising urban prosperity in the face of systemic shortcomings in governance and management. If Africa's wildlife is to be conserved it must be recognised and governed as the unique and valuable asset that it is, and it must be managed for the benefit of Africa's people.
Posts
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Embracing the economic benefits of eco-system restoration through landmine clearance
5 Sep 2023
A 1995 report from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) declared the African continent as the most severely affected by large-scale landmine laying globally... Mined areas not only represent a risk to life and limb; in addition, they are often representative of lost economic potential and degraded ecosystems, coinciding with communities who have already suffered the devastating effects of conflict...
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From enormous elephants to tiny shrews: how mammals shape and are shaped by Africa’s landscapes
12 Aug 2023
Africa is the world’s most diverse continent for large mammals such as antelopes, zebras and elephants. The heaviest of these large mammals top the scales at over one ton, and are referred to as megafauna. In fact, it’s the only continent that has not seen a mass extinction of these megafauna.
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Finding Balance for a sustainable future: Wild meat consumption, wildlife economy and landscape restoration
24 Jul 2023
The consumption of wild meat remains a morally contested and controversial issue in conservation policy and science.
Controversy arises from the decline of game populations as a result of unsustainable harvesting practices. However, whether sustainable or not, wild meat consumption forms a crucial component of the livelihoods of many people, meeting both cultural and nutritional needs.
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Bushmeat in Ghana: consumer profiles may point the way to conservation
4 Jul 2023
Written by Richard Kwasi Bannor, University of Energy and Natural Resources
The bushmeat trade – meat from wild animals – continues to soar, mainly in unregulated and illegal markets worldwide. Ghana is one such market. One reason is that it’s a source of income for poor rural households.
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The Value of Honey, Charcoal, and Palm Leaves as Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) in Uganda – Prospects for Pro-Poor Development of Communities
1 Jul 2023
Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) are forests product and/or services other than timber. Such products include mushrooms, fruits, nuts, vegetables, fish and game, medicinal plants, resins, honey, essences, tree barks, and fibers such as bamboo, rattans, and a host of other palms and grasses. These are traded, marketed, and sold boosting income for poor people in Uganda, and the world over.
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AWEI into the wild!
23 Jun 2023
At the beginning of March 2023, the AWEI Team had the amazing privilege of exploring the naturally beautiful landscape of Witsand, Western Cape, South Africa. The trip aimed to undertake a pilot landscape assessment for potential wildlife enterprises.
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Tall Order: The Fight to Save the Masai Giraffes From Extinction
20 Jun 2023
Originally published by Penn State University on Scitechdaily.com
Giraffe populations separated by Great Rift Valley in eastern Africa are genetically distinct, suggesting that conservation efforts should be considered separately for each population.
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Half of Africa’s white rhino population is in private hands – it’s time for a new conservation approach
09 Jun 2023
Southern white rhinos are widely known as a conservation success story. Their population grew from fewer than 100 individuals in the 1920s to 20,000 in 2012, mostly in South Africa. This success was partially due to the inclusion of the private sector, which started in the 1960s...
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Changing Tides and Africa’s Blue Economy
08 Jun 2023
The theme for this year’s World Oceans Day (8 June) is “Planet Ocean: Tides are Changing.” Considering this theme, we have to ask two key questions: How important are the oceans for Africa and what role do they play in its development? Could Africa’s blue economy be a changing tide?
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African wild meat trade holds huge potential
06 Jun 2023
As the world’s largest free trade area, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) holds immense potential for boosting trade and economic growth and development in Africa... In celebration of Africa Day today [25 May 2023], it is worth mentioning that the AfCFTA also creates opportunities for the trade in wildlife meat.
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She Learns To Hunt - American Insights, African Applications
23 May 2023
Like many wildlife-loving American women, I had a safari bucket list. It was December 2018, and I was on a journalism fellowship in South Africa. So, I innocently typed “rhino” into Google. On Google Images, a photograph caught my eye. It was of four older white men standing over their harvested rhino, smiling while holding their rifles.
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Why it’s crucial to safeguard the ancient practice of finding wild honey with birds
18 May 2023
Written by Jessica E.M. van der Wal, University of Cape Town; Claire Spottiswoode, University of Cape Town, and Dominic Cram, University of Cambridge
In parts of Africa, a small bird called the Greater Honeyguide (Indicator indicator) helps people search for honey. It approaches people and chatters and flies in the direction of a wild bees’ nest, urging the person to follow. When bird and human reach the nest together, the human honey-hunter knows just what to do: they subdue the bees and harvest the honey with smoke and tools. When that’s done, the little bird feeds on the beeswax and larvae left behind.
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The challenges of breeding and conserving rhinos without trade
03 May 2023
There were 29 rhino range states when the ban on trade in rhino horn was imposed in 1977. Today, only five range states remain with evolutionarily viable rhino populations.
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Why it’s important to recognise multiple food systems in Africa
22 Apr 2023
William G. Moseley, Macalester College
There are more than 815 million malnourished people in the world today. Almost 243 million of these are in Africa, where the problem is highest. Unfortunately, development organisations may be making food insecurity worse as they push the most advanced forms of agriculture to the detriment of other food systems. These include methods like foraging and subsistence agriculture, on which poorer households often rely.
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Investing in Africa’s future: The JWO Research Grant enters its 5th year of funding African scientists.
20 Apr 2023
Investing in Africa’s future: The JWO Research Grant enters its 5th year of funding African scientists.
South Africa, 2023 – Since its inception in 2019, the Jennifer Ward Oppenheimer Research Grant has awarded $600 000 to African researchers pursuing solutions to the continent's environmental issues.
Events
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The Conversation Symposium 2023
-Online & at the Wild Coast Sun Hotel -
12th Oppenheimer Research Conference
-Randjesfontein Cricket Pavilion -
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African Biotrade Festival
-Sandton Convention Centre -
Business of Conservation Conference 2023
-Kigali Convention Centre -
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Growing Africa’s Food Systems using Wild Food Markets
Stellenbosch University or Online -
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CBD COP15 and the African Wildlife Economy
-Palais des Congrès de Montréal -
CITES COP19 and the African Wildlife Economy
-Panama Convention Center -
The Conservation Symposium 2022
-Online -
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Publications
Stellenbosch University
AWEI is an academic unit of the Faculty of AgriSciences at Stellenbosch University in South Africa. The Institute collaborates with faculties and departments across the University and with universities and research institutions across the continent and beyond.
Oppenheimer Generations Research & Conservation
AWEI is partnering with Oppenheimer Generations Research & Conservation to scale up impactful research on wildlife economies across Africa.
Get involved
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