5 Dec 2023

Sustainable use of wild meat value chains can contribute to carbon sequestration.Wildlife economies have more diverse revenue streams than conventional agriculture.Boosting wild meat consumption can help rewilding and restoring landscapes.

21 Nov 2023

Though many see CITES listings as a barrier to wildlife trade, in this article the CITES Secretary General, Ivonne Higuero, make clear it need not be so. She writes:

“In many or most cases, international trade in CITES listed species will not be a risk to their survival in the wild… Stopping trade should always be a matter of last resort, as it could undermine conservation efforts and livelihood benefits of sustainable species management.”

24 Oct 2023

Grasshoppers for the dish and rural economies? O'Hare et al., (2023) recently studied and documented edible grasshoppers in Limpopo, South Africa. The authors observed that while grasshoppers are widely consumed and traded informally, formal “commercial exploitation of grasshoppers could assist in addressing food insecurity, elevating traditional food cultures and promoting economic development in the country.” This research is food for thought to anyone interested in Africa’s bush economies. In building thriving grasshopper enterprises, what grasshoppers are being harvested, by whom, needs to be known. Leveraging on this understanding, we can start to understand grasshopper value chains s and how these can be managed to ensure sustainable and inclusive use of the species.

27 Sep 2023

In the radiant glow of the African savannah, where majestic wildlife roam, a complex and deeply entrenched concern permeates - trophy hunting. Often, when one examines hunting within the African context, an imagery of severed animal heads and their lifeless bodies come to mind. However, to understand the full scope and dynamics of hunting in Africa, it is essential to see it not as a mere economic activity but as an intricate weave of historical, cultural, and socio-economic dimensions. Herein, I delve into the topic of trophy hunting within the broader context of the African wildlife economy, social inclusion, and the diverse viewpoints of the African people.

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...

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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...

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?

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.

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.