Balancing the nutritional demand of the population and the conservation of wildlife in the region of Pico Basilé, Equatorial Guinea

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Lead researcher: Maria Grande Vega (Universidad Complutense de Madrid).

Description:
Hunting of wild animals as food (bush meat) is a worldwide phenomenon that occurs in all forest areas of Africa, Asia and South America. But it is in West and Central Africa where the consumption, hunting and productivity of bush meat is most significant.

The conservation of Bioco Island has a special importance at international level for its great diversity of birds and mammals, as well as for the high number of endemic species, including primates such as the Drill, Preuss’s Monkey and the Black Colubus Monkey, all threatened species. The hunting of these species and their exploitation in the two protected areas (Pico Basilé and Bioko Sur) is illegal.

For some social groups of Bioco, bush meat is the only protein source, because there are few alternative sources and these are expensive, while for minority groups on the island, supplying bush meat is their only source of income. In addition, the region of Pico Basilé supplies bush meat to the capital, Malabo

The challenge now is to find ways to conserve this biodiversity and at the same time meet the nutritional demands of the human population of this region. There are two research areas:

1. Studies on groups of consumers and producers of bush meat in a sample of forest villages located around the Pico Basilé and urban and suburban areas of Malabo.

2. Environmental sampling to determine the status and distribution of most significant species populations of bush meat (mostly primates, but also rodents and ungulates) in the main habitats of the region of Pico Basilé, to evaluate the means to ensure their conservation and to delineate such sustainable exploitation of these species as may be possible.

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