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The Importance of Wild Meat in the Global South

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  • Nielsen, Martin R.
  • Meilby, Henrik
  • Smith-Hall, Carsten
  • Pouliot, Mariève
  • Treue, Thorsten

Abstract

Information on the economic importance of wild meat to rural people is mainly based on small case studies conducted in limited geographical areas with high hunting intensities, which impede generalization of results. Through a one-year quarterly income survey of 7978 households in 24 countries across Latin America, Asia, and Africa, we show that 39% of the sampled households, by extrapolation representing ~150 million households in the Global South, ‘harvest’ wild meat. On average, wild meat makes up 2% of households' income of which own consumption accounts for 89%. Reliance on wild meat is highest among the poorest households and inversely related to their reliance on domestic animal income. Seasonally, reliance on wild meat is inversely related to other incomes, suggesting a gap filling function. The fact that hunting is of low economic importance but widespread and mostly for subsistence suggests that wild meat is important in rural households' diets. Through an approximated yield-effort curve estimation, we show that hunting appears economically sustainable in 78% of the observed communities although in most cases this might represent post-depletion sustainability. Our results imply that the effectiveness of wildlife conservation efforts is likely to be enhanced if rural food security is simultaneously improved.

Suggested Citation

  • Nielsen, Martin R. & Meilby, Henrik & Smith-Hall, Carsten & Pouliot, Mariève & Treue, Thorsten, 2018. "The Importance of Wild Meat in the Global South," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 696-705.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:146:y:2018:i:c:p:696-705
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2017.12.018
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Hickey, Gordon M. & Pouliot, Mariève & Smith-Hall, Carsten & Wunder, Sven & Nielsen, Martin R., 2016. "Quantifying the economic contribution of wild food harvests to rural livelihoods: A global-comparative analysis," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 122-132.
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    3. Wunder, Sven & Börner, Jan & Shively, Gerald & Wyman, Miriam, 2014. "Safety Nets, Gap Filling and Forests: A Global-Comparative Perspective," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 64(S1), pages 29-42.
    4. Food and Agriculture Organization, 2013. "The State of Food and Agriculture, 2013," Working Papers id:5511, eSocialSciences.
    5. Angelsen, Arild & Jagger, Pamela & Babigumira, Ronnie & Belcher, Brian & Hogarth, Nicholas J. & Bauch, Simone & Börner, Jan & Smith-Hall, Carsten & Wunder, Sven, 2014. "Environmental Income and Rural Livelihoods: A Global-Comparative Analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 64(S1), pages 12-28.
    6. Coomes, Oliver T. & Barham, Bradford L. & Takasaki, Yoshito, 2004. "Targeting conservation-development initiatives in tropical forests: insights from analyses of rain forest use and economic reliance among Amazonian peasants," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(1-2), pages 47-64, November.
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    3. Bliss, Sam & Egler, Megan, 2020. "Ecological Economics Beyond Markets," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    4. De Angeli, Kevin & Abbasi, Eeman & Gan, Alan & Ingram, Daniel J. & Giam, Xingli & Chang, Charlotte H., 2021. "Modeling the impact of wild harvest on plant–disperser mutualisms," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 439(C).
    5. Solomon Zena Walelign & Martin Reinhardt Nielsen & Jette Bredahl Jacobsen, 2019. "Roads and livelihood activity choices in the Greater Serengeti Ecosystem, Tanzania," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(3), pages 1-21, March.
    6. Enns, Charis & van Vliet, Nathalie & Mbane, Joseph & Muhindo, Jonas & Nyumu, Jonas & Bersaglio, Brock & Massé, Francis & Cerutti, Paolo Omar & Nasi, Robert, 2023. "Vulnerability and coping strategies within wild meat trade networks during the COVID-19 pandemic," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    7. Sumitra Paudel & Carsten Smith-Hall, 2022. "Empirically derived typologies of environmental product periodic markets and retailers," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(11), pages 13111-13136, November.

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