space for hunting: understanding indigenous and other hunters’ impacts in the congo basin forests

Space for Hunting Understanding Indigenous and other Hunters’ Impacts in the Congo Basin Forests

John E. Fa, Jesus Olivero, Andrew Noss, Hirokazu Yasuoka, Michael Riddell, Jerome Lewis, Serge Bahuchet, Miguel Angel Farfán, Jesus Duarte, Romain Duda, Sandrine Gallois, Guiseppe Carpanetto, Shiho Hattori, and Robert Nasi

• Pygmy communities identify themselves as ‘forest peoples’ due to the fundamental importance of the forest to their culture, livelihood and history.

• Each is a distinct people, such as the Twa, Aka, Baka and Mbuti living in countries across central Africa, including the Central African Republic (CAR), the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Uganda and Cameroon.

• Different groups have different languages and hunting traditions.

• Although each community faces different threats and challenges, racism, logging and conservation are major problems for many, all contributing to serious health problems and violent abuse.

around 900,000 Pygmies

Study Sites

MbutiBaAkaStudy sample

34 Pygmy camps and other settlements

26 non-Pygmy villages

Attribute Pygmies Non-PygmiesSettlement size (inhabitants)

91.9 ± 24.3range = 8–690n = 33

882.4 ± 311.0range = 35 – 6594n = 22

Total length of studies (days)

66.2 ± 13.7 range = 3-368

279.6 ± 54.4range = 7-1020

Sale of hunted game (%)34.8 ± 6.4%range = 0 – 90%n = 26

65.4 ± 19.8%, range = 11 – 95.3% n = 24

Total: 34 Pygmy camps and other settlements; 26 non-Pygmy villages

Study Sites

Size Distribution of Vertebrate Kills

Pygmies = 71 spp. 17.02 ± 14.83 kg; Non-Pygmies = 122 spp. 8.53 ± 2.40 kg

Pygmy hunters killed a total of 77 species of reptiles, birds and mammals; 62 mammals (74.2%), 8 birds and 7 reptiles. Non-Pygmy hunters took more species; 97 in total, of which 71 were mammals, 17 birds, 8 reptiles and 1 amphibians.

Differences in Animal Groups HuntedPygmies Non-Pygmies

Differences in Animal Groups Hunted

Pygmies

Non-Pygmies

Differences in Hunted Animal Groups by

PygmiesLow (0.15)Medium (0.69)High (0.17)

Low (0.29) Medium (0.58) High (0.13)

Non-Pygmies

Harvest ratesHR = no. of animals killed/ no. of potential consumers x duration

Extraction ratesER = no. of animals killed/ no. of hunters consumers x duration

Harvest and extraction rates

Pygmies

HR20.4 ± 23.2 ind. P-1 Yr-1

376.3 ± 515.1 kg P-1 Yr-1

ER87.9 ± 109.9 ind. H-1 Yr-1

1646.6 ± 2095.7 kg H-1 Yr-1

Non-Pygmies

HR39.5 ± 66.9 ind. P-1 Yr-1

307.0 ± 450.6 kg P-1 Yr-1

ER162.0 ± 123.6 ind. H-1 Yr-1

1283.9 ± 1004.2 kg H-1 Yr-1

Differences in Harvest and Extraction Rates

H = HunterP = Person

Extraction Rates by Species

Pygmies

Non-Pygmies

Estimating Settlements’ Territory Sizes

Pygmies Non-Pygmies

29 animals km-2 Yr-1

487 kg km-2 H-1 Yr-1 226 animals km-2 Yr-1

1730 kg km-2 H-1 Yr-1

Extraction per Square Kilometre

Non-Pygmies

Pygmies

Mapping Harvest Rates

Future