BUSHMEAT RAPID CENSUS WORK
Research Sites
To date, we have worked analyzing the social, economic and geographic drivers of bushmeat consumption and the ecological and health consequences of this consumption in the locations pictured to the left:
1) Makira Natural Park
2) Masoala National Park
3) Betampona Natural Reserve
It is our plan to continue expanding this network until we have optimized our national coverage.
Makira Natural Park and Masoala National Park
Our research was based adjacent to Makira Natural Park and Masoala National Park in north-eastern Madagascar. The Makira Natural Park covers approximately 370,000 ha and is characterized by lowland and mid-altitude rainforest. Masoala National Park is a littoral and lowland rainforest covering approximately 210,000 ha. These parks are among the nation’s largest remaining blocks of contiguous forest and contain high levels of biodiversity. The two primary ethnic groups in the Makira are the Betsimisaraka in the east and south (45% of the population) and the Tsimihety in the north and west (50% of the population). In Masoala, the surveyed human population was almost entirely Betsimisaraka (94.7%).
Our research was based adjacent to Makira Natural Park and Masoala National Park in north-eastern Madagascar. The Makira Natural Park covers approximately 370,000 ha and is characterized by lowland and mid-altitude rainforest. Masoala National Park is a littoral and lowland rainforest covering approximately 210,000 ha. These parks are among the nation’s largest remaining blocks of contiguous forest and contain high levels of biodiversity. The two primary ethnic groups in the Makira are the Betsimisaraka in the east and south (45% of the population) and the Tsimihety in the north and west (50% of the population). In Masoala, the surveyed human population was almost entirely Betsimisaraka (94.7%).
Betampona Natural Reserve
Betampona Natural Reserve, located approximately 40 km northwest of the city Tamatave, is the first protected area established in Madagascar in 1927. At just over 2,000 ha, Betampona is a rainforest island, the last remaining lowland forest in the Tamatave II area. Despite its small size, Betampona is incredibly rich in biodiversity, with 11 lemur species, 88 bird species and 67 reptile species identified. Recent amphibian research found that of Betampona’s 76 frog taxa, 36 are candidate species.
WILDLIFE CONSUMPTION AND HUMAN HEALTH
Research Sites
Since 2004, I have been working in the Maroantsetra region of Madagascar. Beginning in September 2011, an interdisciplinary team of researchers from UC Berkeley and I started a 5 year research program in Madagascar, Ghana and Kenya.
Mfangano Island in Lake Victoria, Kenya
Mfangano is an island of 65km2 in Lake Victoria within the Suba District in Nyanza Province. Since the 1960s, the explosive growth of non-native Nile perch populations has overwhelmed the area’s tremendous biodiversity and caused the broad decline of cichlid species. Despite the fishery’s economic growth and success as an export industry, the people of Nyanza province continue to experience the highest poverty rates in Kenya. Broadly representative of much of the region, island communities on Mfangano are composed of a mix of people of Luo and Suba ancestry.
Mfangano is an island of 65km2 in Lake Victoria within the Suba District in Nyanza Province. Since the 1960s, the explosive growth of non-native Nile perch populations has overwhelmed the area’s tremendous biodiversity and caused the broad decline of cichlid species. Despite the fishery’s economic growth and success as an export industry, the people of Nyanza province continue to experience the highest poverty rates in Kenya. Broadly representative of much of the region, island communities on Mfangano are composed of a mix of people of Luo and Suba ancestry.
Mole National Park, Ghana
The foci of our efforts in Ghana are the communities of Larabanga, Kabanpe and Grupe which border Mole National Park in the country’s Northern Region, one of the most productive wildlife habitats in West Africa,. These human settlements actively engage in subsistence agricultural practices, but they experience poverty rates above 95% and terrestrial and aquatic wildlife accounts for more than 95% of dietary meat during the region’s two dry seasons each year.
The foci of our efforts in Ghana are the communities of Larabanga, Kabanpe and Grupe which border Mole National Park in the country’s Northern Region, one of the most productive wildlife habitats in West Africa,. These human settlements actively engage in subsistence agricultural practices, but they experience poverty rates above 95% and terrestrial and aquatic wildlife accounts for more than 95% of dietary meat during the region’s two dry seasons each year.
