It's a common view along roadsides that border forests in Cameroon: dead monkeys and other wild animals hanging from a stick, for sale. The meat of forest animals - bush meat - is a common dish in many tropical countries, especially in West and Central Africa. For many forest dependent people of the Congo Basin, bush meat is their primary source of protein and of income. But for how long?

The scale of bush meat hunting has become so large that some species are now threatened with extinction. Researchers estimate that the current harvest of bush meat in Central Africa is more than 1 million tonnes annually, the equivalent of almost 4 million cattle.

"If current levels of hunting persist, the forests of the Congo Basin will be empty in less than 50 years", says CIFOR Senior Scientist Robert Nasi.

But prohibiting the trade is not a workable solution, says Nasi. "Wildlife management should take into account the needs of rural people. They eat bush meat because there is no alternative source of protein available. And even if Central African countries could produce enough non-bush meat protein, this would present other environmental impacts. Forests would need to make space for agriculture, and 4 million cattle need lots of space."

Apart from providing crucial protein, bush meat also has important social, cultural and economic aspects, says CIFOR's Cameroon-based researcher Nathalie van Vliet,

"Bush meat is offered to guests and used during ritual ceremonies. From an economic point of view, hunting is very profitable for rural families and one of the few available sources of income. Hunting requires little capital investment and brings in a quick return to the primary producer. It can also be combined with other activities, such as agriculture, and fits in well with the family gender system - men hunt, women sell."

Van Vliet says that several factors are contributing to mounting pressure on hunting.

"With the growing population in Central Africa, which is around 2-3% per year, the demand for bush meat is also growing. In addition, patches of previously untouched forests are now accessible to hunters due to the increasing construction of roads and camps by logging and mining companies. These workers eat mainly bush meat and can easily transport it to urban markets", says Van Vliet.

According to Nasi, "the answer to the rapid decline in wild animals is not to criminalize the bush meat sector, but to recognize the opportunities that it presents to contribute to development. Give poor forest dwellers land-rights and include them in the decision-making. This way, a management plan could forbid the hunting of certain species that are particularly vulnerable, but allow the hunting of other species that are abundant in certain areas."

Both Nasi and van Vliet agree that organizing and regulating the market for bush meat can help make this livelihood option sustainable, by protecting the survival of African forest animals, as well as the food security of African people.

Story by Janneke Romijn, CIFOR