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Tropentag, October 5 - 7, 2011 in Bonn

"Development on the margin"


Managing Forest Wildlife for Human Livelihoods: A Multi-agent Systems Model to Assess Socio-economic and Ecological Sustainability

Kadiri Serge Bobo1, Emeka Obioha2, Roger Ngoufo3, Saka Jimoh4, Matthias Waltert5

1University of Dschang, Dept. of Forestry, Cameroon
2Tshwane University of Technology, Dept. of Safety and Security Management, South Africa
3University of Yaounde, Dept. of Geography, Cameroon
4University of Ibadan, Dept. of Forest Resources Management, Nigeria
5Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Dept. of Conservation Biology, Germany


Abstract


Bushmeat consumption, the consumption of meat from wild forest animals, is an important part of livelihoods in rural West- and Central Africa. Based on extraction-production models it has been suggested that in the Congo Basin bushmeat protein supply would drop by 81% by 2050 in a ‘no-change' scenario of current extraction levels. In order to secure this resource for the future, sustainable harvesting in community-based wildlife management (CWM) approaches is a potential option, aiming at maintaining the recommended daily protein allowance (RDA of 52 g per person per day, FAO). However, the social, economic and ecological sustainability of forest wildlife management has rarely been investigated in a holistic approach.

The poster presents the approach of an international and interdisciplinary African-German research team to assess conditions under which CWM can be made socio-economically and ecologically sustainable. In a multi-agent system (MAS) approach, we study principal actors (or ‘agents': e.g. hunters, traders, wildlife), their characteristics and their relationships and simulate effects of different approaches to manage wildlife, in particular populations of two species of small- and medium-sized antelopes ('duikers' Cephalophus spp. on household economy. Data are being gathered for an ‘artificial' model landscape of the Korup / Oban Hills region (CMR and NGR) on site, and aims at simulating a realistic picture of the current system in this and other, similar regions. We use the CORMAS platform, which serves as main tool both for scientific analysis and for companion modelling in negotiations with stakeholders. The project is composed of five subprojects and has a strong research capacity building component: during 2008-2011 it supported four PhD, nine Master level (including two Diploma, six M.Sc., one M.A.), nine Forest Engineer (Diplome d'Ingenieur des Eaux et Forêts) and an uncounted number of B.Sc. level students. Nineteen of these 23 students are African nationals.

The project is funded through the VolkswagenFoundation's ‘Africa-Initiative' (Knowledge for Tomorrow). Co-Funding of the project is available through CODESRIA (Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa), CEW (Cameroon Environmental Watch), CIRAD/CIFOR: Economic analyses of conservation strategies (CORUS project), and GIZ/KfW: Wildlife Monitoring.



Keywords: Africa initiative, cooperative research, funding, livelihoods, Volkswagen Foundation, wildlife


Contact Address: Matthias Waltert, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Dept. of Conservation Biology, Von-Siebold-Strasse 2, 37075 Göttingen, Germany, e-mail: mwalter@gwdg.de


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