Investigating the extent and sustainability of wild meat hunting by the Amazonian communities of the La Pedrera region, Colombia
(2021) BION02 20202Degree Projects in Biology
- Abstract
- The unsustainable use of wild meat undermines efforts of many cornerstones of global sustainable development, from climate change mitigation to poverty and hunger reduction. We investigate how the indigenous communities of La Pedrera, in the Amazonian region of Colombia, utilise their local ecosystem for the harvesting of wild meat. We find that it likely acts as safety net and a safeguard against hunger and malnourishment, while being a component of livelihood security, purchasing power. Empowering local communities, by highlighting the importance of conserving ecosystem services on which they rely, will confirm sustainability of their ecosystem resilience. This would safeguard food security, livelihood security, and the continuation of... (More)
- The unsustainable use of wild meat undermines efforts of many cornerstones of global sustainable development, from climate change mitigation to poverty and hunger reduction. We investigate how the indigenous communities of La Pedrera, in the Amazonian region of Colombia, utilise their local ecosystem for the harvesting of wild meat. We find that it likely acts as safety net and a safeguard against hunger and malnourishment, while being a component of livelihood security, purchasing power. Empowering local communities, by highlighting the importance of conserving ecosystem services on which they rely, will confirm sustainability of their ecosystem resilience. This would safeguard food security, livelihood security, and the continuation of cultural traditions. (Less)
- Popular Abstract
- Exploring the importance of game species to the environment and the people of La Pedrera, in the Colombian Amazon
Through household data collected by ASSETS, I show that for the population of La Pedrera, the consumption of wild meat acts as a safety net and a safeguard against hunger and malnourishment, while being a component of livelihood security, purchasing power, and probable cultural heritage. However, I also highlight how the short-term security of food and trade can result in reduced ecosystem resilience in the long term, via looking into game profiles. Namely, ecological roles of seed dispersal, element cycling, and indicators of trade. The impacts of overharvesting, particularly of large herbivores, results in escalating... (More) - Exploring the importance of game species to the environment and the people of La Pedrera, in the Colombian Amazon
Through household data collected by ASSETS, I show that for the population of La Pedrera, the consumption of wild meat acts as a safety net and a safeguard against hunger and malnourishment, while being a component of livelihood security, purchasing power, and probable cultural heritage. However, I also highlight how the short-term security of food and trade can result in reduced ecosystem resilience in the long term, via looking into game profiles. Namely, ecological roles of seed dispersal, element cycling, and indicators of trade. The impacts of overharvesting, particularly of large herbivores, results in escalating landscape-wide impacts and declining landscape resilience. Consequences include altered in gene expression (Brodie, 2017), changed nitrogen cycling (Galetti & Dirzo, 2013; Villar et al., 2020), and reduced carbon storage (Schmitz et al., 2018), which can have global implications.
The hunting of wild animals for subsistence has been part of human culture for thousands of years (Bahuchet, 1993; Ben-Dor et al., 2021), and continues to be an integral aspect of rural life for a significant proportion of the world (Stanford & Bunn, 2001). Physically isolated communities with limited access to other protein sources (Nielsen et al., 2017; WHO, 2015), such as those within La Pedrera of the Colombian Amazon (Ramirez-Gomez et al., 2015), are likely to be heavily dependent on the provisioning and resilience of their local environment.
Results I show that in similarity to other studies, mammals were the most frequently harvested (86%), with large mammals being a particular target (72%). Lowland paca (Cuniculus paca) and white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari) were the two most hunted species, making up almost 50% of game harvests. I estimate that 81.4% of hunted animals acted as seed dispersers to varying extents. This harvest portfolio increases the apprehension that the consequences resultant from removal of seed dispersers and large herbivores are highly likely. Moreover, 3 game species have been classified as ‘near threatened’, and 6 are ‘vulnerable’ to extinction by the IUCN (Calle et al., 2020).
Is hunting sustainable in La Pedrera? Without detailed data on the populations of game species, it is impossible to understand the health of the ecosystem of La Pedrera. Nonetheless, some indicators that populations are not overhunted include high game diversity, lower time spent hunting, particularly for favoured large mammal species; possible low populations of seed predators; likely that high intensity hunting areas are outside of reserves; and indications of a limited game trade.
Looking forward, improved academic knowledge on the social and environmental consequences of hunting are essential for modelling future consequences. Long-term population monitoring of the most favoured game species is a key to understanding the impacts of hunting and any changes which may occur if hunting pressure increases with increasing population concentrations in the region. Furthermore, communication and learning dialogue between policy institutions and forest users is essential for population modelling, via utilising unrivalled knowledge, and will legitimise management plans.
Master’s Degree Project in Biology: Conservation Biology, 30 credits, 2021
Department of Biology, Lund University
Advisor: Torsten Krause
Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies, Lund University (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9059635
- author
- Moore, Anna
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- BION02 20202
- year
- 2021
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- language
- English
- id
- 9059635
- date added to LUP
- 2021-06-29 10:43:12
- date last changed
- 2021-06-29 10:43:12
@misc{9059635,
abstract = {{The unsustainable use of wild meat undermines efforts of many cornerstones of global sustainable development, from climate change mitigation to poverty and hunger reduction. We investigate how the indigenous communities of La Pedrera, in the Amazonian region of Colombia, utilise their local ecosystem for the harvesting of wild meat. We find that it likely acts as safety net and a safeguard against hunger and malnourishment, while being a component of livelihood security, purchasing power. Empowering local communities, by highlighting the importance of conserving ecosystem services on which they rely, will confirm sustainability of their ecosystem resilience. This would safeguard food security, livelihood security, and the continuation of cultural traditions.}},
author = {{Moore, Anna}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Investigating the extent and sustainability of wild meat hunting by the Amazonian communities of the La Pedrera region, Colombia}},
year = {{2021}},
}