In this first issue for 2015, we tackle bushmeat, or the harvesting of wild animals from forests for food and non-food purposes (medicine, culture, recreation). Bushmeat has long been a part of the diets of forest dwellers as an important source of protein, micronutrients, fats and also fibre and is increasingly consumed in urban areas. It is also an important source of income for many communities.
The Collaborative Partnership on Sustainable Wildlife Management today launched the Bushmeat Sourcebook, an online resource, on the occasion of the second World Wildlife Day. The sourcebook examines bushmeat’s vital contribution to food security, local livelihoods, and other aspects of human well-being in many parts of the world. It also shows, however, how unsustainable harvesting can affect the ecological stability of forest ecosystems, as well as human health. "The sourcebook represents a valuable awareness-raising tool, which will help bring attention to key facts," said Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, Chair of the CPW and Executive Secretary of the CBD. "It also shows us how indigenous peoples and local communities can play a positive role in helping to sustainably manage our valuable wildlife resources. [more]
The more a country knows about its forests, the better it can manage and protect them for future generations. With this in mind, the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic sought assistance from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, through a Technical Cooperation Programme project, to strengthen national capacities to monitor and assess the country's forest and trees resources in an integrated land use approach. The project was carried out in partnership with the State Agency for Environmental Protection and Forestry and with additional funding from the Government of Kyrgyzstan and the Swiss-Kyrgyz Forestry Support Programme. More than 50 staff from the Department of Forest, Hunting and Ground Inventory received training on national forest management assessments. A national forest vegetation and land use classification system for remote-sensing surveys was developed. In addition, FAO and the department worked closely to store and manage information from the forest and land assessments and published findings in both Russian and English on the state of the country's forests and natural resources. [more]
