East-Africa

Ethiopia is a country exceptionally high in biodiversity (including endemic species), however, wildlife populations throughout the country have been reduced to a fraction of what they were due to a number of causes, including hunting (e.g. Grey’s zebra, African wild ass, Swayne’s hartebeest, mountain nyala, and elephants).

 

The killing of animals appears to have several root causes, including cultural traditions, subsistence, buffers during famines, and reprisal against repressive government regimes. There are several national parks and controlled hunting areas throughout the country, although the human and financial capacity for protected area management is low.

 

The state is highly focused on the monetary benefits from controlled hunting areas, particularly concession fees and trophy fees, although there has been little to no research into the market value of either and reinvestment of hunting revenue into conservation or development is minimal or absent.

 

New management guidelines for limited harvesting are currently being initiated under a new country-wide Protected Areas Systems Plan.

 

The Tanzanian studies will focus on the role and impacts of hunting in the Serengeti Ecosystem of Northern Tanzania.

 

The Serengeti has been recognized as a Global Wilderness Area by Conservation International and is the world’s last intact migratory ecosystem containing in excess of two million ungulates and the largest and most diverse guild of carnivores in Africa.

 

The Serengeti is zoned into different categories of protected areas including national parks allowing only eco tourism, game reserves allowing only trophy hunting and community-based wildlife management areas allowing both trophy hunting and subsistence hunting.

 

Illegal hunting both for subsistence and for commercial sale is widespread throughout the ecosystem. Trophy hunting focuses primarily on buffalo and lion whilst subsistence hunting is concentrated on smaller bodied ungulates such as wildebeest, impala and gazelle.

 

The indigenous population is ethnically diverse and includes agro-pastoralists, pastoralists and hunter-gatherers.

 

Tourism revenue and support from international NGO's have resulted in an efficient protected area management infrastructure and some limited community development activities.