Managing subsistence hunting in the changing landscape of Neotropical rain forests

Abstract

Subsistence hunting has been a vital activity for local people across Neotropical rain forests (NRF). While providing a reliable source of protein, subsistence hunting also reflected the strong relationships that connected local people with the species and ecosystems in which they inhabited. However, the social and ecological context in which subsistence hunting can be sustainable has been altered. The relatively small groups that hunted in large and mostly undisturbed forests, using traditional weapons, have been replaced by a growing population using fragmented habitats and modern hunting methods. Thus, subsistence hunting is less likely to be sustainable, threatening the food security of local people and the persistence of species with critical roles in the functioning of NRF. Managing subsistence hunting in this changing context will require a more efficient combination of tools which might include banning the hunting of large and sensitive species, strengthening protected areas, alternatives to reduce the role of wildlife protein on local people s subsistence and, in some cases, voluntary resettlements of local people, from areas that could still be used as refuge for endangered species.