Understanding local wildmeat preferences for more sustainable conservation effort

To reduce dependence on hunting, protein alternative projects are commonplace across West and Central Africa and a major focus for governments, donors and non-governmental organisations. However, there has been little analysis of the characteristics, successes and failures of these projects, and little synthesis of the lessons learned (Wicander & Coad 2019).

The Darwin Initiative funded ‘Why Eat Wild Meat’ project was established to explore the complex drivers of wild meat preference and consumption, and the barriers to effective and sustained engagement in protein alternative projects. In this talk, Stephanie will present the results from research conducted in study villages adjacent to a protected area in Cameroon, before discussing how these results can be used to better design protein alternative projects across sub-Saharan Africa.