FAO: Increasing Demand for Wild Meat Threatening Wild Life Population, Food SecurityFAOFAO: Increasing Demand for Wild Meat Threatening Wild Life Population, Food Security

Gilbert Ekugbe

The United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), has warned that the increasing demand for wild meat in urban areas is threatening wildlife populations, ecosystem balance and food security of indigenous and rural communities in tropical and subtropical regions across the globe,

The FAO, in a statement on its website, said that the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the interdependence between human, animal and ecosystem health, and illustrated the magnitude and diversity of the consequences that the loss or degradation of biodiversity could have around the world.

It, however, extolled the European Union (EU) for pledging an additional funding to help conserve wildlife and improve food security in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.

According to the FAO, the fund is the second phase of the Sustainable Wildlife Management (SWM) initiative that was established in 2017 to reduce unsustainable wildlife hunting, conserve wildlife and strengthens people’s livelihoods and food security. It would run from August 2023 to May 2029 and would be part of NaturAfrica, the new EU initiative for biodiversity conservation in Africa.  

The first phase of the initiative received €45 million from the EU, with co-funding from the French Global Environment Facility (FFEM) and French Development Agency (AFD).

In this new phase, the FAO would continue to lead a consortium of partners, which include the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD), the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).  

The Deputy Director-General of FAO, Ms. Maria Helena Semedo, said that the SWM programme would make a significant contribution as the world work towards a sustainable and food-secure world for all.

Semedo pointed out that the initiative would contribute to the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework as well as to the “four betters” in the new FAO Strategic Framework 2022–2031.

She said: “For example, the programme is working towards ‘better nutrition’ by promoting safe food across wild and domestic meat value chains, and towards ‘better environment’ by developing innovative approaches to improve practices, build capacities to reduce zoonotic risks and protect ecosystems.”  

The Deputy Director-General, Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG-INTPA), European Commission, Marjeta Jager, said that the partnership is working with national and regional administrations, and over 80 local and indigenous communities in 16 countries.

Jager stressed that the initiative is strengthening innovative and collaborative targeted approaches to conserve wild animals, protect ecosystems, and improve the livelihoods of those who depend on these resources.

“We need to further develop the models tested by the SWM programme and to disseminate and scale up the programme’s findings, results and approaches to achieve greater impacts. For this reason, the European Union seeks to provide additional funding to continue the SWM programme until June 2029,” Jager added.

Speaking on the importance of the programme, tge FAO said that many rural populations around the world have continued to rely on wildlife for food, income and their cultural identity, noting that wild meat is an important source of protein, fat and micronutrients.

The SWM programme is aimed at improving the sustainable and legal use of wild animal populations through participatory management of hunting, fishing and wildlife.

It also works on reducing urban consumption of wild meat from unsustainable sources by encouraging healthy and sustainable livestock, poultry and fish farming value chains.

The initiative is also focused on building capacity to reduce zoonotic risks at the human-domestic animal-wildlife and ecosystem interfaces by promoting the “One Health” approach.