Assessment of trade flows of wildlife products: the case of Ruaha landscape, Tanzania
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Date
2022
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Publisher
Sokoine university of agriculture
Abstract
Wildlife species are utilized and traded in a wide range of items, including food, clothing,
medicines, pets, ornaments, building and construction materials all over the world.
However, in many parts of East Africa, the trade patterns of these products are
inadequately documented, making it difficult to build good strategic management and
long-term conservation plans. The Ruaha landscape in southern Tanzania is home to a
potential animal population and is one of the hotspot locations for wildlife trade. The
purpose of this research in the Ruaha landscape was to (i) assess the wildlife poaching
practices (ii) to assess the temporal variation of illegal hunting and (iii) Map illegal trade
flow of wildlife products and facilitation methods in the Ruaha landscape Tanzania. A
semi-structured interview was conducted using the Snowball method to gather the
necessary information. The data was analysed using Chi-square tests, Social Network
Analysis (SNA), and Generalized Linear Models (GLM) with Poisson and Binomial error
distributions. Impala, did-dik, guinea fowls, kudu, and lions were found to be the most
hunted species, and meat, skin, claws, fat, and ivory were the most often collected
wildlife products. The majority of the products were utilized for food and as sources of
revenue. Domestic dogs, spears, snares, and torches were found being used in hunting and
this was frequently being done at night. Occupation, ethnic group, religion, residency
time, number of individuals participated in each hunt, presence of moonlight, age, and
education of respondents were the factors influencing the hunting. However, during the
last five years, the overall tendency revealed a drop in hunting, while animal protection in
protected areas increased. According to the findings, 70% of the wildlife products came
from Ruaha National Park and MBOMIPA Wildlife Management Areas, with the other
30% coming from villages near these protected areas. Bicycles and walking were the
primary modes of transportation for wildlife products. In addition, the findings suggest that respondents have long and deep relationships with their clients and merchants, the
majority of whom are friends and relatives. It was also shown that the majority of
poachers are motivated to engage in illegal wildlife trafficking by their friends and
relatives. Furthermore, in circumstances where customers and sellers lacked cash,
commodities such as corn and rice were traded for wildlife products. When it comes to
illegal wildlife hunting the findings of this study provide critical information on the
importance of taking species and ethnic group peculiarities into account. Wildlife
protection, such as day and night patrols, is critical, particularly at night. In order to
address illegal wildlife hunting in this landscape, sociological aspects must be taken into
account. Increased law enforcement could have a positive impact on the declining trend
of wildlife hunting. As a result, it is suggested that providing conservation education, in
combination with an employment, may help to reduce illegal wildlife product off-take in
the Ruaha landscape.
Description
Dissertation
Keywords
Trade flows, Wildlife products, Ruaha, Landscape, Tanzania