Hunting & Wildlife Trade in Latin America

WCS’s Hunting & Wildlife Trade Program was established in response to an overwhelming threat to wildlife in tropical forests today: unsustainable hunting and trade in wild animals and their parts.  WCS has been a leader in addressing hunting issues in Latin America for more than twenty years. Over the last decade, our work in Latin America has focused on applying long-term research results into conservation action. Because of diverse social and political conditions across Latin America, WCS works mainly at the community scale to address hunting issues. Through long-term research on the hunting dynamics and key species, WCS develops solutions to complex hunting and wildlife trade issues while supporting the livelihoods of rural communities.

In South America, human population pressure is lower than in Asia or Africa and large areas of forest still remain. This means that hunting pressure is often lower than in other tropical forests. On the other hand, recent studies demonstrate that hunting of at least some species is unsustainable in much of South America, and that even relatively light hunting can reduce wildlife populations by 80% or more. In addition, South America’s forests face increasing pressures on land and resources every year. In contrast, Central America’s hunting and wildlife trade problem is more severe, akin to the problem in Asia and Africa. The unsustainably high wave of hunting which hit Asia first and is now peaking in Africa is likely to hit South America within the next five to ten years.

The Human Aspect
Many local communities in South America depend on hunting for their livelihoods, so it is critical to ensure that hunting is done in a sustainable way to ensure conservation of both the wildlife and the local peoples’ way of life. WCS works closely with local communities to monitor hunting and to use results of this monitoring to develop management strategies to ensure that hunting of all species is sustainable.

WCS Activities
WCS addresses the issues of hunting and wildlife trade in Latin America through 12 projects in 8 countries. Our approach is to make scientific assessments and to work closely with partners in applying practical solutions on the ground.

In the Ecuadorian Amazon, oil companies are building roads through the pristine tropical forests of the Yasuní Biosphere Reserve. WCS is monitoring illegal hunting along the new roads to determine the impact on wildlife and indigenous communities that depend on wildlife for sustenance.

In the lowland tropical forests of northeastern Peru, WCS has a different approach. We work with local communities to monitor their hunting offtakes and the sustainability of hunting different species. Results are fed into co-management programs with local communities. One project we are exploring is a possible sustainable market for “green” peccary skins. Long-term research has shown that peccary populations are large enough to support sustainable levels of hunting by local people. Revenues generated from the sale of peccary pelts to foreign markets help support the management of fully protected areas. 

In the Maya Biosphere Reserve of Guatemala, the scarlet macaw is extremely threatened due to the pet trade. WCS is fighting to save this macaw population from extirpation through nest protection efforts and awareness-raising initiatives. In the same region, WCS has developed a high-revenue, strictly controlled sport-hunting program for the ocellated turkey.  A small number of turkeys are hunted each year and the revenue this generates supports community conservation.

WCS is working with…

• Local communities in Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve in Peru, in the Maya Biosphere Reserve in Guatemala, and in the Chaco region in Bolivia to promote the sustainable use of wildlife and implement wildlife management plans.
• Oil companies in the Bolivian Chaco to monitor the effects of pipelines and roads on wildlife. WCS helped oil companies establish a trust fund to pay for protected area management by indigenous communities.
• Governments to build strong partnerships to manage wildlife trade. Specifically, we provide scientific data and technical assistance to governments to inform their policy and legal decisions. We also provide training for customs agents, enforcement officers, park managers, and others.
• Other NGOs to create stronger partnerships that increase our collective effectiveness in addressing unsustainable wildlife trade across Latin America.