Characterization of poaching and bushmeat marketing in Deng-Deng National Park and its peripheral zone

Protected areas are very important for wildlife conservation. For this purpose, their safeizations against poaching is a major asset for their sustainable management. This study was conducted in the Deng Deng National Park (PNDD) and its peripheral zone from February to July 2019, with the aim of contributing to the maintenance of wildlife through the assessment of the status of poaching and the bushmeat distribution network. The methodology used favours a monographic, qualitative and participatory approach involving all the actions of the sector. For reasons of limited time and resources, 146 people were surveyed in 20 villages with a sampling rate of 1% of the population of each village. Data analysis was done in Excel 2016 software; R and ArcGis version 2.18. The results show that subsistence hunting and commercial hunting are practised in the area. The marketing of game derived from subsistence and commercial hunting is ensured by the women of the village and the Bayam-sellam, respectively. The hunting techniques used include cable trapping, dog hunting and rifle hunting, but trapping is the preferred technique of hunters with 60.27% representativeness. The most hunted species are the blue Cephalophes (Cephalophus monticola), the African Atherides (Atherurus Africanus) and the Bay Cephalophes (Cephalophus dorsalis) respectively with 13 440, 10 992 and 9 996 individuals slaughtered in average per year by the 146 investigated hunters. The largest game supply basin is Woutchaba ZIC with 54.11% of the responses obtained. All traffic routes (road, rail and river) used in the locality are utilized to evacuate bushmeat. The statistical analysis of the 2017 and 2018 poaching indices shows that the evolution of poaching has remained relatively stable over these two years. In the end, hunting as practised within the PNDD and its peripheral zone does not respect the limits of the right of use and the regulations in force, so it is illegal, despite its stable evolutionary State. However, the major impact of this activity on the wildlife resource of this long-term Park is likely to be observed by the disappearance of certain animal species. To this end, a strategy based on 04 programs is proposed to minimize negative impacts such as research, ecological and socio-economic monitoring, park protection and monitoring, participatory management and eco-development and the development of sustainable alternatives to poaching.

Key words: PNDD, poaching, bushmeat sector, biodiversity and sustainable management.