Healthy forests safeguard traditional wild meat food systems in Amazonia
Abstract
Abstract Amazonia is the largest 1 and the most species-rich tropical forest region on Earth 2 , where hundreds of Indigenous cultures and thousands of animal species have interacted over millennia 3,4 . Although Amazonia offers a unique context to appraise the value of wildlife as a source of food to millions of rural inhabitants, the diversity, geographic extent, volumes and nutritional value of harvested wild meat are unknown. Here, leveraging a dataset comprising 447,438 animals hunted across 625 rural localities, we estimate an annual extraction of 0.57 Mt of undressed animal biomass across Amazonia, equivalent to 0.34 Mt of edible wild meat. Just 20 out of 174 taxa account for 72% of all animals hunted and 84% of the overall biomass extracted. We show that this amount of wild meat can meet nearly half of protein and iron dietary requirements for rural peoples, along with a substantial portion of their needs for B vitamins (18–126%) and zinc (23%). However, wild meat productivity is likely to have decreased by 67% in nearly 500,000 km² of highly deforested areas of Amazonia. Furthermore, the availability of wild meat per capita decreases significantly in areas with higher human population, greater proximity to cities, and more extensive deforestation. These findings highlight the urgent need to preserve the forest to safeguard biodiversity and traditional wild meat food systems, which will be essential for ensuring Amazonian peoples’ well-being and achieving several of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 5 .
Article Details
Authors (58)
André Pinassi Antunes
Pedro de Araujo Lima Constantino
Julia E. Fa
Daniel P. Munari
Thais Q. Morcatty
Michelle C. M. Jacob
Bruce W. Nelson
Mariana Franco Cassino
Elildo A. R. Carvalho
Amy Ickowitz
Lauren Coad
Richard E. Bodmer
Pedro Mayor
Cecile Richard-Hansen
João Valsecchi
João V. Campos-Silva
Juarez C. B. Pezzuti
Miguel Aparício
Eduardo M. von Muhlen
Marcela Alvares Oliveira
Milton J. de Paula
Natalia C. Pimenta
Marina A. R. de Mattos Vieira
Marcelo A. Santos Junior
André V. Nunes
Jean P. Boubli
Luan M. G. Suruí
Eneias C. S. Paumari
Abimael V. C. Paumari
José Lino V. S. Paumari
Germano C. Paumari
Ana Paula L. R. Katukina
Dzoodzo Baniwa
Valencio S. M. Baniwa
Walter S. L. Baniwa
Abel O. F. Baniwa
Armindo B. Baniwa
Isaías J. S. Baniwa
Yaukuma Waura
Jairo Silvestre Apurinã
Valdir S. S. Apurinã
Josiane O. G. Tikuna
Elias P. A. L. Tikuna
José L. Kaxinauá
Kussugi B. Kuikuro
Jorge T. Penaforth Kaixana
George H. Rebelo
Dione Torquato
Vanessa S. F. Apurinã
Miguel Antúnez
Pedro E. Perez-Peña
Tula G. Fang
Pablo E. Puertas
Rolando M. Aquino
Louise Maranhão
Guillaume Longin
Cíntia K. M. Lopes
Hani R. El Bizri