Analysis of local livelihoods around Moukalaba-Doudou National Park in Gabon

Abstract

It is important for the development of conservation projects to establish collaborative relationships with local populations, and for that, a detailed understanding of local lifestyles is required. In particular, basic information on local people’s natural resource utilization is essential. In this article, the authors analyzed livelihoods in Moukalaba-Doudou National Park (MDNP), southwestern Gabon based on quantitative data obtained from long-term field research. It was shown that people inhabiting the area around the MDNP depend heavily on natural resources for their livelihoods and they produced sufficient food within the region. However, it was also shown that the variety of food items was poor compared with other protected area in Africa and the nutritional status is presumed to have been inadequate. When compared with the data before the establishment of the National Park in 2002, consumption of bush meat decreased remarkably whereas that of fish only slightly increased after ten years. It is supposed that the people around the MDNP have converted their lifestyles flexibly to coexist with the conservation projects in a part, but it is also the fact that conservation practices threaten local livelihoods to some extent.