In
Editorial
When we think of feeding ourselves, our minds likely conjure images of suburban comforts. Colorful supermarket aisles under fluorescent lights humming to the soft chirps of checkout scanners or even bustling farmers markets brimming with stands of homegrown products. Regardless of the scene that comes to mind, one we may be less familiar with is the bountiful land around us and all it can bring to the table.
Why Subsistence Hunting? And What is it?
In contrast to the curated aisles of the supermarket, nature is filled with wild unpredictability that many communities around the world have relied on for generations to feed themselves. Along with gathering edible plants, berries and grains from the local environment, subsistence hunting plays a critical role in the lives of rural and indigenous communities, providing an invaluable source of essential nutrition and a vehicle for the transmission of cultural values, stories and identities. But what exactly does subsistence hunting mean?
In different corners of the globe, the hunting of animals is a necessary task to provide food and resources to the hunter, their family and members of the community. This act, called subsistence hunting, becomes especially important in rural areas where access to other means of finding food and services are limited in comparison to more urbanized locations.
Who Does it? And Where?
Subsistence hunting has been central to the identities of many societies for generations, allowing people to maintain ties to their traditions and spiritualities with a greater sense of self. Subsistence hunting is not for the acquisition of commercial gain through economic trade, but rather to sustain the health and vitality of local communities who have a culturally rich history of coexisting alongside the animals with whom they share the land.
A narwhal (Inuktitut: tuugaalik, qilalugaq, or qilalugaq qernertaq) is prepared to eat. Photograph: jbutcher
How is the Animal Used? What Does it Mean for Human and Wildlife Populations?
Typical of subsistence harvests, as much of the animals are used as possible. Harvested meat provides essential nutrients that help form a healthy diet, parts such as bones and teeth are key materials for handmade goods and tools whereas furs and hides can provide necessary protection like clothing and shelter, all of which support families and draw community members closer to one another. Subsistence hunts are often communal, with hunters generally taking only what they need.
To understand the link between hunting and its effects on wildlife further, it’s good to know the effect it has on communities too. The strong sense of appreciation for wildlife among members of a society can work to ensure the continuation of sustainable harvesting. Additionally, indigenous societies and conservationists can work collaboratively to determine what wildlife management strategies might be needed to benefit the animals that have shaped the human cultures that rely on them. By understanding the importance of wildlife to human livelihoods in rural areas, wildlife is held in high regard and protected with the strength of generations.
A Cautionary Note
Subsistence hunting plays an important role in indigenous ways of life but like most things, it’s not always perfect. In terms of wildlife conservation, the effects of poorly managed subsistence hunting can have negative impacts on wildlife populations and diversity. This potential threat can grow larger as humans and their settlements expand in rural areas which can result in increased use of wildlife. The effects can ripple through the ecosystem and even back to humans, negatively impacting the availability of food and their livelihoods.
A man cooks harvested meat by the fire. Photograph: Zambian Department of National Parks and Wildlife
As found in a recent study, unsustainable harvests don’t affect all wildlife the same way or at the same time. Researchers found that species that live longer and reproduce at an older age are affected the most by unsustainable subsistence hunting, as it takes longer for populations of these species to increase. Additionally, the study also found that animals harvested for subsistence were more likely to have long-term decreasing populations, not a positive sign for the hunter or the hunted.
How to Make it Sustainable
Along with identification of the threats to wildlife from poorly regulated subsistence hunting, researchers also indicated some hopeful possibilities for change and positive current states of these harvests worldwide. For some areas, they suggested implementing “no-take zones,” or areas that act as reserves for the animals with the intent to encourage population growth and replenish areas where animals were harvested. Their research also found that subsistence hunting was most sustainable in areas of low human densities, when the hunters used traditional weapons that slowed the pace of harvesting and when there were already local regulations to harvesting, either limiting the number of animals available to take or establishing seasons when subsistence hunting can occur.
A polar bear skin is hung to dry. Photograph: Danita Delimont
The key is to balance the amount of harvests by humans with wildlife population growth to make sure that harvests are sustainable. Similarly, it’s important that any adjustments to harvest levels use a combination of scientific and local knowledge to ensure that suggestions to subsistence harvesting are truly long-lasting to all parties, adapting to the unique issues of each community and satisfying the needs of the context-dependent scenarios of wildlife management across the globe.
To ensure that wildlife and the cultures that depend upon it continue to thrive, subsistence harvesting needs to be managed sustainably. If not, the very species that people rely on to live could be lost, drastically impacting the affected communities and the environments they call home. And though the circumstances may vary and can shape what sustainable options could be for each instance of subsistence harvesting, the importance of subsistence hunting to cultures worldwide that rely on it should be recognized so that the wildlife and the benefits they provide to societies can thrive.
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