The Sustainable Wildlife Management (SWM) Programme has released an animated short story based on the principles of community-based sustainable wildlife management.
The SWM Programme is a major international initiative that aims to improve wildlife conservation and food security. It is made up of partner organisations, including FAO, CIRAD, CIFOR and WCS.
The animation was inspired by the SWM Programme Technical Brief on community-based sustainable wildlife management.
The brief gives six key points for sustainable wildlife management systems:
- Communities need to know the abundance of wildlife, including fish, in their environment, if these animal populations are stable or declining, and how they are currently used by the community.
- Stewardship is predicated on the recognition and respect of communities’ rights to their resources.
- Empowered communities are the most appropriate level of organization for managing wildlife.
- Working together is critical.
- Communities need recognized governance groups.
- Producing alternative sources of food and income.
These key points are brought to life in the animated short story, which depicts a scenario where a community is suffering due to a decline in the numbers of wildlife species.
The real-world implications of issues such as habitat fragmentation, over-hunting, and illegal logging are explored, as well as the solutions used to tackle them.
The CIC commends the SWM Programme for producing this excellent and informative animation. Community-based sustainable wildlife management is a concept that may be foreign to the majority of people. Videos such as this are necessary in order to make complex systems appear approachable and easy to understand.
