The potential role of safari hunting as a source of revenue for protected areas in the Congo Basin

In sub-Saharan Africa conservation of biodiversity is increasingly predicat ed on finding ways to ensure that the economic value of maintaining a lands cape in its 'natural' state meets or exceeds the expected returns from conv erting the area to an alternative land use, such as agriculture. 'Wildlands ' in Africa must generate, directly or from donor contributions, funds suff icient to cover both the operating costs of conservation, and the opportuni ty costs of forgoing other forms of resource use. Government and donor inve stments currently meet less than 30 per cent of the estimated recurring cos ts required to manage the protected-area network within central African cou ntries effectively, and cover none of the growing opportunity costs incurre d to maintain protected areas. Unfortunately, few additional sources of fun ding are available. Tourism is only economically viable where charismatic s pecies exist in 'safe' areas that are not more than a few hours drive in a 4x4 vehicle from an international airport-ostensibly excluding tourism from most of central Africa. In contrast, a review of available information sug gests that safari hunting could offer a significant and sustainable source of financing to offset some of the costs of maintaining protected areas in central Africa. However, better quantitative data are needed to assess whet her trophy hunting is both ecologically sustainable and economically compet itive over the long term relative to other land uses.