The Impacts of Sport Hunting on the Livelihoods of Local People: A Case Study of Bénoué National Park, Cameroon

This paper highlights the social impacts of sport hunting on the livelihoods of local people with a case study around Bénoué National Park, Northern Cameroon. Sport hunting is a way for local people to receive economic benefits from wildlife resources concerning community conservation. However, social impacts on local people, such as displacement and restriction of access to natural resources, have not been considered in the argument. Nineteen months of fieldwork, mainly based on interviews and observations in one village, showed that sport hunting in Northern Cameroon generated tax revenues about US$1.2 million in 2008 and also provided profit sharing and employment opportunities in the communities. However, the proportion is less than other African countries such as in Tanzania, and at the same time, both employment opportunities and profit sharing were inequitable in the community. Simultaneously, locals’ right to use natural resources, especially hunting, even for their livelihood, was regulated.