Around the world, millions of rural and forest dwellers rely on the meat of undomesticated terrestrial animals for their nutrition and livelihoods. But population growth, the rise of wild meat as a delicacy among booming urban populations, and the expansion of roads into hitherto intact ecosystems are threatening both wildlife and communities.

An estimated 11 million tons of wild meat is harvested each year in the world’s rainforests alone, fueling the national and international trade in wildlife, and increasing the risk of zoonotic diseases for global populations.

On the occasion of World Wildlife Day, we spoke with Julia Fa, senior research associate at the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF), and experts from Africa and Latin America about the importance of sustainable wildlife management, approaches to reconcile wildlife conservation and wild meat consumption, and what it will take to advance towards a more sustainable future. 

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