City governments have many competing priorities – from the economic to social spheres – and have difficulty in appropriating the right amount of resources to biodiversity conservation. This is largely due to the lack of policy tools that take into account the value of biodiversity and the ecosystem services they provide. Nature is often viewed as an aesthetic luxury that few can afford. How…
Wildlife in tropical forests is a main source of livelihoods, and the ‘empty forest syndrome’ can have direct negative impacts on the health and well-being of forest dependent communities. The bushmeat crisis therefore reminds us of humankind’s dependence on biodiversity: the disappearance of wildlife from our forests is also a serious threat to the cultural and spiritual identity of many…