Hunting Primates for food poses the greatest threat to Chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes) and Gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) in the Gunieo-Congolian forest region of West and Central Africa. While past research has focused on biological or economic factors of primate conservation, the commercial bushmeat trade in Cameroon provides a complex and dynamic case study that calls for a more integrated conservation program. Focusing on the largely disregarded role of women in the trade, this study demonstrates the need for greater inclusion of all participants in conservation planning. Women, as the buyers and sellers both in large urban markets and local village markets, provide an important source of local understandings of the bushmeat trade. As an overview for further research, open-ended interviews were conducted with women across the tropical forest region in Cameroon. While there is considerable cultural variation within Cameroon, results indicate women participate in the trade not only for economic reasons but also based on gender roles, and appropriate divisions of labour. From this participation, which often occurred after a lifestyle change, the women gain a support group of other sellers as well as generate a sense of identity and community. As such a constituent, women vendors represent potential regulators of the trade and their inclusion will influence the success of conservation planning towards community development and independence. In this view, primate conservation, and programs targeting the bushmeat trade must focus on cultivating support that values the crucial role of women as not only active participants but also key stakeholders in this trade. A proposed integrated model for comprehensive conservation concludes this research project by integrating insight gained from valuing alternative perspectives in the bushmeat trade with concepts from political ecology.
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