Protected areas (PAs) in Central Africa provide unprecedented opportunities to maintain ecosystem integrity and safeguard the unique wildlife of one of the most biodiverse regions in the world. However, conflicts exist between wildlife protection, and the needs of human populations adjacent to PAs. Although the use of wildlife resources within PAs is nominally regulated, wildlife exploitation in the areas surrounding parks benefit human nutrition and livelihoods of adjacent populations. In 2013–2014, we interviewed 28% of all known households in 37 villages surrounding the Odzala Kokoua National Park (OKNP), Republic of Congo. We gathered information on bushmeat consumption, income, material assets, and hunter perception of the state of wildlife. We show that bushmeat species (mostly duikers, small monkeys and porcupine) were consumed in 38–48% of meals, and 20–30% of households earned cash from hunting wildlife in most villages; more than any other single source of revenue, except cocoa. Although it remains unknown whether the park was a reservoir for wildlife for areas around the studied villages, we showed that more bushmeat was consumed closer to OKNP. By contrast, income from bushmeat sales in villages closer to markets was greater, and as a corollary, market access and household wealth were positively correlated. Overall, total household income, income from bushmeat sales, travel time, and distance to the OKNP were good predictors of household wealth. Wildlife, although considered more abundant around villages closest to the park, was perceived as generally declining around all village groups. Our results highlight the possible importance of PAs and adjacent areas as reservoirs of wildlife and in maintaining wild meat resources used by the surrounding human populations.

中文翻译：

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公园附近社区的食物和生计：以 Odzala Kokoua 国家公园为例

中部非洲的保护区 (PA) 为维护生态系统完整性和保护世界上生物多样性最丰富地区之一的独特野生动物提供了前所未有的机会。然而，野生动物保护与保护区附近人口的需求之间存在冲突。虽然保护区内野生动物资源的使用在名义上受到管制，但公园周边地区的野生动物开发有益于人类营养和邻近人口的生计。2013-2014 年，我们采访了刚果共和国 Odzala Kokoua 国家公园 (OKNP) 周围 37 个村庄中所有已知家庭的 28%。我们收集了有关丛林肉消费、收入、物质资产和猎人对野生动物状况的看法的信息。我们展示了丛林肉物种（主要是小羚羊、小猴子和豪猪）在 38-48% 的膳食中被食用，大多数村庄有 20-30% 的家庭通过狩猎野生动物赚取现金；比任何其他单一收入来源都要多，可可除外。尽管尚不清楚该公园是否是所研究村庄周围地区野生动物的蓄水池，但我们表明，在靠近 OKNP 的地方食用了更多的丛林肉。相比之下，靠近市场的村庄销售丛林肉的收入更高，因此，市场准入和家庭财富呈正相关。总体而言，家庭总收入、丛林肉销售收入、旅行时间和到 OKNP 的距离是家庭财富的良好预测指标。尽管人们认为离公园最近的村庄周围的野生动物更为丰富，但在所有村庄组周围，野生动物普遍减少。