Wildlife is a critical component of biodiversity and ecosystem services that support human wellbeing. Many communities depend on wildlife for their livelihoods as well as for food and nutrition.

But due to overexploitation and loss of natural habitat, wildlife continues to face a dramatic decline. Additionally, unsustainable hunting and demand for wild meat increases the risk of disease-causing pathogens to make the leap to humans from other animals. When diseases spill over into human populations, they can threaten human lives, livelihoods, and food security.

Critical development goals of conserving biodiversity, achieving food security, and protecting the health of human communities requires more than siloed, sectoral efforts.

To address unsustainable wild meat harvesting and use, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) created and supported the USAID Wild Meat Collaborative Learning Group. Between 2021-2025, the group served as a platform for cross-sectoral learning exchanges to support evidence-based decision-making for improved programming. Colleagues from across USAID and its partner organizations brought together expertise from biodiversity conservation, food security, nutrition and public health to learn about problems and solutions to address the linked threats of unsustainable wild meat hunting and demand to wildlife and human well-being.

While USAID is no longer active, these resources live on. The toolkits developed by the group can elevate understanding of the importance of wild meat issues, foster engagement and integrated learning on these issues, and improve effectiveness in field programming addressing wild meat.

The Wild Meat Toolkit that emerged from this work compliments the WILDMEAT Indicators Toolkit, which provides guidance on ecological indicators and population monitoring, whereas the Wild Meat Integrated Project Toolkit more broadly addresses program design, monitoring, and adaptive management. Together, these resources offer a holistic framework for conservation programming.

Learning agenda

Wild meat, also known as “bushmeat,” refers to the meat of wildlife species hunted or collected for human consumption. USAID staff developed the Wild Meat Learning Agenda to generate and share evidence to inform efforts to improve wild meat programming and to understand those connections to food security, health, and conservation. The Learning Agenda defines learning questions and associated activities to address those questions.

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Theory of Change

The Learning Agenda is framed around a theory of change that presents a hypothesis of expected results of wild meat programming to improve conservation and health outcomes.

USAID developed the theory of change, and its associated learning questions are a framework to help project teams plan for, learn about, and adapt their wild meat, health, and food security programming. The learning questions seek to understand the context, test the assumptions, and define and monitor key characteristics of an expected result.

The theory of change highlights four main outcomes that project teams seek to achieve to reduce unsustainable and illegal wild meat.

Consumer preferences and desires for wild meat reduced: The use of behavior change methodologies to reduce consumer preferences and desires for wild meat to reduce sales of wild meat products and ultimately help to mitigate unsustainable and illegal hunting of wildlife for consumption.

Consumer needs for wild meat reduced: The provision of alternative food and economic enterprises to reduce reliance on wild meat for food and income.

Urban wild meat commodity chain regulated: Strengthening regulations and enforcement actions to increase the risks for wildlife crimes, and therefore reduce sales of illegal wildlife products and risks to emergence of zoonotic diseases.

Rural access to wild meat for subsistence consumption maintained: Strengthening community management of local areas, as well as protected area management and regulating sustainable subsistence hunting to maintain local access to wild meat for subsistence consumption in rural areas.

The Theory of Change suggests that IF consumer preferences, desires, and needs for wild meat are reduced, the urban wild meat commodity chain is regulated, and rural access to wild meat for subsistence consumption is maintained, THEN unsustainable and illegal hunting of wild species will be reduced. A reduction in hunting improves the viability of wildlife species and improves human well-being outcomes, including reduced risks to zoonotic diseases, improved food security and nutrition, and increased household income.

In 2022, USAID collected case studies addressing the questions posed in the Wild Meat Learning Agenda. The series looks at USAID-funded activities from around the world.

The information provided in the case-study series does not necessarily represent the views or positions of USAID or the U.S. government.

What does it take to make wild meat regulations work? USAID wildlife TRAPS in Tanzania

Lessons from a multi-pronged approach to reduce wild meat consumption: USAID Zambia Eastern Kafue Nature Alliance

Managing zoonotic disease risk in the wild meat trade: USAID wildlife TRAPS in Vietnam.

From reduction to management: New approaches to regulate wild meat in Tanzania: USAID Tuhifadhi Maliasili.

A community-first approach to address the drivers of wild meat consumption: USAID Zambia Luangwa livelihood and conservation activity.

Exploring the connection between poultry production and reduced wild meat consumption: USAID conserving the biodiversity of Northern Congo by diversifying the livelihoods of bushmeat value chain agents and increasing poultry production.

CONNECTing wildlife and wild meat: USAID conserving natural capital and enhancing collaborative management of transboundary resources in East Africa.

Empowering Cambodian youth to reduce bushmeat demand: USAID Cambodia Green Future.

The USAID Wild Meat Collaborative Learning Group learned a great deal over many years. This document organizes the lessons learned and resources for each learning question in the Wild Meat Learning Agenda.

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Learning questions and related resources

Based on the theory of change and in consultation with the Wild Meat Learning Group members, an initial set of learning questions were identified. These questions form the basis for the Learning Agenda.

Browse the questions and related resources below.

Main Outcome	Learning Questions	Proposed Learning Activities	Related Learning Group Resources
	LQ 1a: What are the barriers and incentives that motivate urban, peri-urban, and non-subsistence demand for and consumption of wild meat?	Summarize existing research from bushmeat demand reduction campaigns.	Webinar: Wild Meat Consumer Segmentation in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Webinar: Why Eat Wild Meat? Case Study: CONNECTing Wildlife and Wild Meat: USAID Conserving Natural Capital and Enhancing Collaborative Management of Transboundary Resources in East Africa Empowering Cambodian Youth to Reduce Bushmeat Demand: USAID Case Study: Cambodia Green Future Case Study: From Reduction to Management – New Approaches to Regulate Wild Meat in Tanzania: Lessons from Tuhifadhi Maliasili Reducing Demand for Wild Meat – A Compilation of Formative Research Questions and Findings Across Campaigns
	LQ1b: What behavior change approaches are effective in overcoming barriers or leveraging incentives for changing wild meat demand and consumption behavior?	Summarize behavioral determinants for non-subsistence demand of wild meat. Engage programs and individuals with experience shifting behaviors, including food preferences and social marketing, to draw lessons for wild meat programs.
	LQ2: How effective is alternative protein substitution for subsistence-level consumption of wild meat?	Develop case studies to showcase and share learning around programs that have used protein substitution strategies.	Webinar: Poultry Production in Northern Republic of the Congo Webinar: Why Eat Wild Meat? Case Study: Exploring the Connection between Poultry Production and Reduced Wild Meat Consumption: USAID Conserving the Biodiversity of Northern Congo by Diversifying the Livelihoods of Bushmeat Value Chain Agents and Increasing Poultry Production Case Study: A Community-First Approach to Address the Drivers of Wild Meat Consumption: USAID Zambia Luangwa Livelihood and Conservation Activity
	LQ3a: Where wild meat sales are legal, how effectively are regulations monitored and enforced?	Reach out to programs operating where wild meat sales are legal to understand how enforcement and regulations work, and whether it is effective.	Webinar: Tanzania’s Trade in Wild Meat  Webinar: Wild Meat Enforcement and Governance Case Study: What Does It Take to Make Wild Meat Regulations Work? USAID Wildlife TRAPS (Trafficking Response, Assessment, and Priority Setting) in Tanzania Case Study: Managing Zoonotic Disease Risk in the Wild Meat Trade: USAID Wildlife TRAPS (Trafficking Response, Assessment, and Priority Setting) in Vietnam Case Study: From Reduction to Management- New Approaches to Regulate Wild Meat in Tanzania: Lessons from Tuhifadhi Maliasili
	LQ3b: How effective are regulations at reducing illegal and unsustainable sale of wildlife?
	LQ4: What management systems for land and protected areas can support sustainable subsistence hunting for local communities without contributing to commercial hunting?	Reach out to programs that are supporting indigenous communities with land tenure as it relates to food security and economic needs.	Webinar: Sustainable Wildlife Management Case Study: Lessons from a Multi-Pronged Approach to Reduce Wild Meat Consumption: USAID Zambia Eastern Kafue Nature Alliance Case Study: A Community-First Approach to Address the Drivers of Wild Meat Consumption: USAID Zambia Luangwa Livelihood and Conservation Activity Case Study: From Reduction to Management- New Approaches to Regulate Wild Meat in Tanzania: Lessons from Tuhifadhi Maliasili
	LQ5: Where are the synergies between wild meat interventions and those focused on zoonotic disease, food security, and household income in USAID programming?	Understand, synthesize, and gather lessons on existing synergies between sectors.	Webinar: Importance of Wild Meat and Fish for Children’s Nutritional Intake in the Congo Basin Webinar: Wild Meat and One Health Case Study: Managing Zoonotic Disease Risk in the Wild Meat Trade: USAID Wildlife TRAPS (Trafficking Response, Assessment, and Priority Setting) in Vietnam Case Study: Lessons from a Multi-Pronged Approach to Reduce Wild Meat Consumption: USAID Zambia Eastern Kafue Nature Alliance Case Study: A Community-First Approach to Address the Drivers of Wild Meat Consumption: USAID Zambia Luangwa Livelihood and Conservation Activity
	LQ 6: What combination, if any, of strategic approaches are effective in achieving threat reduction and improving human well-being, and under what conditions?	Learn from programs that address some or all of the strategies and their effectiveness at reducing unsustainable and illegal wild meat. Can look beyond USAID funding.
	Relevant to all learning questions	Learn from programs that address some or all of the strategies and their effectiveness at reducing unsustainable and illegal wild meat. Can look beyond USAID funding.   Use lessons from the webinar and case study series, learning exchanges, and other relevant products to develop a wild meat toolkit.	Wild Meat Toolkit for Integrated Design, Monitoring, and Adaptive Management

Acknowledgements

This toolkit was made possible by the generous support of the American people through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Improving Design, Evidence, and Learning (IDEAL) contract (#GS-00F-193DA Order #7200AA23M00012). The USAID Bureau for Resilience, Environment, and Food Security funds and manages IDEAL, which is implemented by Environmental Incentives, LLC with its partners Foundations of Success, NORC at the University of Chicago, and World Resources Institute.