Tombwa community awareness campaign on the negative impact of the commercialization of waterbirds and seabirds

Surveys on waterbird species carried out in recent years have demonstrated a strong impact of human activities on these species in Angola. Contrary to other areas where declines in population numbers are often linked to habitat degradation, in the municipality of Tômbwa there is intensive hunting of waterbirds and seabirds throughout the year. This hunting is practiced by fishermen who use nets to attract and capture the birds, especially Cape Cormorants which is considered an endangered species. In fact, surveys carried out on the ground indicate that at least 1000 individuals of this species are captured daily.

As this illegal activity could have an irreversible impact on the population, an awareness campaign was conducted among communities, especially fishermen, about the threat of hunting birds. During the campaign, the team discovered that the capture, sale, and consumption of waterbirds, especially the Cape Cormorant, was considered normal and that community members were not aware that hunting was against the law or could negatively affect bird populations, highlighting the needs for more outreach activities in this topic in the area. Hence, the project team trained two local technicians, from the municipal administration and the University of Namibe, to continue the work on the ground. The long-term goal is to reduce the impact of illegal hunting on the population of waterbirds and seabirds in the area.