Ebola, forests and bushmeat: Making sense of a crisis

The current Ebola crisis in Africa has drawn attention to the link between the animal-borne virus and bushmeat, a crucial source of food for tens of millions of people. A ban on the hunting of forest-based wildlife in hopes of stemming the possible spread of the Ebola virus in Africa would be impracticable. CIFOR is calling for more research to understand the value chain of the bushmeat trade — a difficult task given that the trade is carried out informally, often illegally and unsustainably.