African Wildlife Economy Institute - AWEI

Student spotlight number two – great research starts with great researchers.

Introducing Mukwevho Mbuyalano, who is examining trade networks and market dynamics in the edible insect sector as part of our insect markets project in Limpopo.

By mapping trade routes and the people who drive them, this research sheds light on how the edible insect trade works on the ground – who trades, at what price, and what holds the market back. These are exactly the insights the traders and communities who depend on the sector need policymakers to see.

Find out more: https://wildlifeeconomy.info/projects/mapping-south-africa-edible-insect-markets

One more spotlight on its way.

𝗦𝗔𝗕𝗛𝗦𝗦𝗔 𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽 | 𝗦𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗲.

SABHSSA is pleased to announce our 2026 Best Practice Workshop, in partnership with the African Wildlife Economy Institute (AWEI).

𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗲: Upholding standards, securing the future, using resources responsibly.

This year’s workshop will focus on key priorities for the hunting and wildlife sector:

• Transformation within the hunting and wildlife sector
• Legal issues and compliance
• Professional behaviour, industry standards and ethics
• Partnerships, collaborations and business relationship management

𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀.

📅 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗲: Friday, 07 August 2026
⏰ 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲: 09H00
📍𝗩𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲: SANParks Head Office Auditorium, 643 Leyds Street, Muckleneuk, Pretoria

We invite all members, public, stakeholders and industry partners to join us for this important conversation.

𝗥𝗦𝗩𝗣 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗺 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲:
[email protected]

🗒For collaborations and partnership opportunities for this event, kindly contact: [email protected] | [email protected]

Have you ever picked a wild fruit or flower growing along a path, field, or stream? If so, you are a forager, and you are not alone.

A new article by researcher Mallika Sardeshpande examines who forages around the world and why it matters. Foraging connects people to nature, supports physical and mental health, and helps sustain the biodiversity around us. For many households, it also saves and earns money.

That value is now being recognised by governments as the wildlife (or biodiversity) economy. South Africa is updating its National Biodiversity Economy Strategy to include the harvesting of wild plants, aiming to grow a formal sector tenfold over the next decade. But the plan leans heavily towards cultivation and says little about wild species and the foragers who depend on natural habitats.

The article makes a practical case: community-owned foraging areas, with clear rules on who can forage, how much, and when, can protect both livelihoods and nature.

Read the full article: https://wildlifeeconomy.info/article/foraging-of-wild-plants

Avela Makoyi is investigating the socio-economic impacts and environmental sustainability of edible insect harvesting and trade as part of our insect markets research project.

Avela's research explores how edible insect harvesting supports income and food security in rural communities — and what it means for the insect populations being harvested. With a particular focus on women’s participation and the sustainability of wild-harvesting, Avela hopes to show how livelihoods and conservation can be balanced rather than traded off.

Read more about the project here: https://wildlifeeconomy.info/projects/mapping-south-africa-edible-insect-markets

Two more spotlights coming!

🌊 Happy World Ocean Day! 🐧

This year’s theme is “Strong Marine Protected Areas for Our Blue Planet” – but what about strong MPAs for people too?

Africa has hundreds of marine protected areas, and South Africa alone has over 40. They protect penguins, turtles, and fish, and they also support real livelihoods: jobs in tourism, fishing, and whale watching, as well as local communities.

Our new article explores how Africans benefit from their MPAs and why strengthening them is a win for both nature and people.

📖 Read it here: https://wildlifeeconomy.info/article/african-marine-protected-areas-benefits

Research is only as strong as the team behind it. Introducing the project leaders steering our new initiative in Limpopo.

Dr Wiseman Ndlovu, Deputy Director, African Wildlife Economy Institute, Stellenbosch University
Dr Agnes Mathaulula, Institute for Rural Development, University of Venda

Together, they bring expertise across wildlife economics, entomology, law, and policy advocacy. We're proud to have them leading this work.

The team has already held one data-gathering workshop and begins another tomorrow!

We’re pleased to share news of a new AWEI research project: “Mapping South Africa’s Insect Markets and Trade Policy Imperatives.”

Working with the University of Venda and Stellenbosch University, and supported by the Atlas Network, we’ll map the edible insect trade across three districts in Limpopo to generate the evidence policymakers need to better support this sector.

The insect trade supports many traders across Limpopo, particularly women, yet it operates largely without legal recognition or formal market data. This project aims to change that.

Stay tuned for more.

What can a praying mantis teach us about conservation?

Our AWEI team recently spent a day at !Khwa ttu, home to the San people of Southern Africa, and it changed how we think about the wildlife economy.

We heard stories about the praying mantis, the Moon and the Hare, and the stars. We learned how wild melons were buried under trees to be retrieved during droughts, shared with animals when water was scarce. We discovered that the confetti bush was used as a perfume and a hunting aid, masking human scent on windy days.

What struck us most was this: for the San, humans, animals, and plants exist in a living, interconnected system. Use without relationship becomes extraction. And that's a lesson the modern wildlife economy urgently needs to hear.

As we head toward 2035, AWEI is committed to broadening what we mean by the "wildlife economy" to include plants, knowledge systems, and cultural practices as foundational, not optional.

Read the full story on our website 👇
https://wildlifeeconomy.info/article/Reimagining-the-wildlife-economy-through-indigenous-knowledge

Did you know that the baobab oil in your moisturiser, or the frankincense in your perfume, may have been harvested by hand from wild trees in Africa?

Today is International Biodiversity Day, and this year’s theme is “acting locally for global impact.”
In the spirit of that theme, we’ve profiled six remarkable African companies that are doing exactly that: sustainably sourcing wild ingredients from their local landscapes and selling them to the global cosmetics industry.

From shea butter co-operatives in Ghana to myrrh resins from Somalia, these entrepreneurs are proving that protecting biodiversity and building a business don’t have to be in conflict.

🌿 Read the full story here: https://wildlifeeconomy.info/article/Africas-biodiversity-entrepreneurs


Bubune Africa Namib Desert Oils Kaza Natural Oils FairWild

A 2025 study asked a hard question: Should rangers shoot at suspected criminals to protect wildlife?

Researchers surveyed people across eight countries to find out how the world feels about armed enforcement inside protected areas in sub-Saharan Africa, and the findings may surprise you.

Overall, most people found it unacceptable. But acceptability was higher for self-defence situations and preventing poaching. Perhaps most striking: people living far from these protected areas were more accepting of shooting than those living near them.

It’s a powerful reminder that conservation decisions made in distant boardrooms may not reflect the values of the communities most affected.

This research is essential reading for conservationists, policymakers, and anyone who cares about the future of wildlife and the people who share landscapes with it.

👉 Read the research: https://wildlifeeconomy.info/research/acceptability-of-shooting-suspected-criminals-in-protected-areas