Critical Analysis of Strategies of Wildlife Related Conflict Management in Kenya

Abstract

According to the 2003 International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Parks Congress, human-wildlife conflict occurs when wildlife requirements encroach on those of human populations, with costs both to residents and wild animals. In Africa, human-wildlife conflict is particularly prevalent, even in countries with a higher average annual income. Crocodiles still kill people in the Lake Nasser area in Egypt and within towns in Mozambique; leopards still kill sheep within 100 km of Cape Town, South Africa, and lions kill cattle around the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya like was recentry witnessed in Kitengera. Conflict is a dynamic phenomenon that goes through phases, infraction, escalation, controlled menace, and termination. Conflict will always occur when actors in conflict try to pursue their perceptions of mutually in compactable goals by undermining directly or indirectly the goal seeking capability of one another. Another school of thought argues that conflicts are caused by lack of fulfillment of needs. People are displeased because their expectations are not met. This displeasure builds up when they perceive that they are being neglected. Rampant land transformation combined with the increase in various recreational activities and growing public interest in charismatic species, such as large carnivores and endangered species, have increased the human presence in protected areas, wildlife habitats and raised concern about capacities to manage and regulate public access and large-scale use of protected areas. In recent years, the successful recovery of declining or near extinct species populations through wildlife management and protection from overexploitation has also led to new conflicts. The wildlife managers and communities continue to use various strategies to mitigate these conflicts. The causes of these conflicts range from poor governance, inequality access to resources, and resource competition among others. Various strategies have been used to manage wildlife related conflicts. Coexistence is only achieved when the strategies used are able to deescalate the conflicts. This research looks analysis the strategies used in management of wildlife related conflicts and the researcher makes recommendation based on this analysis.