This human-wildlife conflict study was carried out around Midre-Kebid Abo Monastry. A descriptive survey design method was used and both qualitative and quantitative data were collected using questionnaires. Field experiment was carried out on two selected crops-maize and enset, to estimate crop damage by wild animals. Resource competition (46%), increased wildlife population (42.5%) and livestock populations (11.5%) were the major causes of conflict identified in the area. Wheat and maize were the most affected crops in the area with an estimate loss of 155.29 ± 12/kg/year and 106.15±12.3/kg/year, respectively. The average loss of enset obtained from estimation of 0.36 ha in four counts was 36 kg. On the other hand, the average loss of maize from estimation of 0.12 ha in four counts was 48 cobs (9.6 kg). Therefore, estimated damage based on the total coverage of enset (32 ha) and maize (42 ha) has become 3200 and 3360 kg, respectively. The most known problematic wild animals in the study area were apes (86.2%) followed by monkey (71.3%) and hyena (56.3%). Albeit there is an intense human-wildlife conflict in the study area, majority of the respondents (64.5%) have positive perception towards wildlife conservation. Different crop/livestock protection mechanisms, including guarding, chasing, hunting, fencing, cooperative guarding, guarding using dogs, trapping and scarecrow are used by the local community. The use unpalatable crops as buffer crops enforce environment and forest related laws and local government engagement in creating awareness about wildlife conservation and compensatory schemes are important to lessen the problem.

In Ethiopia, most of the studies on mammals have focused on single species and protected areas. This survey investigated the impacts of habitats and seasons on the medium and largesized mammals†™ diversity and distribution in a human-dominated landscape. This survey was conducted using 36 systematically distributed transect lines within stratified habitat types. A total of 685 records belonging to 21 species, six orders, and 13 families were identified, including globally vulnerable Panthera leo, Panthera pardus, and Hippopotamus amphibious. Overall, Papio anubis and Chlorocebus aethiops were the dominant species recorded in the area. Except for three species, all species encountered in the three habitats are subsets of the species recorded in the grassland. The species record frequency was highest in the forest. The dry season characterized by a higher frequency of records but by lower species richness than the wet season. In general, the study area is potential for mammalian species conservation in Ethiopia.

Local people's perceptions and attitudes toward wildlife have been advocatingfor the success of biodiversity conservation. However, area-specific data on local people's perceptions and attitudes toward carnivore populations and conservation in human-dominated landscapes are scarce. The purpose of this study was to investigate local people's perceptions of carnivore population abundance and trend, as well as their attitudes toward carnivore conservation in the Southern Rift Valley of Ethiopia. We collected data from 352 households' interviews using a semi-structured questionnaire and photographic sampling of 13 carnivore species in 2020. About 57% of respondents perceived the population abundance trend of carnivores had decreased between 2015 and 2019. The reported decline was higher for lions, caracals, and leopards, while the increase was higher for common genets and mongooses. The reported population abundance of carnivore species varied significantly. Only marginally more people (52%) opposed carnivore conservation, citing livestock predation as the primary reason. Two thirds of respondents opposed the conservation of spotted hyenas, black-backed jackals, common genets, and mongoose species while supporting the conservation of lions, caracals, African civets, and leopards. Respondents' livestock number was the most important factor significantly affecting all three models (population abundance, population trend, and support for conservation). Age and education status were displayed to have an effect on population abundance and trend models, while gender, land size, and damage to livestock were shown to have an effect on one of the two models. Thus, we recommend that awareness raising of human-carnivore coexistence through adult education programs be targeted at people who oppose conservation, own more livestock, experience more livestock damage, and have not received formal education. Also, effective livestock husbandry practices should be implemented to promote peaceful human-carnivore coexistence.

The ever increasing demand of farmland, fuel wood and charcoal production coupled with population growth has accelerated the rate of forest reduction in Ethiopia. This has resulted in soil erosion and land degradation. This study was conducted at Arba Minch Zuria Woreda Gamo Gofa Zone, Southern Nations and Nationalities Peoples' Region (SNNPR), with the aim of assessing impacts of deforestation on the livelihood of small holder farmers. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected from primary and secondary data sources. Data on the socio-demographic variables as well as farmers' perception towards impacts of deforestation, were collected using structured questionnaire from 180 randomly selected households from each study sites. The overall average age of respondents was 46.29, where the highest age was recorded in Mille site as compared to other sites (P<0.001). The average household (HH) size of each site was 6.62, 5.52 and 4.82, respectively (P<0.001). About 89.4% of the respondents from all study sites indicated the existence of unwise utilization of forest resources which led to environmental degradation of the area. The result indicated that 27.2% of the forest resources are common woodland, while 72.8% was open access. All the respondents (100%, N= 180) across the study sites reported that the increased trends of degradation of forest resources. Generally, the results of the study indicated that the effects of deforestation on land productivity; agriculture and livestock production had a negative effect on livelihoods of the community. Based on the present study, it is appropriate to undertake the large-scale natural resource management by incorporating community-based watershed management, thereby reducing the adverse impact of deforestation.

Local people knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) have played an important role in human-wildlife coexistence and have received increased attention in biodiversity conservation. However, studies on the KAP of local people towards human-carnivore coexistence (HCC) are scarce, species-specific or limited to the protected areas. Therefore, we investigated the local people KAP towards carnivore coexistence with humans, the problem of livestock and mitigation practices in a human-dominated landscape of southern Ethiopia. We collected the data from 352 households interviews using a semi-structured questionnaire and photographic sampling. The respondents mentioned 13 carnivores coexisting with local people belonging to six families. Eighty-five percent of the respondents perceived carnivores as problematic species and expressed a negative attitude towards them, primarily due to the damage they caused to their livestock. Respondents who had better knowledge of carnivores also showed a positive attitude towards carnivores. The cluster analysis showed that the spotted hyena, serval, leopard, common genet and black-backed jackal were grouped under a high-threat cluster. Chickens and goats were the most threatened livestock reported by respondents. The main predation control methods reported were guarding and fencing for larger livestock and keeping chickens indoors during the night. The regression models predicted that males and literate respondents had better knowledge of carnivores than females and illiterates. The respondents who owned more livestock experienced more damage to livestock, and females showed a negative attitude towards carnivores. Although the study area is the critical conservation value of the 13 carnivore species, livestock predation by carnivores, the local people's negative attitude towards carnivores and lethal predation control methods practiced by local people were affecting HCC in the area. The findings call for conservation actions such as conservation education to raise awareness and develop a positive attitude and non-lethal predation mitigation measures to promote HCC in consultation with the local community.

No abstract

Ecological investigation of species diversity and relative abundance of birds was conducted from January to September 2017 at the shoreline of Lake Hawassa, SNNPR, Ethiopia. Three habitats namely-Tikurwuha wetland, Human settlement and Farmland were identified for the study. A total of 60 bird species under 14 orders and 37 families were identified. In general, 2720 individuals of 81 species of birds were recorded during the wet season and 1557 individuals of 49 species during the dry season. During wet season, Tikurwuha wetland habitat had the highest diversity (H'=3.469) whereas the lowest diversity was recorded in farmland (H'=2.864). Analogously, during dry season the highest and the lowest diversity were recorded in Tikurwuha wetland habitat (H'=2.845) and farmland habitat (H'=2.584), respectively. The overall seasonal species' composition and relative abundance between dry and wet seasons were statistically significant (P < 0.05). In spite of the fact that the lake supports good number of birds' populations, anthropogenic activities going on near the lakeshore such as farm land and human settlement expansions are shrinking available habitats to birds through altering the vegetation composition and structure that ultimately affects birds' abundance and survival. Accordingly, since the existence of lakeshore bird species is based on the lake ecosystem, anthropogenic pressure such as farming activities and human settlement very close to the lake should be banned.

Understanding the structure and regeneration of forest resources contributes to identifying the elements of diversity, endemism, threatened and endangered species. This study was conducted in the western escarpment of the Rift valley of the Gamo Zone, Southern Ethiopia. The main objective was to investigate structure and regeneration status of the study area. A systematic sampling method was used to collect vegetation data from a total 102 quadrats, each 20 × 20 m (400 m 2 ) and five 1 × 1 m (1 m 2 ) sub-quadrats were established at the four corners and at the centre for sapling and seedling estimation. Tree and shrub species were listed; Height (H ≥ 1.5 m) and DBH ≥ 2 cm were measured and recorded. R-statically software and Microsoft Excel were used to record and analyse the data. A total of 126 plant species belonging to 43 families and 90 genera were identified. The most dominant families were Fabaceae, followed by Anacardiaceae and Euphorbiaceae. Most frequent species were Euclea divinorum (84.3%), followed by Rhus natalensis (83.3%), Terminalia brownii (74.5%). DBH class ≤ 5cm had highest density (63.6%) and DBH ≥ 25.1 cm had the lowest density (0.87%). Three population patterns have been observed; inverted J, J-shaped and irregular shaped. 93% of species had IVI values b/n 1 -4, 65% of species IVI values < 1% and 7% of species had IVI values ≥ 5.28. Pappea capensis, Combretum molle, Terminalia brownii, Euclea divinorum had highest IVI values. In the vertical stratification, lower story was 91.3% of the individuals. Only a few species contributed to the high density of saplings (440.2/ha) and seedlings (825.49/ha) while most had very little or no saplings and seedlings at all. Thus, in order to revert the current forest structure and regeneration to the previous natural state, it