An African dilemma: Pastoralists, conservationists and tourists – reconciling conflicting issues in Kenya

Abstract

Kenya is facing irreconcilable tensions by competing interests from conservationists, tourism developers and pastoralists. Concerns arising from the well-being of flora and, in particular, fauna by conservationists; tourists and commercial tourism; and the increasingly restricted use of traditional lands and herding animals by pastoralist indigenous communities, have populated the discourse of land use in Kenya. In this paper, we look into the varying perceptions of each group of stakeholders and seek to analyse the current narrative that gives priority to wildlife protection and the commercial exploitation of wildlife through high-end tourism development to the detriment of the rights and interests of pastoralism. As pastoral land becomes more appropriated, our analysis shows that the antagonistic relationship between conservationism, commercial tourism and pastoralism is likely to deteriorate. We therefore propose a more participatory model of tourism development that will allow pastoralist communities to have a voice in the process.

Pastoralism and Tourism in Eastern Africa—Quantitative Analysis from 2004 to 2018

“…Although pastoralism may provide important ecosystem services to maintaining natural landscapes, the most important nature-based tourism attraction sites are closed from pastoralism. Similar findings were established in [37][38][39] for Kenyan Maasai pastoralists.…”

“…However, local communities rarely benefit much from living in the most attractive nature-based destinations, although host communities play a crucial role in the sustainable management of these areas [25,[31][32][33]. As wildlife has been an important attraction to tourists in the continent, local rural communities may consider the option of contributing to nature-based or wildlife tourism through their agricultural activities [33][34][35][36][37][38][39].…”

COVID-19 and African tourism research agendas

“…Kibicho, 2008;Sebele, 2010;Stone & Stone, 2011;Lwoga, 2019). Community tourism, of course, takes different shapes and sizes in various African contexts and is framed by critical challenges with respect to competing use of resources and compatibility with local culture (Tumusiime & Vedeld, 2012;Kieti et al, 2020). The focus of research going forward will need to address questions as to whether the host communities should remodel their tourism offering in order to comply with changing demands of post-COVID-19 visitors, refocus their offerings to accommodate new (maybe domestic) markets or to move out of tourism altogether.…”

Sustainable tourism development activities and planning systems in Vhembe district, Limpopo province, South Africa: A comprehensive eco-touristic and sustainability perspective

“…According to Mbaiwa (2005), the notion of sustainable tourism seeks to adjust and moderate matters of intergenerational equity and the ideals of environmental conservation, economic expansion and social fairness. However, using Kenya as a case study, Kieti et al (2020) reminds us of the significance of maintaining balance between land use priorities to avoid conflicts among conservationists, tourism and traditional farming by native communities, and the best solution would be to seek coordination and synergetic utilization of the land for mutual benefit with the common goal of sustainability and livelihoods. One of the eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites in South Africa combines environmental and cultural elements, making it one of three all-natural sites.…”