CAMPFIRE and Human-Wildlife Conflicts in Local Communities Bordering Northern Gonarezhou National Park, Zimbabwe

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Human-wildlife conflicts are a global problem, and are occurring in many countries where human and wildlife requirements overlap. Conflicts are particularly common near protected areas where societal unrest is large. To ease conflict, integrated conservation and development projects (ICDPs) have been implemented. The Communal Areas Management Programme for Indigenous Resources (CAMPFIRE) is an example of an ICDP. We hypothesized that (i) a higher perceived effectiveness of CAMPFIRE would be associated with a decline in human-wildlife conflicts, and (ii) local communities with higher perceived effectiveness of CAMPFIRE programs would have more favorable attitudes towards problematic wild animals. Four focus group discussions and interviews with 236 respondents were conducted in four local communities adjacent to northern Gonarezhou National Park, Zimbabwe from December 2010 to August 2011. Moreover, we included data on recorded incidences of human-wildlife conflicts and CAMPFIRE financial returns to study communities between 2000 and 2010. Our results indicate that local communities showed considerable differences in how CAMPFIRE effectiveness was perceived. Local communities with higher ratings of CAMPFIRE effectiveness generally perceived a decline in human-wildlife conflicts, although some people had experienced problems with wild animals. Attitudes towards main problematic wild animals varied across the study communities and were partly associated with perceived CAMPFIRE effectiveness. Our findings partly support both of our study hypotheses. Contextual factors across the four local communities seemed to influence the perceived effectiveness of CAMPFIRE programs and attitudes towards problematic wildlife species. We recommend that decisions and actions regarding the control of problem animals be devolved to the community level in order to help reduce human-wildlife conflicts in community-based natural resources management programs.

Occurrence patterns of African manatees, conflicts with humans, and local perception in the Southern Korup Area, Cameroon

“…Crop damage is more frequent in the wet season when manatees have easy access to crops on river banks, aided by flooding, whereas in the dry season the availability of fish in nets influences their foraging habits (Akoi, ; Powell, ). These incidents lead to negative attitudes towards manatees (Akoi, ) and can be likened to issues with other wildlife (Gandiwa, Gandiwa, & Muboko, ; Madden, ). Socio‐demographic factors can modulate human–wildlife conflicts (Dickman, ; Leonidou, Coudounaris, Kvasova, & Christodoulides, ; Nekaris, Boulton, & Nijman, ), especially when valued resources are affected (Linnell et al, ).…”

Regulation of usages and dependency on indigenous fruits (IFs) for livelihoods sustenance of rural households: A case study of the Ivindo National Park (INP), Gabon

“…Thus, the current encroachments (entering the park) observed by surrounding communities may raise some concerns about the effectiveness of the management (land tenure) of the park resources by national park authorities (Sassen and Wan, 2006). Proper management or interventions will more likely contribute to enhance respondents' awareness on the park while reducing their dependency in terms of access and usage (sale and consumption) of forest resources of the park as suggested by various scholars (Blouch, 2010;Khan and Bhagwat, 2010, Van der Ploeg et al, 2011, Vedeld et al, 2012Gandiwa et al, 2013;Gandiwa et al, 2014). For the most popular indigenous fruits species, more knowledgeable respondents on questions asked were also harvesting larger amounts of C. edulis and D. buettneri, except for I. gabonensis.…”

Trophy Hunting, Conservation, and Rural Development in Zimbabwe: Issues, Options, and Implications

“…However, other researchers argue these restrictive policies and proposed trophy hunting bans may exacerbate the loss of wildlife species in most African countries due to the growing human population and competing priorities particularly on land use options [35,46]. In Zimbabwe, trophy hunting is believed to offer incentives for conservation and habitat protection and rural development through ICDPs, that is, CAMPFIRE [29]. Banning trophy hunting may result in the demise of wildlife species as there would be little incentives and motivation to protect and conserve wildlife species and their habitats [46,49].…”

“…The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) considers conservation to be largely characterized by sustainable utilization of resources for rural development under which the trophy hunting concept falls [27,28]. Trophy hunting as a form of sustainable use is a strong economic instrument that not only incentivizes conservation but also contributes to rural development through integrated conservation and development projects (ICDP) in most tropical countries [6,29,30]. For example, in Zimbabwe, the trophy hunting industry grew rapidly upon its inception of in the 1980s in marginalized and vulnerable communities in Communal Area Management Programme for Indigenous Resources (CAMP-FIRE) areas as well as protected areas [31][32][33].…”