Conserving Wildlife in African Landscapes Kenya’s Ewaso Ecosystem

Georgiadis, Nicholas J.

doi:10.5479/si.00810282.632

Cited by 10 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 162 publications

(194 reference statements)

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“…Given the inadequacy of the national parks and reserves to sustain their contemporary populations of the large mammals and the diminishing opportunities for expanding existing parks and reserves, it is imperative to invest in effectively conserving wildlife and their habitats in the privately or communally owned or used pastoral rangelands [ 119 ]. Much of the biodiversity in the rangelands will continue to be lost at even faster rates unless active and effective conservation programs are urgently instituted [ 77 ] because of the escalating land use and cover changes, population and other pressures in the rangelands and impinging on protected area boundaries.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Extreme Wildlife Declines and Concurrent Increase in Livestock Numbers in Kenya: What Are the Causes?

et al. 2016

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There is growing evidence of escalating wildlife losses worldwide. Extreme wildlife losses have recently been documented for large parts of Africa, including western, Central and Eastern Africa. Here, we report extreme declines in wildlife and contemporaneous increase in livestock numbers in Kenya rangelands between 1977 and 2016. Our analysis uses systematic aerial monitoring survey data collected in rangelands that collectively cover 88% of Kenya’s land surface. Our results show that wildlife numbers declined on average by 68% between 1977 and 2016. The magnitude of decline varied among species but was most extreme (72–88%) and now severely threatens the population viability and persistence of warthog, lesser kudu, Thomson’s gazelle, eland, oryx, topi, hartebeest, impala, Grevy’s zebra and waterbuck in Kenya’s rangelands. The declines were widespread and occurred in most of the 21 rangeland counties. Likewise to wildlife, cattle numbers decreased (25.2%) but numbers of sheep and goats (76.3%), camels (13.1%) and donkeys (6.7%) evidently increased in the same period. As a result, livestock biomass was 8.1 times greater than that of wildlife in 2011–2013 compared to 3.5 times in 1977–1980. Most of Kenya’s wildlife (ca. 30%) occurred in Narok County alone. The proportion of the total “national” wildlife population found in each county increased between 1977 and 2016 substantially only in Taita Taveta and Laikipia but marginally in Garissa and Wajir counties, largely reflecting greater wildlife losses elsewhere. The declines raise very grave concerns about the future of wildlife, the effectiveness of wildlife conservation policies, strategies and practices in Kenya. Causes of the wildlife declines include exponential human population growth, increasing livestock numbers, declining rainfall and a striking rise in temperatures but the fundamental cause seems to be policy, institutional and market failures. Accordingly, we thoroughly evaluate wildlife conservation policy in Kenya. We suggest policy, institutional and management interventions likely to succeed in reducing the declines and restoring rangeland health, most notably through strengthening and investing in community and private wildlife conservancies in the rangelands.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Also omitted are large herbivore species that were too few to reliably model trends in their numbers. The accuracy of population estimates derived from the aerial sample surveys has been tested repeatedly empirically and ranges between 71 and 83% or higher [ 26 , 33 , 34 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extreme Wildlife Declines and Concurrent Increase in Livestock Numbers in Kenya: What Are the Causes?

et al. 2016

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“…Indeed, the impact of lion predation is sufficient to shift population growth of hartebeest from positive to negative (Ng'weno et al, 2017). In contrast to hartebeest and other declining species, populations of plains zebra (Equus quagga; hereafter simply "zebra")-the primary prey for lions in Laikipia-fluctuate in response to rainfall and density (Georgiadis et al, 2007a), but have not decreased with recovering lion numbers (Georgiadis, 2011;O'Brien et al, 2018). Consequently, we hypothesized that zebra populations suppressed those of hartebeest via apparent competition.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Apparent Competition, Lion Predation, and Managed Livestock Grazing: Can Conservation Value Be Enhanced?

et al. 2019

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Predator restorations often result in apparent competition, where co-occurring prey populations experience asymmetric predation pressure driven by predator preferences. In many rangeland ecosystems, livestock share the landscape with wildlife, including ungulates and the large carnivores that consume them. We examined whether apparent competition reorganized prey communities following restoration of lions (Panthera leo) to a savanna ecosystem, and whether and how livestock management could alter this indirect interaction between lions and their prey. Three lines of evidence supported the hypothesis that Jackson's hartebeest (Alcelaphus bucelaphus lelwel; an ungulate of conservation concern) are suppressed via lion-mediated apparent competition. First, hartebeest exhibited an Allee effect where they were exposed to lions, but displayed negative density-dependent population growth where they were protected from lions. Second, spatial overlap between plains zebra (Equus burchelli; the primary prey of lions) and hartebeest further exacerbated lion predation on hartebeest. Finally, hartebeest were killed selectively by lions, whereas zebra were killed by lions in proportion to their abundance. We then tested whether glades [nutrient-rich hotspots created by abandoned cattle (Bos indicus) corrals] could be used to manipulate top-down control of hartebeest via their influence on the spatial distribution of zebra. Zebra aggregated at glades, and survival of hartebeest increased with increasing distance from glades, suggesting that corrals may be placed on the landscape away from hartebeest to create spatial refuges from lions. Our findings demonstrate how informed placement of livestock corrals can be used to manipulate the spatial distribution of primary prey (zebra), thereby reducing apparent competition suffered by hartebeest. Our work further provides an example of how integrating apparent competition theory with proactive livestock management can improve conservation efforts in multiple-use landscapes.

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“…Over the years, LWF has pursued a range of initiatives with tremendous implications for land usage across the region. LWF projects have included the building of large-scale wildlife fences (Graham et al 2012), creating collective agreements regarding access to water and pastures, and wildlife management plans that have channeled animals towards or away from settlement areas (Evans & Adams 2016; see also Goldman 2011). With the support of Britain’s Royal Family, Lewa gained the status of a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2013, and has excelled in attracting a steady stream of funding.…”

Section: Whiteness and Conservationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The 2017 Shooting of Kuki Gallmann and the Politics of Conservation in Northern Kenya

Fox¹

2018

Afr. stud. rev.

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Abstract:This article situates the shooting of white Kenyan landowner Kuki Gallmann within recent critiques of community-based conservation and the politics of whiteness in Kenya. I discuss how conservation has enabled white landowners to consolidate their influence over Laikipia County, as well as neighboring regions of Kenya via an organization called the Northern Rangelands Trust. The NRT is feared to be undermining regional livestock economies, while contributing to land shortages that have precipitated violence in Laikipia. I argue that the pastoralists implicated in these conflicts are subject to a maelstrom of livelihood stressors, some of which are aggravated by the efforts of white Kenyans to expand conservation throughout northern Kenya.

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Conserving Wildlife in African Landscapes Kenya’s Ewaso Ecosystem

Abstract: Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Presss m i t h s o n i a n c o n t r i b u t i o n s t o z o o l o g y • n u m b e r 6 3 2

Cited by 10 publications

References 162 publications

Extreme Wildlife Declines and Concurrent Increase in Livestock Numbers in Kenya: What Are the Causes?

Extreme Wildlife Declines and Concurrent Increase in Livestock Numbers in Kenya: What Are the Causes?

Apparent Competition, Lion Predation, and Managed Livestock Grazing: Can Conservation Value Be Enhanced?

The 2017 Shooting of Kuki Gallmann and the Politics of Conservation in Northern Kenya

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