Human–Wildlife Conflicts and their Associated Livelihood Impacts in and Around Chebera-Churchura National Park, Ethiopia

Abstract

Human-wildlife conflict is one of the major challenges in conservation biology. Here, we investigated the human-wildlife conflicts and their impacts in and around Chebera-Churchura National Park (CCNP), Ethiopia. We conducted semi-structured interview for 300 people and five focus group discussions from November 2010 through January 2011. Additionally, scats of sixty spotted hyenas were collected and analyzed. Totally, 12 carnivores, 6 herbivores and 2 primate species posing a significant problem were identified. Intensive human-conflict was observed in Churchura, Sere and Chebera villages which were very close to the park. The carnivore's attacks during 2007 to 2011 had caused about 30.49% of livestock losses. The overall economic loss by wildlife attacks was estimated to be US$ 75,234 (US$ 83/household/ year). Scat analysis confirmed a substantial contribution (59%) of livestock to spotted hyena's diet. Thus, combined strategies like improving livestock husbandries and strengthen the capacity of managers are imperative to mitigate the problems.

Perception and attitude of pastoralists on livestock-wildlife interactions around Awash National Park, Ethiopia: implication for biodiversity conservation

“…Higher degree of conflict with wildlife (90%), due to crop damage and livestock predation, was recorded in this study, which is in agreement with previous studies in different conservation areas of the country (Tessema et al 2010;Kumessa and Bekele 2013;Yosef 2015;Acha and Temesgen 2015). As indicated by Anthony (2007) and Shibia (2010), crop and livestock losses due to wildlife have resulted in the development of negative attitude by local communities towards Kruger National Park in South Africa and Marsabit National Reserve Kenya, respectively.…”

“…Most studies on perceptions and attitudes about livestock-wildlife interface areas give more emphasis to wildlife conservation goals and strategies (Decker et al 2001;Kumessa and Bekele 2014;Acha and Temesgen 2015) than the challenges of livestock-wildlife interactions on local livestock producers bordering protected areas. However, studying the challenges in the livestockwildlife interface will address main concerns of the pastoral production systems and at the same time major problems of wildlife management in the area, which helps to design management tools that mitigate problems of both the livestock and the wildlife sector.…”

Exploring the Social Impacts of Wildlife Conservation in Ethiopia: Past Experiences and Future Directions

“…The impacts of wildlife to the local community can be in terms of damage to crops, livestock predation, injuries to human beings, and losses of human lives (Haule et al 2002;). Several studies reported injuries to human beings and even death due to wild animal attacks (Haule et al 2002;Acha and Temesgen 2015). It also involves the lack of access to wildlife resources for religious and cultural purposes (Springer 2009), restriction on the use of the resources (Beltrán and Phillips 2000), conflicts from enforcement activities (Springer, 2009) and displacement and resettlement (Coad et al 2008).…”

“…Humanwildlife conflicts pose from minor to serious problems to the local community. Major impacts of such interaction are the loss of primary food, cash crops, and livestock (Acha and Temesgen, 2015;Berihun et al 2016;Gobosho et al 2016). However, human injuries and death due to direct Journal of Resources Development and Management www.iiste.org ISSN 2422-8397 An International Peer-reviewed Journal Vol.61, 2019 20 attack, social costs from disturbing sleeping time, and children schooling for guarding such problematic animals are another local consequence of humanwildlife conflicts in rural areas of developing countries (Adams and Hutton, 2007;Bajracharya et al 2007;FAO, 2009).…”

“…Guassa-Menz community conservation area exemplifies the introduction of community based conservation systems in the country (UNDP, 2012), but conservation strategy of Ethiopia still follows protectionism and conventional methods (Nishizaki, 2005;Teferra and Beyene, 2014;Ketema, 2017). Consequently, there are numerous reports of conflicts between local communities and wildlife in and around PAs (Dakito and Bekele, 2013;Acha and Temesgen, 2015;Berihun et al 2016). Several scholars recommended the need of understanding the local views of wildlife conservation and an improvement in local community involvement in the sector (Tefera, 2011;Megaze et al 2017).…”