Safari tourism and its role in sustainable poverty eradication in East Africa: the case of Kenya

Abstract

Purpose Globally, poverty has been a persistent problem despite decades of unprecedented growth. The purpose of this paper is to deliberate on a sustainable livelihoods and poverty eradication approach in an African context. Design/methodology/approach The paper aims to bridge the gaps in poverty eradication strategies in East Africa by examining recent literature on livelihoods approaches and poverty eradication approaches. Findings Safari tourism is one way of connecting poor communities in Kenya to the tourism industry. The development of community conservancies in Kenya presents yet more opportunities for communities to be integrated with the sector. The Africanization of the tourism sector in Kenya is a priority, as communities embrace tourism and poverty eradication measures. Practical implications There is a need for the Safari tourism sector to integrate the local community’s indigenous knowledge systems, community social capital and the community’s natural capital with tourism product development and diversification. Originality/value The paper draws on applied research and technical analysis of the unique opportunities for enhancing sustainable poverty eradication through the tourism sector in East Africa and, more particularly, a Kenyan context.

The unequal burden of human-wildlife conflict

“…Both are tied to the population performance of these species in community lands and protected areas 73,74 . Conservancy models which promote tourism and revenue generation in non-protected areas but are not necessarily limited to non-consumptive-tourism only (still having a livestock component 75 ) are another financial model for the problem we have identified here 76 . These solutions deal explicitly with the problem of damage-causing carnivore species (seven of which that are considered globally threatened by the IUCN Red list of threatened species) ranging on non-protected community land which is not only suitable habitat but is also co-inhabited by cattle.…”

Investigating the effectiveness of livelihood capital in reducing re-poverty risk: an empirical analysis of policy withdrawal and income structures in rural China

“…Livelihood capital, by definition, consists of natural capital, physical capital, financial capital, human capital, and social capital, which is directly related to vulnerability of livelihood (DFID, 2000). According to previous studies, livelihood capital has been widely used to analyse poverty and vulnerability to poverty (Guo et al, 2019;Maingi, 2021). The existing studies suggest that improving livelihood capital (such as human, physical and social capital) positively affects poverty alleviation (Dartanto et al, 2020,;Guerry et al, 2015;Harrison, Montgomery, and Jeanty, 2019;Kheir, 2018).…”