Abstract Policy Issues and Human-Elephant Conflicts
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ABSTRACT POLICY ISSUES AND HUMAN-ELEPHANT CONFLICTS IN KENYA by Billystrom A. Jivetti Kenya’s conservation policies are based on strategies introduced during the colonial period and little has been done to make them consonant with contemporary conservation values. Protected areas, as the main instruments of conservation, are under increased pressure from human population growth. Competition for resources escalates human-wildlife conflicts. The human- elephant conflict is just a microcosm of larger, more complex issues facing protected areas. Kenya now must contend with feeding a growing human population while conserving wildlife. This study looks at the policy vacuums in wildlife conservation and offers recommendations. Data collection involved consultations with the key stakeholders in Kenyan wildlife conservation. Field observations were carried out at the Shimba Hills National Reserve. The findings reveal that human-elephant conflicts are a result of land use conflicts and that there is need for more consistent efforts in applying current policy and perhaps a need for a unified land- use policy throughout the country. POLICY ISSUES AND HUMAN-ELEPHANT CONFLICTS IN KENYA A Practicum Submitted to the Faculty of Miami University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Environmental Science Institute of Environmental Sciences By Billystrom A. Jivetti Miami University Oxford, Ohio 2004 Advisor _________________________________ Dr. Adolph M. Greenberg Reader _________________________________ Dr. Gene E. Willeke Reader _________________________________ Dr. John K. Maingi TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter One……………………………………………………………………………….1 Introduction ...………………………………………………………………………..…....1 Chapter Two ..………………………………………....……………………………..…...5 Research Approach, Study Area, and Field Observations...…………………………..…..5 Research Approach……………...…………………………………………….…..5 Department of Remote Sensing and Resource Surveys (DRSRS)………….…….6 World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) –African Elephant Specialist Group-Human- Elephant Conflict Working Group (HECWG)……………………………………6 Head of Kenya Wildlife Service Elephant Management Program..………...…….7 Central Bureau of Statistics………………….……………………………………8 Shimba Hills National Reserve……………………………………………………8 With the Senior Warden...…………..……………………………………..8 Research Scientist at Shimba Hills National Reserve ………………….….8 Mwaluganje Elephant Sanctuary (MES)......…………...…………………9 Documentary Review at the Kenya Wildlife Service Library…………….9 Focus Area…………………………………………………...…………..10 Chapter Three...………………………………………………………………….………12 Issues and Literature Review…………………………………………………………….12 Land use, Agriculture, Biodiversity and Protected Areas………………………..12 Community Conservation………………………………………………………..15 Conservation Policies and Protected Areas……………………………………...17 Non-Governmental Organizations and Conservation…….……………………..19 Human-Elephant Conflicts………………………………….……………………19 History of the Kenya Wildlife Act /Conservation Policies………………………24 The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS)……………………………………………..26 Chapter Four...…………………………………………………………………………..28 Research Findings………………………………………………………………………..28 Department of Remote Sensing and Resource Surveys (DRSRS)………………28 Consultation at the IUCN -African Elephant Specialist Group Human-Elephant Conflict Working Group (HECWG) based in Nairobi…..………………………28 The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) for Nature Regional Office in Kenya...……..29 Project Goal.……………………………………………………………..30 The objectives of the WWF Project…..………………………………….30 Findings with a WWF Officer/ Professor of Tourism & Wildlife Management at Moi University…………………..……………………...30 Census information from The Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS)………………………33 Consultation with the Chief Warden, Shimba Hills National Reserve…………………..34 Consultation with the Resident Research Scientist at Shimba Hills National Reserve….38 The Electric Fence……………………………………………………………….38 Before the Fence…………………………………………………………39 After the Fence…………………………………………………………...39 Ecological Impacts of the Fence…………………………………………40 Consultation with the KWS Head of Elephant Conservation and Management Program…………………………………………………………………………………..41 ii Management and Policy Issues…………………………………………………..42 Compensation Issues……………………………………………………………..42 Chapter Five……………………………………………………………………...……...44 Discussion………………………………………………………………………………..44 Compensation Scheme…………………………………………………………...49 Chapter Six……………………………………………………………………………….50 Conclusions and Recommendations……………………………………………………..50 References………………………………………………………………………………..52 Appendices……………………………………………………………………………….61 iii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Shimba Hills National Reserve and the land use land cover map for Shimba Hills………………………………………………………………………………………10 Figure 2. A coconut tree growing in a homestead near Shimba Hills Reserve………….11 Figure 3. An elephant destroying banana plantation…………………………………….14 Figure 4. Assessing how agricultural and forest practices affect biodiversity………..…15 Figure 5. The world famous burning of ivory in Nairobi Park, 1989……………………20 Figure 6. Elephant dung in Shimba Hills Reserve………………………………...……..22 Figure 7. The plunder of Africa's wildlife by European settlers…………………………25 Figure 8. Human census statistics for Kwale District 1962-1999…………………….…34 Figure 9. An elephant grid in Shimba Hills Reserve to control elephant movements…...35 Figure 10. Number of tourists and revenue generated from Shimba Hills N. Reserve.....36 Figure 11. Mwaluganje Elephant Sanctuary electric fence ………………………...…...40 Figure 12. Vegetation transformed by elephants' feeding habits in Mwaluganje, near Shimba Hills Reserve ……………………………………………………………….…..41 Figure 13. A model showing how policy issues influence human-wildlife interactions in Kenya………………………………….……………………………………………..…..45 Figure 14. Livestock grazing in Mwaluganje, near Shimba Hills Reserve……………...47 iv Acknowledgements Many people came together to facilitate the success of this project. Without them, I would not have attained much. I appreciate having worked with Dr. Adolph Greenberg, my advisor. Thank you for your unwavering support, your wonderful comments, guidance, and above all having confidence in me and my work. Thank you for your time. It was an honor, also to work with Dr. Gene Willeke and Dr. John Maingi, my other committee members. I may never be able to quantify the help and support I received from them. Beyond the study project, I really cherish their counsel and advice. This study was funded through the Department of Botany and the Institute of Environmental Sciences, Miami University. Mr. Patrick Omondi, Elphas Bitok, and Moses Litoroh of Kenya Wildlife Service Elephant Management Program greatly supported the study. I first learnt about policy issues from Dr. Sandra Woy-Hazleton’s class at the Institute of Environmental Sciences; she inspired my interest on the same. Dr. Vincent Hand was always ready to help with computer concerns. Thanks to Chris Ingham and Betty Haven, of the administrative wing of the Institute of the Environmental Sciences, Miami University. Special mention goes to the Interlibrary Loan and Science Library Staff of Miami University Libraries for making documents available on time during the period of compilation. Many thanks to Dr. John Hughes, the Dean of Graduate School, Miami University; himself a very accommodating scholar. I can not forget Dr. Cheryl Evans and Cyndi Stevens of the Graduate School. I pay a glowing tribute to Dr. Allan Winkler of History Department Miami University who first knew me in Kaimosi, Kenya, and has remained instrumental to me in many ways. I remember the wonderful friends at Miami University whom I refer to as the “Miami Nation”. Keep up the spirit. My friend Edwin Akhusama, was so resourceful. Overall, I thank my family members for your prayers, support, and encouragement. You are special and mean a lot to me. My memory is full of the prayers of my loving Mama Rose. My Dad Joash has been an inspiration to me for his courage, steadfastness and diligence. Brother Sinjaa, thanks for the financial sacrifice and encouragement. Hallelujah to Jesus Christ, you saved me gave me a second chance. v Chapter One Introduction Most protected areas in developing countries fail to provide sufficient space to sustain the extensive mobility of large mammals like elephants, yet the possibility of expanding existing protected areas cannot be envisioned. The competition among wildlife, humans and livestock for scarce food and water resources has escalated incidents of human-wildlife conflicts around protected areas (Georgiadis et al. 2003:125, Ogutu 1997). Although about 8% of the total land area is under protected area status (Akama & Kieti 2003, Inamdar et al. 1999, IUCN 1998, Kinyua et al. 2000:228), wildlife herds migrate outside protected areas and into areas that are highly dominated by humans and livestock causing damage to crops, property, death, and injury (World Bank, 2001). Human settlements and activities around protected areas due encroachment block dispersal or migratory corridors used by wildlife. It is at the interface between habitats and human settlements that conflicts emerge (Kinyua et al. 2000:229, Georgiadis et al. 2003, Allaway 1981, Newmark et al. 1994). To many conservationists, humans are a menace to biological conservation and a threat to the future of wildlife (Geisler, 2002), through habitat destruction, encroachment, logging, and poaching (Ervin, 2003). Such initiatives that attach a higher premium