Center, Internet, Wildlife Damage Management
Human–Wildlife Interactions
Use of Illegal Methods in Kenya’s Rural Communities to Combat Wildlife Damage: A Case Study of Laikipia
Date of this Version
Spring 2011
Document Type
Article
Citation
Human–Wildlife Interactions (Spring 2011) 5(1): article 2
doi: 10.26077/q2sz-7t46
Abstract
Kenya’s Laikipia District is located on the equator in the central part of the country, northwest of Mt. Kenya (Figure 1). It is a region with one of the highest diversities of wildlife in the country and one in which wildlife depredation is a common occurrence. Wildlife-based tourism is an especially valuable resource for Kenya’s economy. In 2008, for instance, the tourism earnings were approximately $658 million, an appreciable part of which was attributable directly or indirectly to wildlife.
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Even where the above resources are provided by state governmental agencies, NGOs, and donors, the programs should be managed in partnership with rural communities and employ locals themselves to guard their property, dig trenches, and erect fences. The advantage of this arrangement is that it can provide the locals with employment and income. It can also attenuate the negative passions that rural communities usually have against wildlife, which may in turn increase local support for conservation efforts.