Assessment of Approaches for Managing Human-Elephant Conflicts in Western Serengeti Ecosystem, Tanzania.

Human-elephant conflicts (HEC) have been persistent in Western Serengeti Protected Areas (PAs) and the adjacent communities of Bunda and Serengeti districts, Mara region. This study aimed to identify factors that lead to human-elephant conflicts, examine approaches applied for prevention and mitigation of human-elephant conflicts and to identify barriers toward applied approaches and techniques for managing human-elephant conflicts in western Serengeti area. Data collection involved direct observations, key informant interviews and household survey using questionnaires. The analysis was done using IBM SPSS and MS Excel computer soft wares. Results showed that factors that significantly influenced human elephant conflict occurrence were crop raiding incidences, increasing elephant population, encroachment, and lack of clear buffer area, lack of compensation plan, infrastructure damages and direct elephant attack. The major effects of HEC in the study villages were crop damage, increased elephant population, encroachment due to lack of buffer zone. The major barriers to HEC mitigation measures included long distance between rangers’ camp, use of poor tools like handheld torches and inadequate manpower in HWC mitigation units. A number of non- conventional mitigation measures were identified and recommended; namely construction of trenches, establishment of buffer zone management units (BZMUs) and geo-fencing system. Generally, no single solution is effective, as different approaches need to be integrated to address the problem proactively. Community involvement in decision-making and policy formulation should be emphasized for effective implementation of proposed mitigation measures. Keywords: Conflict, protected areas, conservation, management approaches and community livelihood