ARE STRATEGIES FOR MANAGING HUMAN-WILDLIFE CONFLICTS IN KENYA WORKING? A CASE OF KITENGELA WILDLIFE DISPERSAL AREA

Many strategies have been proposed and rolled out in an attempt to manage conflict between people and wildlife in different parts of the world. It remains to be seen how effective these strategies have been. Human-wildlife conflict in Kenya is an important factor affecting wildlife conservation on one hand and local people’s livelihoods on the other. The study examined effectiveness of four methods used to manage human wildlife conflict at Kitengela wildlife dispersal area. The strategies examined included; use of livestock guarding dogs, complete fencing of Nairobi National Park, Fencing around homesteads and bomas, and compensating local community members who lose livestock to predation by wild animals. Data collection methods involved self administered questionnaire, interview and observation, and covered 105 local pastoralist community members, the Kenya Wildlife Service staff and a staff from The Wildlife Fund, a conservation NGO located within the park. Quantitative data was analysed by calculating percentages while qualitative data was analysis using contents analysis method. It was established that even though these strategies were indeed employed to manage human-wildlife conflict at Kitengela, the conflict still persisted. Therefore it was concluded that these human-wildlife management strategies were not satisfactorily helping in eliminating the conflict. The recommendation reached was that community members should be supported to erect chain-link fences around bomas more cheaply