Existence versus extinction: Human-hippo conflicts in Lake Victoria Area, Kenya

This PhD dissertation examines the role of different organisations and affected communities in human-wildlife governance, with a focus on human-hippo conflicts in Lake Victoria Area, Kenya. The hippo population in this area is under pressure due to human activities that impact on the wetland habitats, and incidents with hippos are commonplace. This study goes beyond human-hippo conflicts as land-use related clashes between people and hippos by taking the human dimension of these conflicts into account. Hence, it focusses on actors’ perceptions and practices regarding hippos and their habitats. By making the underlying principles, values and images explicit, a realistic notion arises of the constraints and opportunities related to dealing with human-hippo conflicts, thereby facilitating conflict resolution. It also investigates ways in which residents of the area protect their assets against hippos and looks at suggestions made by the respective actors to come up with a way to mitigate these conflicts to enable a peaceful coexistence between people and hippos