9 Dec 2014
Enhancing Community Involvement in Six Villages Adjacent to Mikumi National Park on Participatory Conservation of African Elephants’ Habitats – Tanzania
Enhancing Community Involvement in Eight Villages Adjacent to Mikumi National Park on Participatory Conservation of African Elephants’ Habitats – Tanzania
Our aims are:
- To increase protection and management of elephant’s habitat in Mikumi National Park.
- To end human – elephant’s conflict incidences between adjacent villages and park.
Currently the elephants experiencing poor vegetation cover where they can access feeding and unsustainable habitat. Drought is seen to be increased as days and years go on. It is realised that human settlement and livestock grazing in protected areas and elephant corridors is widespread (Plumptre, et al., 2010; Hibert, et al, 2010; Jones, et al., 2009). Due to poor land use management, the local residents claim that wildlife movement has decreased areas where farming or extensive grazing occurs. Also at moment, human-elephant conflict continues to be a major issue. The adjacent villages concentrate on extending their farms towards the park especially to elephants’ corridors. Otherwise, elephants are seen by adjacent community as destructors of their crops while farming have been extended to elephants corridors. As a result human – elephant conflict is extended in adjacent villages in Doma ward as given that however, the increasing migration of people into elephant range has greatly exacerbated human – elephant conflict in recent times (Hoare 2007). The adjacent community do not take any conservation role to the elephant’s habitat in Mikumi National Park because of inadequate knowledge on participatory wildlife conservation process which would also benefit themselves if is well utilized by these surrounding communities.
Hence, Due to existence of deterioration of elephants’ habitat in Mikumi National Park, this project is intending to create protection measures on elephants’ habitat where other wild animals will benefit as well. This project is subject to Tanzania Wildlife Act which gives for involvement of adjacent villagers from the park to be part of wildlife conservation. Hence, it will empower community on participatory elephants’ habitats/corridors/range protection and management. Also the project is subject to Tanzania Elephants Management Plan 2010 – 2015 under strategic objective 1 on human – elephant conflict and strategy objective 2 on elephants’ corridors management and protection. Hence in order to reduce destruction of elephants’ ranges/habitat, the adjacent community is supposed to take part into conservation efforts by engaging into livelihoods through beekeeping project which facilitate afforestation and avoid encroachment to elephants’ range/habitat by participating in protection and management.