Abstract:
Human-elephant conflicts (HEC) have been persistent in Ikorongo-Grumeti Game
Reserves (IGGRs) and the adjacent communities of Bunda and Serengeti districts, Mara
region. This study aimed to identify factors leading to HEC, examine losers and gainers,
determine barriers to applied measures and suggest new approaches and techniques for
effective mitigation of HEC. Data collection involved direct observations, key informant
interviews and household survey using questionnaires. The analysis was done using R,
SPSS and MS Excel computer softwares. Results showed that factors that significantly
influenced HEC occurrence (P<0.05) were crop raiding incidences, increasing elephant
population, encroachment, lack of clear buffer zone, lack of compensation plan,
infrastructure damages and direct elephant attack. Major effects of HEC in the study
villages were crop damage (99%), infrastructure damage (36%), domestic animal
killings (18.7%) and human killings and injury (18.3%). Farmers were the main losers,
whereas in 2017 about 46.6% of cultivated farms were destroyed and none of which was
compensated. On the other hand, corrupt village leaders seemed to gain from the
conflicts. The major barriers to HEC mitigation measures included few and large
distance between scout camps, use of poor tools like handheld torches, inadequate
manpower in HWC mitigation units, and ability of elephants to adapt to most of the
detterents used by farmers. A number of non- conventional mitigation measures were
identified and recommended; namely construction of trench (95.3%), electric fencing
(92.7%), establishment of buffer zone management units (BZMUs) (92.7%), geo-
fencing system (92.3%), Wireless Sensing Network (WSN) (85.3%), translocation of
problem elephants (11.7%), and evacuation of people near PAs boundaries (22%) as
HEC prevention and mitigation measures with long-term impacts. Generally, no single
solution is effective as different approaches need to be intergrated to address the
problem proactively. Hence, it is recommended that community involvement in
decision-making and policy formulation should be emphasized for effective
implementation of proposed mitigation measures.
