Exploring rangers' preferences for community‐based strategies to improve human‐elephant coexistence in African natural corridors

Autor: M. Montero-Botey, Mario Soliño, María Martínez-Jauregui, Ramón Perea
Přispěvatelé: Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (España), Montero-Botey, M., Soliño, M., Perea, R., Martínez-Jauregui, M., Montero-Botey, M. [0000-0003-0420-0272], Soliño, M. [0000-0001-7065-7348], Perea, R. [0000-0002-2206-3614], Martínez-Jauregui, M. [0000-0002-7590-822X]
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Zdroj: Digital.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
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ISSN: 1469-1795
1367-9430
DOI: 10.1111/acv.12700
Popis: 12 Pág. Centro de Investigación Forestal (CIFOR).
Natural corridors are essential components of wildlife conservation but, when human-wildlife conflicts emerge, the participation of local communities becomes imperative to ensure their efficacy and long-term persistence. Therefore, local people initiatives and commitments (community-based strategies) promoting human-wildlife coexistence are urgently needed especially in African natural corridors dominated by elephants (Loxodonta africana). Wildlife rangers represent skilled technical staff who are involved in the monitoring and protection of wildlife but also in promoting human-wildlife coexistence and community awareness. They are the closest conservation staff to local communities and have broad experience in dealing with elephants around the villages. Therefore, collecting and recognizing the knowledge of wildlife rangers on the suitability of possible local solutions could contribute to the successful planning and implementation of human elephant mitigation measures at farmer level. This study aims to quantify wildlife rangers' preferences for community-based strategies to increase human-elephant coexistence in the Selous-Niassa Wildlife Corridor (Southern Tanzania). In particular, we evaluated wildlife rangers' preferences regarding three attributes: local farm-based mitigation measures, the implication of technical support in the implementation of those measures and the preferred level of cooperation in the local community for that implementation. In 2019, we conducted a discrete choice experiment by interviewing 63 wildlife rangers (41% of the total rangers working along the corridor). Results showed that the most preferred management strategy included building chili-oil fences by farmers cooperating at community level and technically supported by external institutions. Other strategies considered were (in decreasing order of importance) crop species selection, beehive fences, crop translocation, cooperation in small groups, and the use of noisemakers. The discrete choice analysis of wildlife rangers' preferences, including the type and level of cooperation, allows quantifying the suitability of different management strategies for mitigating human-wildlife coexistence challenges.
We would like to thank TAWIRI (Tanzanian Wildlife Research Institute) and the Tanzanian Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH) for granting permission for the implementation of the study. We also thank the rangers that collaborated, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid-Funded Research, Development and Innovation Programme (specifically the funding for predoctoral contracts for the completion of doctoral degrees at UPM schools, faculties and R&D centers) for making it possible and the project RTI2018-096348-R-C21 funded by Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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