Elephants over the Cliff: Explaining Wildlife Killings in Tanzania

Abstract

a b s t r a c tMany incidents of elephant killings have recently taken place in Tanzania as well as in other African countries. Such events are usually presented as results of the rising global demand for ivory. As we show in this case study, however, not all violence against elephants is driven by the ivory trade. This article presents an event that occurred in West Kilimanjaro in 2009 when numerous villagers chased a herd of elephants over a cliff, killing six of them. Using a 'web of relations' approach, we seek to uncover the underlying as well as the immediate factors that led to this incident. A severe drought sparked off the event as elephants increasingly raided crops and destroyed water pipes. There are growing elephant and human populations in the area, which must be understood in the context of land use changes. Large areas have in various ways been turned into different types of protected areas during the last few decades as results of efforts by conservation NGOs and governmental agencies. In between these areas, people try to sustain a living on the remaining land, while encountering increased problems with wildlife. Conservation in the study area takes place without local communities having any real influence on decision-making. This leads to a feeling of being marginalized and disempowered, which again causes resistance to conservation, as in this case.

The Conservation Impact of the American Society of Primatologists' Conservation Small Grant Program

“…First, the survey results provide further support that partnerships with other institutions, such as local conservation NGOs, and the support of local people are recognized as critical to the success of conservation projects (Ancrenaz et al 2007;Méndez-Carvajal et al 2013; see also Mariki et al 2015). Second, our results raise the important question of whether the likelihood of conservation success will be greater at sites where a long-term research presence exists (Pusey et al 2007).…”

REDD og norsk klimakolonialisme i Tanzania

“…Mens naturvernorganisasjoner og statlige myndigheter bruker merkelappen «lokalbasert vern» (community-based conservation), innebaerer praksis svaert ofte liten lokal deltakelse og store kostnader kombinert med liten gevinst for folk lokalt (Benjaminsen & Svarstad 2010, Benjaminsen & Bryceson 2012, Benjaminsen et al 2013, Cavanagh & Benjaminsen 2014, Mariki et al 2015. lovprise regjeringens politikk.…”

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“…Forest elephant numbers have declined dramatically in the last decade, with poaching being the primary threat to this species (Maisels et al, 2013;Poulsen et al, 2017). Crop raiding by elephants is an important secondary threat that often turns rural people against elephant conservation (Hoare, 2015;Mariki et al, 2015).…”

“…In rural Gabon resentment against elephants is widespread because elephants can destroy an endestroy an entire year's crop in a single intrusion (Fairet, 2012;Walker, 2012). Loss of lives, crops, money, effort, and time fuels resentment against elephants that often results to retaliatory killings and drives people to look for alternate/lethal deterrent methods against elephants (Tchamba, 1995;Hoare, 2015;Mariki et al, 2015).…”