Multispecies study of patterns and drivers of wildlife impacts on human livelihoods in communal conservancies

Abstract

Farmers in developing countries often work in challenging environments with poor infrastructure, marginal agricultural potential, and limited economic opportunities. These challenges are exacerbated when wildlife impact human livelihoods. Here, we analyze data quantifying the type and frequency of human‐wildlife impacts within communal conservancies across Namibia and explore possible drivers of temporal and spatial variation of these data. A total of 112,165 human‐wildlife impacts were reported between 2001 and 2019 at the national level, with livestock depredation the most common. Marked regional variation was however evident with crop raiding and attacks on humans more prevalent in the mesic North‐East, and both livestock depredation and infrastructure damage highest in the arid north‐western regions. Elephant, jackal, hyena, cheetah, and leopard (in descending order) were the species most frequently linked to reported damage. Distance to the nearest protected area and river, terrain ruggedness, conservancy size, and annual rainfall (amongst others) all had a significant impact on both the distribution and extent of human‐wildlife impact reports. Reports did not vary significantly with years but were significantly influenced by average monthly rainfall. Understanding spatial and temporal patterns of human‐wildlife impacts at a national scale, in addition to their potential drivers, allows for the identification of conflict hotspots and the allocation of resources and expertise to mitigate them. Ultimately, mitigating negative interactions between people and wildlife will allow for the continued sharing of space and with that the sustainability of a model that has seen a dramatic increase in both the distribution and abundance of wildlife in Namibia.

Community conservation and remote sensing of the desert-adapted lions in northwest Namibia

“…Such mortalities, biased towards male lions, may also be skewing the age structure of males towards sub-adults: nearly half of males (n = 10/21) are nondispersed subadults (Stander, 2010;Heydinger and Muzuma, in press). High numbers of HLC may be driven by a lack of available prey species (Tavolaro et al, 2022), whose numbers declined by as much as 60% from 2010 to 2019 due primarily to the effects of drought (Heydinger et al, 2019;NACSO, 2020).…”

Using behavioral studies to adapt management decisions and reduce negative interactions between humans and baboons in Cape Town, South Africa

“…Such interactions are more marked when wildlife searches for and consumes food resources in farmlands (Warren et al, 2007; Webber et al, 2011) and urban areas (Contesse et al, 2004; Yeo & Neo, 2010). Crop and urban foraging wildlife can result in severe economic losses for people because of the damage they cause to crops and infrastructure (Tavolaro et al, 2022) contributing to negative human–wildlife interactions and feelings of insecurity by people, especially when large mammals or carnivore species forage in human spaces (Soulsbury & White, 2016). For wildlife, these interactions can pose significant welfare costs and threaten populations of endangered species (Chan et al, 2007; Hockings et al, 2015).…”