Socioeconomic and Health Implications of Human—Wildlife Interactions in Nthongoni, Eastern Kenya

Mwangi, Danson Kareri; Akinyi, Mercy; Maloba, Fredrick; Ngotho, Maina; Kagira, John; Ndeereh, David; Stanislaus, Kivai

doi:10.3957/056.046.0087

Cited by 19 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…We found that HEC is one of many, often interconnected, challenges facing the people of Myanmar. Despite these challenges, the participants overwhelmingly supported elephant conservation, in contrast to other studies that have revealed feelings of helplessness and bitterness toward species involved in HWC (e.g., Mwangi et al, 2016).…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 64%

“…We are not surprised that farmers perceived the presence of both domestic and wild animals to be the second greatest impediment to improving their quality of life, as income generation for farmers is highly dependent on their ability to grow crops free from destruction by animals (e.g., Mwangi et al, 2016). Costs incurred by rural communities due to HWC can be substantial (Dickman, Macdonald, & Macdonald, 2011;Hulme & Murphree, 1999;Salerno, Borgerhoff Mulder, Grote, Ghiselli, & Packer, 2016) and have potentially lasting negative implications for households that share the landscape with conflict species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Perception of Human–Elephant Conflict and Conservation Attitudes of Affected Communities in Myanmar

Sampson

Leimgruber

Rodriguez

et al. 2019

Tropical Conservation Science

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Myanmar is an ideal location for Asian elephant (Elephas maximus L.) conservation because it still contains large expanses of elephant habitat. However, increasing human-elephant conflict (HEC) threatens to derail ongoing elephant conservation programs. We conducted 303 interviews in rural communities living near elephants to help inform long-term management strategies to conserve this endangered species. We sought to understand the main challenges that people in these communities face in improving their quality of life, as well as the types and levels of HEC they experience and their attitudes toward elephant conservation. Poverty, not conflict with elephants, was the greatest obstacle reported by our participants. However, HEC was deemed a moderate to major problem, with 38% of farmers indicating they lost half or more of their crops to elephants the previous year. Our results showed that communities living in proximity to and often harmed by elephants were nevertheless supportive of elephant conservation and willing to contribute to conservation efforts. This result offers hope in the quest to maintain elephant populations in Myanmar. We conclude that conservation policies that also address societal challenges such as poverty may be more effective in protecting elephants than policies that address HEC alone.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 64%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perception of Human–Elephant Conflict and Conservation Attitudes of Affected Communities in Myanmar

Sampson

Leimgruber

Rodriguez

et al. 2019

Tropical Conservation Science

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“…This outcome is contrary to the common expectation that remote villages are more highly vulnerable because they lack assets and business opportunities (Salerno 2016). However, villages closer to primary roads may suffer more rapid resource depletion, with negative consequences for the livelihoods of their communities (Mwangi et al 2016). We found that villages with greater road access presented more vulnerable socio-demographic profiles and lower development indices, reinforcing the evidence for a negative influence of road proximity (Appendix I.1).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 58%

Livelihood vulnerability increases human–wildlife interactions

et al. 2021

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Summary Human–wildlife interactions (HWIs) occur in many rural African communities, with potential impacts on livelihood vulnerability. High livelihood vulnerability may force communities to employ strategies that increase the risk of negative HWIs, yet the extent to which HWIs drive or are driven by vulnerability is unclear. We hypothesized that more vulnerable households are more likely to be exposed to wildlife and experience negative interactions. To test this hypothesis, we calculated the Livelihood Vulnerability Index (LVI) of rural households in and around Quirimbas National Park (north-eastern Mozambique) and assessed whether there is a link between livelihood vulnerability and HWIs. We found a two-way association between LVI and HWIs, with more vulnerable households indeed taking greater risks and encountering wildlife when fetching water from rivers, whereas less vulnerable households tended not to employ strategies likely to increase wildlife encounters. We also observed that HWIs exert a strong effect on livelihood vulnerability, suggesting that HWIs should be included as an exposure factor in vulnerability assessments for rural households. We recommend that livelihood strategies and community vulnerability should be considered when designing HWI mitigation schemes and implementing conservation measures.

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“…With the much effort put on the control of the helminth in humans, there still remains a challenge in controlling the zoonotic aspect. There are reports of human interaction to wildlife which most of the times lead to human wildlife conflict (HWC) (Makena et al., 2019, Mwangi et al, 2016) as well as zoonoses transmission (Fredrick et al., 2019). Non‐human primates have been shown to harbor most of the zoonoses which could be probably due to their high physiological closeness to humans (Cox et al., 2013; Rogers & Gibbs, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Schistosoma mansoni and soil transmtted helminths in olive baboons and potential zoonosis

Maloba

Danson

Kagira

et al. 2021

Veterinary Medicine & Sci

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Zoonotic pathogens are among the most important causes of ill health all over the world. The presence of these pathogens in free ranging baboons may have significant implications for humans. In Kenya, the encroachment of wildlife habitats has led to increased interaction between humans and wildlife especially non‐human primates. The current study therefore aimed at investigating any possible zoonotic gastrointestinal helminths of olive baboons (Papio anubis) at the human–wildlife interface in two park borders and a ranch in Kenya, namely, Tsavo West National Park, Tana River Primate Reserve and Mutara Ranch, Laikipia, Kenya. One hundred and forty‐seven baboons were used in the study. They were trapped in the wild, sampled for stool marked and then released back to the wild. Gastrointestinal (GIT) helminths identified were Strongyloides, Oesophagostomum, Enterobius spp and Trichuris Trichiura from all the three sites while Schistosoma mansoni was only detected from Tsavo baboons and with very low incidence (2.1%). The prevalence of these parasites varied among the sites but significant difference in prevalence was only noted in Strongyloides and Oesophagostomum (p < 0.05) among the three sites. This therefore implies that even with control measures instituted on the human population, baboons will always be a source of zoonotic GIT helminths especially S. mansoni even if the incidence are low. There is need to put in place measures aiming to reduce their interactions with humans and also try to control these infections in the baboons.

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Socioeconomic and Health Implications of Human—Wildlife Interactions in Nthongoni, Eastern Kenya

Cited by 19 publications

References 52 publications

Perception of Human–Elephant Conflict and Conservation Attitudes of Affected Communities in Myanmar

Perception of Human–Elephant Conflict and Conservation Attitudes of Affected Communities in Myanmar

Livelihood vulnerability increases human–wildlife interactions

Schistosoma mansoni and soil transmtted helminths in olive baboons and potential zoonosis

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