Human-wildlife conflict can feel like a pretty distant issue. To many of us, elephants in our backyard sounds more like a good dream than a nightmare. But this month, KCS was exposed firsthand to the difficulties of living side-by-side with Africa’s most dangerous animals during a field trip for the Northern Botswana Human-Wildlife Coexistence Project. A day in a remote village in the northern Okavango was enough to expose us to the very real danger and effect of living near wildlife. A DWNP Project Officer shared the traumatic story of seeing a child in the reeds who had been attacked by a crocodile. He shared the devastating story of a 20-year-old woman who was thrown against a tree by an elephant after returning from walking her friends home in the evening. Sadly, she died from her injuries. KCS Staff saw a fatally wounded calf that was the victim of an attack by lions the previous night. The cattle had been spooked by the lions who had strategically roared from one side of the kraal to send them running to the other side of the kraal where there was damage. The cattle jumped out over the damaged fence and into the lions’ attack. It was the second night in a row the lions had terrorized the cattle post, and both times the farmers’ dogs provided some defence against the lions. The stories are endless. And devastating. These attacks are happening to people whose livelihoods depend on the land. As the DWNP Officer said: “This is their livelihood. The cattle do everything: they feed them, they carry their water. The crops are their subsistence for the year. Wildlife threatens their very livelihoods so human wildlife conflict issues are not just about protecting wildlife, they’re about poverty reduction.” For the last two weeks, KCS staff have been working to understand human-wildlife conflict issues as part of the Northern Botswana Human Wildlife Coexistence Project. The Project is funded by the Government of Botswana and the World Bank, through the Department of Wildlife and National Parks. The Kalahari Conservation Society is working on the Communications Strategy for the Project. The activities being undertaken in order to mitigate human-wildlife conflict are: To deter elephants from raiding crops: chilli fences, chilli bricks for burning, beehive fences, early maturing seeds To protect from predators taking livestock: kraals, herding dogs To provide alternative livelihoods: hospitality and tourism training
Posted on: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 08:25:35 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015