| dc.description.abstract | This report about the effectiveness of human-wildlife conflicts mitigation measures has
been successfully made in areas neighboring MFNP in Kibyama and Mpumwe villages
of Mpumwe parish in Kiryandongo district. The overall objective of the research was to
generate knowledge on the effectiveness of human-wildlife conflicts mitigation
measures in Mpumwe parish in Kiryandongo district neighboring MFNP Specific on
objectives included; (1) to identify the nature and cause of human-wildlife conflicts, (2)
to assess the extent of effectiveness of the measures taken to mitigate human- wildlife
conflicts (3) To examine the challenges to mitigating human- wildlife conflicts in
Mpumwe parish in Kiryandongo district.
The study found out that crop raiding, livestock predation and human attacks by wild
animals especially elephants were the major forms/nature of human wildlife conflicts
with elephants, monkeys, baboons, buffaloes, warthog and foxes as the problem
animals involved in the conflicts in Mpumwe parish.
The cause of these conflicts was majorly due to insufficient food for wild animals in the
PA as a result of increased population of wild animals, thus competition for food
resources, while other causes include water scarcity for wildlife, park encroachment by
the local people in the communities adjacent to the park through deforestation for
agriculture, settlement, wood fuel or charcoal and the sweet scent of flowering food
crops cultivated near the park boundary which attract wild animals.
HWC mitigation measures taken to mitigate the conflicts included, guarding, fencing,
use of the trench and traditional methods such as use of chili smoke, use of traps, use
of poison, setting fire, scarce shouting using vuvuzelas, drums and bangers and using
bee hives which were hanged on the trees to chase away wild animals from their crop
fields. The above mitigation measures were effective in reducing crop damage. for
example, areas where the trench was properly established, residents experienced least
cases of the wildlife conflicts that’s to say, once in a season.
Despite the efforts to mitigate HWC in Mpumwe parish in Kiryandongo district
neighboring MFNP, there were challenges that hindered the effective implementation ofHWC mitigation measures, these included but not limited to insufficient equipment and
tools for chasing a way wild animals like gumboots, bangers, torches, vuvuzelas among
others, some measures are tiresome to implement as they required one to stay in the
crop garden whole day midst the bad weather such too much sun shine and heavy
rainfall and diseases such as malaria due to mosquito bites.
The researcher thus concluded that, there was no effective human-wildlife conflict
mitigation measure in the area of study as there had been more cases of HWC with a
recent incident where one of the residents in Mpumwe village had been attacked and
injured by the elephant. Therefore, the management of MFNP should improve its
preparedness and response to problem animal cases. More park staff should be
recruited, oriented and trained to drive wild animals involved in the conflicts back in to
the PA and sufficient supply of equipment used to fight against wild animals involved in
the conflict like bangers, torches, vuvuzelas to chase away the wild animals | en_US |
