Human- wildlife conflicts in selected villages around Kibale National Park and their impact on conservation

Abstract

Human-wildlife conflicts lead to disagreements and disputes over access to, control, and use of wildlife resources. This study was intended to establish the wildlife conflicts in selected villages around Kibale National Park, Uganda. Data collection involved the use of a purposive sampling technique and questionnaires to guide interviews, which constituted the questions targeting parameters of interest. The crops that are commonly raided were surveyed through quantitative techniques of plot sampling along transects in the farmers' gardens to establish the density of the destroyed crops and the area of the crop fields that were destroyed by wild animals. It was established that crop raiding, zoonosis and illegal access to park resources are the major causes of conflicts. The most common management strategies were garding of gardens from crop raiders, treatment of diseases and collaboration with UWA. However, these measures were not sufficiently effective especially for cases of poor collaboration between the community and UWA. Strengthening collaboration by park management with the community and carrying out further studies are recommended as strategies for managing these conflicts