Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-hvd4g Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-24T09:57:52.541Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Exploring the Hidden Costs of Human–Wildlife Conflict in Northern Kenya

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 March 2018

Jennifer Bond  and
Kennedy Mkutu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract:

Human–wildlife conflict (HWC) is often considered in terms of how the impact on humans can be mitigated, but in the context of the larger goal of meeting conservation goals. This article explores the hidden costs of HWC on human well-being in northern Kenya through a qualitative case study of Laikipia County. Drawing on narratives of wildlife as destructive, wildlife as inherently more important or valuable than humans, and wildlife preservation as a pathway for capturing resources, it explores the impacts of HWC on human well-being, situating the study within the HWC, political ecology, and human security literature.

Résumé:

Les conflits humains-faune (CHF) sont souvent considérés comme des moyens d’analyser l’impact de la faune sur les humains dans le contexte des objectifs de conservation. Cet article explore les coûts cachés du CHF sur le bien-être humain dans le nord du Kenya grâce à une étude de cas qualitative du comté de Laikipia. Il s’inspire d’une variété de récits sur les CHF—incluant la faune sauvage comme destructrice pour les humains, la faune comme intrinsèquement plus importante que les humains et la chasse comme voie de capture des ressources—pour explorer les impacts du CHF sur la sécurité et le bien-être des humains.

Keywords

Conservationfarmerhuman securityLaikipiapastoralistpolitical ecology
Type
Articles
Information
African Studies Review , Volume 61 , Issue 1 , April 2018 , pp. 33 - 54
Copyright
Copyright © African Studies Association 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adger, W. Neil. 2006. “Vulnerability.” Global Environmental Change 16 (3): 268–81.Google Scholar
Barnett, Jon, and Neil Adger, W.. 2007. “Climate Change, Human Security and Violent Conflict.” Political Geography 26 (6): 639–55.Google Scholar
Barua, Maan, Bhagwat, Shonil A., and Jadhav, Sushrut. 2013. “The Hidden Dimensions of Human–Wildlife Conflict: Health Impacts, Opportunity and Transaction Costs.” Biological Conservation 157: 309–16.Google Scholar
Benjaminsen, Tor A., and Bryceson, Ian. 2012. “Conservation, Green/Blue Grabbing and Accumulation by Dispossession in Tanzania.” The Journal of Peasant Studies 39 (2): 335–55.Google Scholar
Bond, Jennifer. 2014a. “A Holistic Approach to Natural Resource Conflict: A Case of Laikipia County, Kenya.” Journal of Rural Studies 34: 117–27.Google Scholar
Bond, Jennifer. 2014b. “Conflict, Development and Security at the Agro-Pastoral-Wildlife Nexus: A Case of Laikipia County, Kenya.” The Journal of Development Studies 50 (7): 991–1008.Google Scholar
Bond, Jennifer. 2015. “Making Sense of Human–Elephant Conflict in Laikipia County, Kenya.” Society and Natural Resources 28 (3): 312–27.Google Scholar
Bond, Jennifer. 2016. “Extension Agents and Conflict Narratives: A Case of Laikipia County, Kenya.” The Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension 22 (1): 81–96.Google Scholar
Brauch, Hans Günter. 2008. “Conceptualising the Environmental Dimension of Human Security in the UN.” International Social Science Journal 59: 19–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brockington, Dan. 2004. “Community Conservation, Inequality And Injustice: Myths of Power in Protected Area Management.” Conservation and Society 2 (2): 411–32.Google Scholar
Brockington, Dan, and Igoe, Jim. 2006. “Eviction for Conservation: A Global Overview.” Conservation and Society 4 (3): 424–70.Google Scholar
Bulte, Erwin, and Rondeau, Daniel. 2005. “Research and Management Viewpoint: Why Compensating Wildlife Damages May Be Bad for Conservation.” Journal of Wildlife Management 69 (1): 14–19.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burugu, John N. 2010. The County: Understanding Devolution and Governance in Kenya. Nairobi: Centre for Leadership, Education and Development International (CLEAD).Google Scholar
Büscher, Bram, et al. 2012. “Towards a Synthesized Critique of Neoliberal Biodiversity Conservation.” Capitalism Nature Socialism 23 (2): 4–30.Google Scholar
Curran, Bryan, et al. 2009. “Are Central Africa’s Protected Areas Displacing Hundreds of Thousands of Rural Poor?” Conservation and Society 7 (1): 30–45.Google Scholar
Dalby, Simon. 2008. “Security and Environmental Linkages Revisited.” In Globalization and Environmental Challenges: Reconceptualizing Security in the 21st Century, volume 3, edited by Brauch et al., Hans G., 166–72. Berlin: Springer.Google Scholar
Dickman, A. J. 2010. “Complexities of Conflict: The Importance of Considering Social Factors for Effectively Resolving Human–Wildlife Conflict.” Animal Conservation 13 (5): 458–66.Google Scholar
Duffy, Rosaleen. 2014. “Waging a War to Save Biodiversity: The Rise of Militarized Conservation.” International Affairs 90 (4): 819–34.Google Scholar
Fairhead, James, Leach, Melissa, and Scoones, Ian. 2012. “Green Grabbing: A New Appropriation of Nature?” The Journal of Peasant Studies 39 (2): 237–61.Google Scholar
Fletcher, Robert. 2010. “Neoliberal Environmentality: Towards a Poststructuralist Political Ecology of the Conservation Debate.” Conservation and Society 8 (3): 171–81.Google Scholar
Fletcher, Robert. 2012. “Using the Master’s Tools? Neoliberal Conservation and the Evasion of Inequality.” Development and Change 43 (1): 295–317.Google Scholar
Frank, Laurence. G., Woodroffe, Rosie, and Ogada, Mordecai. 2005. “People and Predators in Laikipia District, Kenya.” In People and Wildlife: Conflict or Coexistence? edited by Woodroffe, Rosie, Thirgood, Simon, and Rabinowitz, Alan, 286–304. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Gachanja, Michael. 2013. Kenya’s Revised Wildlife Bill 2012, as Submitted to Cabinet. www.eawildlife.org.Google Scholar
Gadd, Michelle. E. 2005. “Conservation Outside of Parks: Attitudes of Local People in Laikipia, Kenya.” Environmental Conservation 32 (1): 50–63.Google Scholar
Gakio, Wanjohi. 2015. “Fire Trucks for Conservancy.” The Star, March 5. www.the-star.co.ke.Google Scholar
Garland, Elizabeth. 2008. “The Elephant in the Room: Confronting the Colonial Character of Wildlife Conservation in Africa.” African Studies Review 51 (3): 51–74.Google Scholar
Gifford, Robert. 2007. Environmental Psychology: Principles and Practice. 4th edition. Colville, Wash.: Optimal Books.Google Scholar
Graham, Maximilian D., et al. 2010. “Patterns of Crop-Raiding by Elephants, Loxodonta africana, in Laikipia, Kenya, and the Management of Human–Elephant Conflict.” Systematics and Biodiversity 8 (4): 435–45.Google Scholar
Granados, Alys, and Weladji, Robert B.. 2012. “Human–Elephant Conflict around Bénoué National Park, Cameroon: Influence on Local Attitudes and Implications for Conservation.” Human Dimensions of Wildlife 17 (2): 77–90.Google Scholar
Greiner, Clemens. 2012. “Unexpected Consequences: Wildlife Conservation and Territorial Conflict in Northern Kenya.” Human Ecology 40 (3): 415–25.Google Scholar
Greiner, Clemens. 2013. “Guns, Land and Votes: Cattle Rustling and the Politics of Boundary (Re)making in Northern Kenya.” African Affairs 112/447: 216–37.Google Scholar
Hardt, Judith N. 2012. “Critical Deconstruction of Environmental Security and Human Security Concepts in the Anthropocene.” In Climate Change, Human Security and Violent Conflict, volume 8, edited by Scheffran, Jürgen, et al., 207–21. Berlin: Springer.Google Scholar
Hill, Catherine. M. 2004. “Farmers’ Perspectives of Conflict at the Wildlife–Agriculture Boundary: Some Lessons Learned from African Subsistence Farmers.” Human Dimensions of Wildlife 9 (4): 279–86.Google Scholar
Holmes, George, and Brockington, Dan. 2012. “Protected Areas: What People Say about Well-Being. In Biodiversity Conservation and Poverty Alleviation: Exploring the Evidence for a Link, edited by Roe, Dilys et al., 160–72. Oxford: John Wiley.Google Scholar
Hughes, Lotte. 2006. Moving the Maasai: A Colonial Misadventure. London: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Igoe, Jim. 2007. “Human Rights, Conservation and the Privatization of Sovereignty in Africa: A Discussion of Recent Changes in Tanzania.” Policy Matters 15 (276): 532–34.Google Scholar
Igoe, Jim, and Brockington, Dan. 2007. “Neoliberal Conservation: A Brief Introduction.” Conservation and Society 5 (4): 432–49.Google Scholar
Jadhav, Shushrut, and Barua, Maan. 2012. “The Elephant Vanishes: Impact of Human–Elephant Conflict on People’s Wellbeing.” Health and Place 18 (6): 1356–65.Google Scholar
Kahumbu, Paula. 2011. “Rushed Wildlife Bill Portends Trouble for Vital Kenya Resource.” Africa Review, September 8. www.africareview.com.Google Scholar
Karanth, K. Ullas, and Madhusudan, M. D.. 2002. “Mitigating Human–Wildlife Conflict in Southern Asia.” In Making Parks Work: Identifying Key Factors to Implementing Parks in the Tropics, edited by Terborgh, John et al., 250–64. Covelo, Calif: Island Press.Google Scholar
Kean, Danuta. 2017. “Author Kuki Gallmann Shot by Raiders on Her Ranch in Kenya.” The Guardian, April 24. https://www.theguardian.com.Google Scholar
Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS). 2012. “Wildlife Compensation Process.” www.kws.org.Google Scholar
Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS). 2013. “The Wildlife Conservation and Management Act, 2013 No. 47 of 2013.” Nairobi: Government Printers.Google Scholar
King, Gary, and Murray, Christopher J. L.. 2001. “Rethinking Human Security.” Political Science Quarterly 116 (4): 585–610.Google Scholar
Knickerbocker, Timothy J., and Waithaka, John. 2005. “People and Elephants in the Shimba Hills, Kenya.” In People and Wildlife: Conflict or Coexistence? edited by Woodroffe, Rosie, Thirgood, Simon, and Rabinowitz, Alan, 224–38. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Knight, John. 2000. “Introduction.” In Natural Enemies: People–Wildlife Conflict in Anthropological Perspective, edited by Knight, John, 1–35. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Kumsaa, Afsaw, and Williams, James H.. 2011. “Introduction: Conflict and Human Security in Northern Kenya.” Conflict and Human Security in Africa: Kenya in Perspective, edited by Kumssa, Afsaw, Williams, James H., and Jones, John F., 1–14. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Letai, John. 2011. “Land Deals in Kenya: The Genesis of Land Deals in Kenya and Its Implication on Pastoral Livelihoods: A Case Study of Laikipia District, 2011.” Report for Oxfam Kenya.Google Scholar
Lewis, Dale, and Jackson, John. 2005. “Safari Hunting and Conservation on Communal Land in Southern Africa.” In People and Wildlife: Conflict or Coexistence? edited by Woodroffe, Rosie, Thirgood, Simon, and Rabinowitz, Alan, 239–51. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Little, Peter D. 2014. Economic and Political Reform in Africa: Anthropological Perspectives. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.Google Scholar
Matheka, Reuben. 2005. “Antecedents to the Community Wildlife Conservation Programme in Kenya, 1946–1964.” Environment and History 11 (3): 239–67.Google Scholar
Matheka, Reuben. 2008. “Decolonisation and Wildlife Conservation in Kenya, 1958–68.” Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History 36 (4): 615–39.Google Scholar
Mesjasz, Czeslaw. 2008. “Security as Attributes of Social Systems.” In Globalization and Environmental Challenges: Reconceptualizing Security in the 21st Century, volume 3, edited by Brauch, Hans G. et al., 45–61. Berlin: Springer.Google Scholar
Messmer, Terry A. 2000. “The Emergence of Human–Wildlife Conflict Management: Turning Challenges into Opportunities.” International Biodeterioration and Biodegradation 45 (3–4): 97–102.Google Scholar
Mkutu, Kennedy. 2001. Pastoralism and Conflict in the Horn of Africa. Bradford, U.K.: Department of Peace Studies, University of Bradford.Google Scholar
Mkutu, Kennedy. 2008. Guns and Governance in the Rift Valley: Pastoralist Conflict and Small Arms. Oxford: James Currey.Google Scholar
Mkutu, Kennedy. 2015. “Changes and Challenges of the Kenya Police Reserve: The Case of Turkana County.” African Studies Review 58 (1): 199–222.Google Scholar
Mkutu, Kennedy. 2017. “Oil and Emerging Conflict Dynamics in the Ateker Cluster: The Case of Turkana, Kenya.” Nomadic Peoples 21 (1): 34–62.Google Scholar
Mkutu, Kennedy A., and Wandera, Gerald. 2013. Policing the Periphery: Opportunities and Challenges for Kenya Police Reserves. Geneva: Small Arms Survey.Google Scholar
Mkutu, Kennedy A., and Wandera, Gerald. 2016. Conflict, Security and the Extractive Industries in Turkana, Kenya: Emerging Issues 2012–2015. Nairobi: USIU/KSG.Google Scholar
Muchangi, John. 2015. “Arson Is Suspected in Laikipia Ranch Blaze.” The Star, March 12. www.the-star.co.ke.Google Scholar
Mudaliar, Ruchi, and Rishi, Parul. 2012. “A Psychological Perspective on Climate Stress in Coastal India.” In Climate Change, Human Security and Violent Conflict, volume 8, edited by Scheffran, Jürgen et al., 613–31. Berlin: Springer.Google Scholar
Naughton-Treves, Lisa. 1998. “Predicting Patterns of Crop Damage by Wildlife around Kibale National Park, Uganda.” Conservation Biology 12 (1): 156–68.Google Scholar
Naughton-Treves, Lisa, and Treves, Adrian. 2005. “Socio-Ecological Factors Shaping Local Support for Wildlife: Crop-Raiding by Elephants and Other Wildlife in Africa.” In People and Wildlife: Conflict or Coexistence? edited by Woodroffe, Rosie, Thirgood, Simon, and Rabinowitz, Alan, 252–77. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Nyhus, Philip J., et al. 2005. “Bearing the Costs of Human–Wildlife Conflict: The Challenges of Compensation Schemes.” In People and Wildlife: Conflict or Coexistence? edited by Woodroffe, Rosie, Thirgood, Simon, and Rabinowitz, Alan, 107–21. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Ogra, Monica V. 2008. “Human–Wildlife Conflict and Gender in Protected Area Borderlands: A Case Study of Costs, Perceptions, and Vulnerabilities from Uttarakhand (Uttaranchal), India.” Geoforum 39 (3): 1408–22.Google Scholar
Osborn, Ferrel V., and Hill, Catherine M.. 2005. “Techniques to Reduce Crop Loss: Human and Technical Dimensions in Africa.” In People and Wildlife: Conflict or Coexistence? edited by Woodroffe, Rosie, Thirgood, Simon, and Rabinowitz, Alan, 72–85. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Oucho, John. O. 2002. Undercurrents of Ethnic Conflicts in Kenya. Leiden: Brill.Google Scholar
Peluso, Nancy Lee. 1993. “Coercing Conservation?” Global Environmental Change 3 (2): 199–217.Google Scholar
Peterson, M. Nils, et al. 2010. “Rearticulating the Myth of Human–Wildlife Conflict.” Conservation Letters 3 (2): 74–82.Google Scholar
Ribot, Jesse. 2010. “Vulnerability Does Not Fall from the Sky: Toward Multiscale, Pro-poor Climate Policy.” In Social Dimensions of Climate Change: Equity and Vulnerability in a Warming World, edited by Mearns, Robin and Norton, Andrew, 47–74. Washington, D.C.: The World Bank.Google Scholar
Robbins, Paul. 2004. Political Ecology: A Critical Introduction. Chichester, U.K.: John Wiley.Google Scholar
Roe, Emery M. 1995. “Except-Africa: Postscript to a Special Section on Development Narratives.” World Development 23 (6): 1065–69.Google Scholar
Schilling, Janpeter, Opiyo, Francis E. O., and Scheffran, Jürgen. 2012. “Raiding Pastoral Livelihoods: Motives and Effects of Violent Conflict in North-Western Kenya." Pastoralism: Research, Policy and Practice 2 (1): 1–16.Google Scholar
Scott, James. C. 2008. Weapons of the Weak: Everyday Forms of Peasant Resistance. New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Sen, Amartya. 1999. Development as Freedom. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Stedman, Richard C. 2012. “Sociological Considerations in Wildlife Management.” In Human Dimensons of Wildlife Management, edited by Decker, Daniel J., Riley, Shawn. J., and Siemer, William F., 58–67. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Swyngedouw, Erik. 2004. “Globalisation or ‘Glocalisation’? Networks, Territories and Rescaling.” Cambridge Review of International Affairs 17 (1): 25–48.Google Scholar
Tadjbakhsh, Shahrbanou, and Chenoy, Anuradha M.. 2007. Human Security: Concepts and Implications. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Thouless, C. R., and Sakwa, J.. 1995. “Shocking Elephants: Fences and Crop Raiders in Laikipia District, Kenya.” Biological Conservation 72 (1): 99–107.Google Scholar
Treves, Adrian, et al. 2006. “Co-Managing Human–Wildlife Conflicts: A Review.” Human Dimensions of Wildlife 11 (6): 383–96.Google Scholar
United Nations Development Program (UNDP). 1994. Human Development Report. New York: UNDP.Google Scholar
Vaske, Jerry J., and Manfredo, Michael J.. 2012. “Social Psychological Considerations in Wildlife Management.” In Human Dimensions of Wildlife Management, edited by Decker, Daniel J., Riley, Shawn. J., and Siemer, William F., 43–57. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Walpole, Matthew J., and Thouless, Chris R.. 2005. “Increasing the Value of Wildlife through Non-consumptive Use? Deconstructing the Myths of Ecotourism and Community-Based Tourism in the Tropics.” In People and Wildlife: Conflict or Coexistence? edited by Woodroffe, Rosie, Thirgood, Simon, and Rabinowitz, Alan, 122–39. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Waweru, Kings. 2016. “Laikipia Farmers Protest against Ol Pejeta Animals Raid.” The Star, January 20. www.the-star.co.ke.Google Scholar
Weladji, Robert B., and Tchamba, Martin N.. 2003. “Conflict between People and Protected Areas within the Bénoué Wildlife Conservation Area, North Cameroon.” Oryx 37 (1): 72–79.Google Scholar
Western, David, and Waithaka, John. 2005. “Policies for Reducing Human–Wildlife Conflict: A Kenya Case Study.” In People and Wildlife: Conflict or Coexistence? edited by Woodroffe, Rosie, Thirgood, Simon, and Rabinowitz, Alan, 357–72. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Woodroffe, Rosie, et al. 2005. “Livestock Predation by Endangered African Wild Dogs (Lycaon pictus) in Northern Kenya.” Biological Conservation 124 (2): 225–34.Google Scholar
Zoomers, A. 2010. “Globalisation and the Foreignisation of Space: Seven Processes Driving the Current Global Land Grab.” The Journal of Peasant Studies 37 (2): 429–47.Google Scholar