Abstract
Resolving conflict between agricultural livelihoods and wildlife conservation requires a sophisticated understanding of both wildlife ecology and human livelihood decision-making. This case study extends the literature on human-wildlife conflict in Africa by using a political ecology framework to understand how and why farmers in areas of high wildlife disturbance make their farming decisions, and how their strategies are affected by a broader socio-political context that includes, but is not restricted to, wildlife conservation policy. Specifically, this article chronicles the livelihood strategies of smallholder farmers in a village on the edge of Chobe National Park in northern Botswana. This is a place where the state has prioritized wildlife conservation but also supports residents' livelihoods. Because of disturbance from wildlife, especially elephants, protected under conservation law, agricultural production in Chobe is becoming increasingly challenging, even as the government increases its agricultural subsidies and support to small farmers. This results in unexpected farming strategies that reflect the interactive effects of conservation policy and other relevant macro-economic policies that structure the livelihood strategies of rural communities living near protected areas. Future human-wildlife conflict studies must take into account these multi-scalar and multi-dimensional dynamics in order to accurately explain the livelihood strategies of people living in wildlife-populated areas, so that appropriate conservation and development policies can be designed. Keywords: Botswana, wildlife conservation, rural livelihoods, human-wildlife conflict, political ecology
Highlights
This article chronicles the livelihood strategies of smallholder farmers in the village of Naledi2 on the edge of Chobe National Park in northern Botswana (Figure 1)
In this article I use a political ecology approach to move beyond explication of proximate causes and local forces, and to identify the broader systems that influence the way in which human-wildlife conflict in a given place unfolds
A literature review of political ecology and human-wildlife conflict studies is followed by a description of methodology and a synthesis of national and regional level data on the Botswana welfare state and the effects of conservation in the Chobe Enclave
Summary
This article chronicles the livelihood strategies of smallholder farmers in the village of Naledi on the edge of Chobe National Park in northern Botswana (Figure 1). I demonstrate how in the case of Naledi, the effects of living near Chobe National Park and its protected wildlife are mediated by a relatively well-functioning welfare state (Bertram 2011) that provisions citizens with both agricultural and non-agricultural support.4 This is an unusual and noteworthy finding given the extensive documentation in critical conservation studies of cases in which state-sponsored wildlife conservation impinges upon local people's survival (Ngeta 2011; Schmidt-Soltau 2003). A literature review of political ecology and human-wildlife conflict studies is followed by a description of methodology and a synthesis of national and regional level data on the Botswana welfare state and the effects of conservation in the Chobe Enclave This fourth section provides context on the larger national and regional conditions that require understanding in order to make sense of local livelihood dynamics in Naledi. The conclusion addresses implications for analyzing smallholder agriculture in areas subject to wildlife conservation
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