Abstract
Botswana is one of the countries in Southern Africa that pay compensation for human properties damaged by wildlife. Before compensation is paid, a thorough investigation on determining wildlife species that have caused the damage is mandatory. Because of insufficient resources by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, the initial investigation is carried out by herders. Three basic indicators are used to determine carnivore predation; sighting the carnivore at the kill, tracks of the predator and examining the carcasses. In this study, we tested herders’ knowledge on the above three indicators. The study was conducted in a communal area around Makgadikgadi and Nxai national parks, Botswana, where the main activities practiced by the local communities is pastoral farming. In general, there was a significant association between reported and perceived incidents of predation for all carnivores at all distances from protected areas. Herders were able to identify the large carnivores visually. But they had difficulties in identifying carnivore tracks and kill characteristics. The results demonstrate the importance of involvement of local communities in human–wildlife conflict management. However, more education regarding identification of carnivore tracks and kill behaviour is needed for herders in the study area.Conservation implications: Based on the results of this study, this calls for a change in the management of human–wildlife conflict (HWC) and administration of the compensation scheme. Decentralising HWC to local communities using existing government structures that exist at local level will not only supplement the inadequate resources by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) to effectively mitigate the problem, but also empower local communities’ participation in wildlife management.
Highlights
Management of human–carnivore conflict using expert-based science (EBS) has been proven to be ineffective, and the conflicts have continued to have socio-economic implications on the livelihoods of pastoralists residing near protected areas globally (Goodrich et al 2011; Inskip & Zimmerman 2009)
Lion Problem Animal Control (PAC) incidents for cattle posts near protected areas were significantly higher than local ecological knowledge (LEK) incidents, while there was no significant difference between PAC and LEK for cattle posts far from protected areas (Figure 3a)
No PAC reports were available in the study area – because the species is not compensated, LEK incidents showed that spotted hyena caused more damage than the three reported species, especially on cattle posts far from protected areas (Figure 4)
Summary
Management of human–carnivore conflict using expert-based science (EBS) has been proven to be ineffective, and the conflicts have continued to have socio-economic implications on the livelihoods of pastoralists residing near protected areas globally (Goodrich et al 2011; Inskip & Zimmerman 2009). Information on distribution and intensity of human–carnivore conflict is essential in managing such conflicts around the world, and obtaining adequate information to come up with effective and efficient strategies requires extensive data on wildlife populations which is often insufficient in technical EBS (Gilchrist, Mallory & Merkel 2005).Techniques involved in EBS are usually expensive and demanding in terms of inputs, complicating research (Anadón et al 2009). Many authors use this terminology interchangeably, Gilchrist et al (2005) and Neagh et al (2008) suggested that a distinction that comprehends the time scale from which this knowledge and skills has been acquired is required. The distinctions being that TEK and IK are more of knowledge and practices acquired through adaptive management, by an ethnic group through generations http://www.koedoe.co.za
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