Integrating wildlife in natural resources management for tourism and community livelihoods in Lake Victoria basin: East Africa

Abstract

As human settlement continues to expand to the edges of protected areas, administrators and politicians are now questioning the value of protected areas vis-a-vis human settlement. This demands for integrated planning and management of wildlife and other natural resources therein, to ensure that they sustain tourism and community livelihoods. Improving rural livelihoods through integrating wildlife with natural resource management is crucial for sustainable tourism and national development. In East Africa, land ownership is complex and areas of potential wildlife habitats outside protected areas have been fragmented into private land holdings. The paper analyses the current wildlife conservation and utilization practices in Lake Victoria basin as player in raising community livelihoods and the challenges encountered. The policy framework is discussed to give an insight on government efforts to integrate the wildlife sub-sector in the general management of natural resources in the basin. The results indicate deliberate promotion of strategies, revenue sharing schemes, wildlife user rights, collaborative management of protected areas and controlled community access to the natural resources that integrate conservation of natural resources for sustainable economic development and community livelihoods. The paper recommends operationalizing the integration of wildlife with natural resource management for sustainable community livelihoods. Key words: Wildlife, tourism, natural resources, community livelihoods, sustainable development