Socio-economics and wildlife conservation of a peri-urban national park in central Kenya

Abstract

The support, perceptions, values and aspiration of the local people, especially those who neighbour protected areas is increasingly recognised as critical for long-term biodiversity conservation in many countries. As such, conservation agencies are keen to understand the linkages and interactions between wildlife conservation and socio-economics of local communities. We assessed the socio-economic, demographic factors and livelihood status of the households of communities bordering Oldoinyo Sapuk National Park in central Kenya, and evaluated their willingness to support wildlife conservation. We randomly interviewed households that neighbour the Park on a wide range of socio-economic, livelihood and demographic factors. The majority of respondents were small-scale farmers practicing crop farming and livestock keeping. Most respondents considered the Park to have great potential for the future economic development of the area, especially through ecotourism as a potential avenue to support local livelihoods.