CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2023
| Author | Bestman, Emmanuel |
|---|---|
| Title | Assessing human-wildlife conflict: A case of human-elephant conflicts in and around Proposed Wonegizi Nature Reserve, Liberia |
| Summary | The expansion of human settlement and agricultural activities are growing in and around protected areas (PAs). This is a pressing issue that often fuels human-wildlife conflicts (HWC). In Liberia, human-elephant conflicts have been increasing, and assessment of these interactions is lacking. The study used semi-structured interviews with various stakeholders to assess the factors responsible for elephant-human conflicts in and around the Proposed Wonegizi Nature Reserve (PWNR) in Lofa County, Liberia. Elephant and human conflicts in and around the PWNR were found to be driven by both environmental and social risk factors. Environmental risk factors were weather, planting season, rural settlement expansion, population increase, and farming/agriculture practices. Social risk factors were stakeholder resentment, lack of trust, social inequity, conflict, political instability, power disparity, centralized decision-making, perceptions, and belief systems. Corruption and rural poverty also contributed to the conflict. The IUCN Red List's critically endangered African Forest Elephant benefited from Liberia's wildlife legislation. Elephants were responsible for crop damage, property damage, and human deaths. Elephant damage increased in communities adjacent to the proposed protected area, with corridor communities suffering the most. The most affected stakeholders were farmers, who were upset and wanted to quit farming. Traditional subsistence farming was a significant concern and suffered the most from elephant damage. PWNR communities had no elephant or wildlife damage compensation programs. Other costs, such as ecosystem degradation, mental and psychological health, and biodiversity loss due to farming, were not accounted for. Mitigating measures were ineffective due to crop location and types. |
| Supervisor | Anthony, Brandon P. |
| Department | Environment Sciences and Policy MSc |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2023/bestman_emmanuel.pdf |
Visit the CEU Library.
© 2007-2021, Central European University