Paper short abstract:

Most protected areas result to displacement of local people, with tremendous consequences on the people, animals and the environment. For an appreciation of these areas, we recommend engagement of neighboring communities in making management decisions, and in generating positive livelihood outcomes.

Paper long abstract:

Protected areas, including national parks and reserves, and protected landscapes, have been established traditionally as an approach towards natural resource conservation. However, like many other major projects imposed by governments most protected areas, have been created through forced displacement of local communities, with tremendous consequences on both the community being displaced and the natural resources intended for conservation. With a specific focus on Nthongoni, a human-wildlife interface of Tsavo and Chyullu hills National parks in Eastern Kenya, this paper explores the forms of conflict that emerge in relation to establishment of protected areas, and how these shape the social, cultural and economic lives of people living at the borderlands of these areas. We also examine the implications on the health of people in the borderlands and beyond, particularly in regard to bush-meat consumption and trade. Finally we argue that government policies and the top-down approach adopted by park managers are a pediment to harmonious coexistence between wildlife and the communities entangled with it. For the promotion of conservation interventions that are both human and wildlife centered, we recommend for creation of an enabling environment that engages communities neighboring wildlife areas in generating new kinds of capital that translates into positive livelihood outcomes, and hence fostering an appreciation of the protected areas.

This paper has been developed in collaboration with Hannah Brown.