Increase of Human-Wildlife Conflict In Taita Taveta County

Taita Taveta is one of the counties that is blessed to have the largest National Park in our Country, Tsavo
East and Tsavo West National Park.However this may not be the blessing that the residents living around
the National Park expected.The increased attacks from the wildlife has been a major challenge to the
people living here.The residents live in fear of being attacked by the wild animals that sneak out of the
park into the people settlement areas.Students sometimes fail to go to school because the threat that
the might be attacked by the wild animals like Cheetahs,Hyena,Elephants and even Lions which are
roaming around the bushes.
Kenya wildlife department has not done enough to stop this nightmare that is facing the people
here.People living in Kishushe,Kasgau,Maktau,Ndara,Jipe,Ngolia and Voi are the most affected by the
attacks from the wildlife.This attacks escalate more during the dry seasons,the wildlife move from the
park into the settlement areas in search of grazing land,water and food.The Elephants are notorious
since they attack the residence’s farms and even attact the people.The Buffalos,Zebras and Antelopes
also envade the farms leaving the residents with losses.People staying here are left without food or
water when the elephants destroy there water tanks at night.The other wildlife that does not feed on
the farms attack the goats and Cows making life even hard for the residents here.
Human-Wildlife Conflict can result in the decline and potential eradication of spiciest,communities can
experience financial losses,food security and property loss.The cost of living with wildlife are unevenly
distributed and disproportionately fall on communities that oftenface systemic barriers and have
incomes well below the poverty lines and access few economic opportunities while the country benefits
from healthy wildlife population and healthy ecosystem that allow both the humans and wildlife to
survive.Human-Wildlife conflict is therefore as much a development and humanitarian issue as it is a
conservation concern,affecting the income of farmers,herders and artisanal fishers particularly those
with income below poverty lines.
The current strategies and solutions to curp the problem of Human-Wildlife Conflict do not match the
scale of the problem and management measures are often implemented in a piecemeal manner.There
is lack of coordination and adequate support from the many other sectors and organisations that are
impacted despite the issue being so global in nature.The solution to this challenge is for the government
through the ministry of Tourism and Wildlife to intervene and ensure the all the wildlife roaming in the
settlement areas are returned back to the park.The Kenya Wildlife also should ensure that a well fence
wall is erected to prevent the wildlife from sneaking into the settlement areas.The government should
ensure that all those that have been affected by the Wildlife invasion are well compensated in order to
continue with their livelihoods without fear of being attacked again.