Mundanthra Balakrishnan

Human–wildlife conflict and attitude of local people towards conservation of wildlife in Chebera Churchura National Park, Ethiopia

Human—wildlife conflict is a serious challenge undermining the integrity of protected areas in developing countries. Developing effective human—wildlife conflict mitigation strategies requires an understanding of the conflict patterns, species involved and attitudes of local people living along protected area boundaries. We hypothesised that (1) there was a high level of human—wildlife conflict and (2) the local people would have less favourable attitudes towards problematic wild animals. We assessed patterns of human—wildlife conflict and attitudes of local people along the boundary of Chebera Churchura National Park, Ethiopia from 2012 to 2014. A total of 354 households were selected randomly for interview. A questionnaire survey, focus group discussions and direct field observations were carried out in the selected villages. The major types of human—wildlife conflict in the area include crop raiding, livestock predation, increased risk of livestock diseases and direct threats to human life. A majority of the respondents (68.1%) faced crop damage and domestic animal loss, 12.3% reported threat to humans and 0.3% reported that the wildlife might cause diseases. Close proximity of the villages to the park and seasons influenced livestock predation intensity with highest predation in the wet season (56.0%). To mitigate these problems, the local people utilised various traditional methods, including guarding. Most respondents had positive attitudes towards the conservation of wildlife. However, as the frequency of conflicts increased in the last five years, the attitudes of local people might change. Active measures are to be implemented to mitigate the problem and safeguard the future of the wildlife around the park. The park has enormous potential to benefit more local people by implementing a participatory management approach to conservation.

Remote sensing and geographic information system-based African civet habitat mapping in Andracha, Ethiopia

Abstract Remote sensing and geographic information systems have enormous applications in ecological studies, particularly in the habitat analysis of wild animals. The present study aimed to evaluate the habitats of the African civet in Andracha, Ethiopia, in order to generate geo-referenced ecological data on the habitats of this species. Habitat evaluation and habitat changes during 1986 to 2012 were analyzed using LANDSAT imageries. In the year 1986, 1017.56     km 2 (99.75%) of the study area was covered with forest, but in 2012 only 949.61     km 2 (93.09%) had forest cover. There has been a reduction of 5.97% forest cover at a rate of 0.22% per year since 1986. The study area has been classified into three suitability categories based on forest cover, water, settlement/agriculture, road and slope. Currently, 611.07     km 2 (59.9%) of the area has dense forest cover, which is less preferred by the African civet, 336.75     km 2 (33.01%) is moderately interfered with human activities and is suitable for civets, and 70.56     km 2 (6.91%) is degraded forest around human habitats, which is highly preferred by civets. Habitat suitability analysis is useful to predict potential habitats of African civets in Ethiopia and elsewhere in Africa.