Providing compensation for damage caused by wildlife: a case study of Kenya with particular reference to elephants

In Kenya, a week hardly passes without a report in the local press of death or destruction of property by wildlife, or retaliatory attacks on wild animals by their victims. The result is that local communities in Kenya view wildlife as a liability instead of a heritage. In such circumstances, elephants will have increasing difficulty surviving in areas of rapidly growing human populations. This is of concern since the majority of people live in rural areas where subsistence farming is their main source of livelihood. Besides, these people constitute a significant segment of the electorate. The solution to this problem lies, not in blaming the people or the elephants, but in finding the means by which the damage caused by these animals can be redressed. There is a need, therefore, to protect the elephant from harm by people, while at the same time giving priority to human needs and concerns. A practical approach to this problem is through the operation of fair and effective compensation. The mere payment of compensation, however, may not be a solution to the human-elephant conflict but it may reduce retaliatory attacks on elephants by humans. Key words: Compensation, wildlife damage, human-elephant conflict, elephant menace Journal of Social Development in Africa Vol.20(1) 2005: 7-39