An Assessment of Local People’s Support to Private Wildlife Conservation: A Case of Save Valley Conservancy and Fringe Communities, Zimbabwe
The long-term survival of a protected area (PA) may depend to a greater extent on the goodwill and support of the people residing around it. This study assessed local people’s support for private sector driven wildlife conservation in Zimbabwe, using the Save Valley Conservancy (SVC) as a case. Spec...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2019-01-01
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| Series: | Scientifica |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2019/2534614 |
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| author | Given Matseketsa Billy B. Mukamuri Never Muboko Edson Gandiwa |
| author_facet | Given Matseketsa Billy B. Mukamuri Never Muboko Edson Gandiwa |
| author_sort | Given Matseketsa |
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| description | The long-term survival of a protected area (PA) may depend to a greater extent on the goodwill and support of the people residing around it. This study assessed local people’s support for private sector driven wildlife conservation in Zimbabwe, using the Save Valley Conservancy (SVC) as a case. Specifically, the objectives of the assessment were threefold: (i) to establish perceptions on the current nature of the relationship between SVC and people living on its edge, (ii) to ascertain the proximate and underlying causes of local resistance to SVC, and (iii) to identify strategies local people employ to resist SVC conservation efforts. Data were collected through a household questionnaire survey during the month of April, 2018. In addition, photographs showing the nature of vandalism and sabotage imposed on the SVC ecosystem by fringe communities were also collected, as part of evidential data. A multistage sampling method was adopted, and this combined purposive sampling to select study wards: random sampling to select villages and systematic sampling to select households (n=71). Our results show that local people rate the current relationship between them and SVC owners as bad, i.e., undesirable interaction. The nature of this perceived bad relationship is attributed to a host of factors, key among them being, lack of wildlife-related benefits and escalation of wildlife-induced costs, which are crucial in determining local community’s support for conservation. We conclude that the studied local community’s support for private nature conservation is marginal; hence, there is a need for increased efforts by SVC owners to devise realistic incentives including an active engagement of local communities so that they cooperate with conservation efforts. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e360f217600f40bb8cb74fdc5265bee0 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2090-908X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2019-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientifica |
| spelling | doaj-art-e360f217600f40bb8cb74fdc5265bee02025-02-03T01:02:16ZengWileyScientifica2090-908X2019-01-01201910.1155/2019/25346142534614An Assessment of Local People’s Support to Private Wildlife Conservation: A Case of Save Valley Conservancy and Fringe Communities, ZimbabweGiven Matseketsa0Billy B. Mukamuri1Never Muboko2Edson Gandiwa3Centre for Applied Social Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, P.O. Box MP167, Mt Pleasant, Harare, ZimbabweCentre for Applied Social Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, P.O. Box MP167, Mt Pleasant, Harare, ZimbabweSchool of Wildlife, Ecology and Conservation, Chinhoyi University of Technology, Private Bag 7724, Chinhoyi, ZimbabweSchool of Wildlife, Ecology and Conservation, Chinhoyi University of Technology, Private Bag 7724, Chinhoyi, ZimbabweThe long-term survival of a protected area (PA) may depend to a greater extent on the goodwill and support of the people residing around it. This study assessed local people’s support for private sector driven wildlife conservation in Zimbabwe, using the Save Valley Conservancy (SVC) as a case. Specifically, the objectives of the assessment were threefold: (i) to establish perceptions on the current nature of the relationship between SVC and people living on its edge, (ii) to ascertain the proximate and underlying causes of local resistance to SVC, and (iii) to identify strategies local people employ to resist SVC conservation efforts. Data were collected through a household questionnaire survey during the month of April, 2018. In addition, photographs showing the nature of vandalism and sabotage imposed on the SVC ecosystem by fringe communities were also collected, as part of evidential data. A multistage sampling method was adopted, and this combined purposive sampling to select study wards: random sampling to select villages and systematic sampling to select households (n=71). Our results show that local people rate the current relationship between them and SVC owners as bad, i.e., undesirable interaction. The nature of this perceived bad relationship is attributed to a host of factors, key among them being, lack of wildlife-related benefits and escalation of wildlife-induced costs, which are crucial in determining local community’s support for conservation. We conclude that the studied local community’s support for private nature conservation is marginal; hence, there is a need for increased efforts by SVC owners to devise realistic incentives including an active engagement of local communities so that they cooperate with conservation efforts.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2019/2534614 |
| spellingShingle | Given Matseketsa Billy B. Mukamuri Never Muboko Edson Gandiwa An Assessment of Local People’s Support to Private Wildlife Conservation: A Case of Save Valley Conservancy and Fringe Communities, Zimbabwe Scientifica |
| title | An Assessment of Local People’s Support to Private Wildlife Conservation: A Case of Save Valley Conservancy and Fringe Communities, Zimbabwe |
| title_full | An Assessment of Local People’s Support to Private Wildlife Conservation: A Case of Save Valley Conservancy and Fringe Communities, Zimbabwe |
| title_fullStr | An Assessment of Local People’s Support to Private Wildlife Conservation: A Case of Save Valley Conservancy and Fringe Communities, Zimbabwe |
| title_full_unstemmed | An Assessment of Local People’s Support to Private Wildlife Conservation: A Case of Save Valley Conservancy and Fringe Communities, Zimbabwe |
| title_short | An Assessment of Local People’s Support to Private Wildlife Conservation: A Case of Save Valley Conservancy and Fringe Communities, Zimbabwe |
| title_sort | assessment of local people s support to private wildlife conservation a case of save valley conservancy and fringe communities zimbabwe |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2019/2534614 |
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