By Dr. Taddeo Rusoke

Cocreating sustainable knowledge infrastructure and mobilising the power of transformative innovation policy and practices for societal and environmental challenges is one sure way of contributing towards sustainability science, conservation and livelihoods. 

Improving human-wildlife co-existence through Inclusive Sustainable Conservation Models intends to secure agricultural livelihoods of communities farming at the boundaries of protected areas such as national parks across Africa through mitigating crop loss to wild animals. Agriculture is the mainstay for most farmers bordering the 10 national parks in Uganda, namely: Kibale, Semuliki, Rwenzori, Mgahinga Gorilla, Bwindi Impenetrable, Lake Mburo, Mount Elgon, Queen Elizabeth, Murchison Falls and Kidepo Valley National Parks. 

Across Africa, agriculture employs 2/3 (60+%) of Africa’s working population, contributing up to 30% of GDP in most sub-Saharan African countries (IFAD, 2019), it also accounts for 40% of Uganda’s GDP (FAO, 2021). Most farmers living inside or bordering protected areas either rear livestock or grow crops. These agricultural practices contradict conservation objectives and increase human-wild animal interactions, wild animals-livestock interactions leading to severe conflicts especially when crops are damaged by wild animals. Other potential sources of conflicts emanate from livestock and wildlife competition for pasture, water, human injuries through wildlife attacks, transmission of diseases, loss of crops & destruction of farm structures by wild animals. 

Each protected area has unique human-wildlife conflicts depending on community activities that take place inside or outside the par, for instance, inside Queen Elizabeth National Park communities keep livestock, practice fishing and trade amid roaming herds of herbivores & prides of carnivorous species. In such scenarios, Man-lion attacks, lion-cattle depredation are issues of co-existence and livelihood threats the park management must constantly address among communities living within thirteen enclaves located inside the park. Despite these conflicts, communities cannot be expelled from the park, because they have inherently lived within these enclave’s time immemorial. 

Queen Elizabeth National Park is a man and biosphere reserve in Uganda where humans and wild animals must co-exist to ensure sustainable agricultural livelihoods. Whereas United Nations Education Scientific Cultural Organisation in 1971-1975 launched the Man & Biosphere programme as an intergovernmental scientific program to establish a scientific basis for the improvement of relationships between people and their environment, with specific MAB programme focus striving to: a) identify and assess the changes in the biosphere resulting from human and natural activities in particular in context of climate change; b) study and compare the dynamic interrelationships between natural/near-natural ecosystems and socio-economic processes, c) ensure basic human welfare and a liveable environment in the context of rapid urbanisation and energy consumption as drivers of environmental change; and c) promote the exchange and transfer of knowledge on environmental problems and solutions, and to foster environmental education for sustainable development, loss of agricultural livelihoods through human-wildlife conflicts still exist. 

Across Uganda, Africa, and other parts of the world, traditional community-based natural resource management has always faired to improve human-wildlife co-existence. As a people-centered approach to the integration of conservation of the natural resources, community-based natural resource management models aim to overcome poverty, hunger and disease. Inclusive Sustainable Conservation Models are complementary to Community-Based Natural Resource Management models. Inclusive Sustainable Conservation Models are based on scientific evidence to improve human-wildlife co-existence, build community resilience, mitigate crop damage by wild animals, enhance crop protection and can act as an alternative to compensation for agricultural livelihoods lost to wild animals. 

This opinion highlights the Buffer Crop Farmers Model (Rusoke, 2020) a qualitative model that aims at encouraging crop farmers bordering protected areas across Africa to adopt and grow buffer crops. Buffer crops are non-palatable crops that can deter or mitigate wild animals from damaging agricultural farms. The growing of commercial buffer crops such as tea, coffee, simsim, khat, and chili pepper enhances the income of protected area bordering communities (Rusoke, 2020). The Buffer Crop Farmers Model proved to be effective by 68.5% in deterring crop damage by wild animals around Kibale National Park in western Uganda. Most buffer crops such as tea and khat create a low-conflict barrier buffering for other staple crops grown by farmers from damage by wild animals straying from the Park.

When implemented, Inclusive Sustainable Conservation Models have the capacity to reduce poverty among farmers bordering protected areas and enhance food security contributing to zero hunger and increasing protection of life on land for wild animals by stopping wild animal resentment by farmers who lose their agricultural livelihoods through crop depredation. Implementing Inclusive Sustainable Conservation Models therefore directly relate towards achieving SDG 1, 2 and 15 on No Poverty, Zero Hunger and Protection of Life on Land respectively.

Dr. Taddeo Rusoke is a Conservation Lecturer at Nkumba University and Biodiversity Research Consultant at Africa One LTD Uganda.