Botswana Human - Elephant Conflict
Growing Elephant Population Damages Crops and Frustrates Locals
With both human and elephant numbers rising, preventing human-elephant conflict in Botswana will be key to preserving one of the largest elephant populations in Africa.
With over 130,000 African elephants (Loxodonta africana) in Botswana and a growing human population, conflict is bound to occur. African elephants, like their Asian relatives, destroy up to 40% of the annual crops grown by subsistence farmers in parts of northern Botswana.
Translocation and Fencing of Conservation Areas
Translocation is no longer an option (there are very few places in Africa that are suitable for elephants that don’t already have a healthy population. And if there have been problems with an elephant herd in one area, moving them to another would just translocate the problem rather than solving it.) so other methods of preventing human-animal conflict have to be used.
The Okavango Delta, a Ramsar site in that area of Botswana, has been fenced to keep the wildlife from causing problems in adjoining villages as well as to keep domestic livestock out of the protected area. Ecotourism in the Delta helps support local communities making them less dependent on farming and more open to protecting the elephants.
Compensation Program Problems
Botswana is one of the few African countries rich enough to be able to have a compensation program. The government spends approximately $227,000 USD annually forelephant damage compensation schemes. But there are complaints. Compensation levels are low at only 50% of the value of loss, and what money there is comes too slowly.
Compensation programs may seem like a good idea but they can act as a disincentive, with farmers automatically turning to the government to solve the problem, rather than having to find ways of discouraging the elephants themselves. Newer programs are looking at replacement of crops lost so that subsistence farmers have food, rather than just cash.
Incentive Programs
Incentive programs which support farmers who attempt to prevent the elephants from crop-raiding, are also being put in place.Farmers are encouraged to try simple things such as putting chilli pepper oil or cowbells around crops, both of which deter the elephants from entering the area.
Traditionally farmers used fences made of thorny plants but these are becoming less effective as the growing elephant population must work harder to find food. A more expensive, but often very effective answer is electric fencing. The fence must be sturdy so that when the power goes off, as it does routinely in Africa, there is still something to prevent the elephants entering the area. The cost of construction and the ongoing costs of maintenance make this difficult for many smaller villages which is where an incentive program would make all the difference.
While there are no absolute answers to the problems of human-elephant conflict, conservation organizations are working very hard to develop ways of mitigating the conflict and protecting both the elphants and the humans who must share the land.
