Conflict Management in Natural Resources Utilization A Case Study of Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Arusha

Abstract

Conflicts over natural resources are the important recurring features in conservation areas worldwide. These conflicts are inevitable due to multiple, and very often incompatible interests held by various actors and competition among the actors and different land uses. Community wildlife conflicts around the world are basically conflicts about exclusion or inclusion of wildlife into a particular landscape as is the case of Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA). This case study research design used eight focus group discussions (FGDs) data collection approach to local communities, in-depth interviews (IDIs) to 18 key informants among Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority staff and desk review of existing documents on conflict management in the study area. The three main identified sources of conflict in NCA on the side of indigenous communities included land utilization because of denial of the rights of indigenous Maasai to cultivate and use land for grazing cattle in the conservation area. The other source of conflict was inadequate cooperation among indigenous Maasai and NCAA management. The third one was human-wildlife interface. On the side of NCAA staff, apart from land utilization, unequal access in resource utilization was prominent together with benefit-sharing conflicts. The use of force to resolve conflicts was seen as a catalyst creation of more conflicts than a resolution to existing conflict on natural resource utilization in NCA. This is aggravated further by poor participatory approaches to conflict management. Also, poor knowledge on the legal status of the NCAA among indigenous communities was further a stumbling block to conflict resolution on natural resource utilization in the NCA. The success of mitigation efforts regarding human-wildlife conflicts lies on the ability of wildlife managers to address the causes of the conflicts and to both evaluate and implement appropriate solutions in the short and long-term. This study assessed the approaches used in resolution of human wildlife conflicts in NCA