Living with the modern conservation paradigm: can agricultural communitiesco-exist with elephants? A five-year case study in East Caprivi, Namibia

The economic impact of elephants, Loxodonta africana, and predators, partic ularly lions, Panthera lee, on rural agriculturists in the Kwando region of the East Caprivi, Namibia was assessed from the years 1991 to 1995. Elepha nts were responsible for the greatest number of wildlife conflicts in the r egion, while lions had the greatest financial impact on farmers. Attempts w ere made to reduce conflicts between elephants and farmers using deterrents such as electrical fencing, trip-alarm techniques and elephant warning cal ls. Success of deterrents depended on the frequency of exposure to elephant s, maintenance and the ecology of both humans and elephants in the region. Of the deterrent strategies explored, only electrical fencing reduced eleph ant damage at the community level. The future efficacy of electric fencing is uncertain, however, if elephants do not associate it with fear and possi ble death. Deterrent efforts played a role in improving relations between c ommunities and conservationists, Scenarios for how human agricultural commu nities might co-exist with free-ranging elephants are discussed. (C) 2000 P ublished by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.