Conservation and Management Strategy for the Elephant in Kenya

52 CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT STRATEGY FOR THE ELEPHANT IN KENYA
3.3.5 Incentives
[ BELOW ] Plate 37.
Beehive fences protecting farms near
Tsavo West NP - Lucy King, Save the Elephants
Provide benefits that will
encourage landowners
and local communities
to tolerate, protect and
accommodate elephants.
Rationale and considerations
Convincing communities to live in coexistence with elephants will take more than education and awareness
and a commitment to conservation of a species; it will require security of life, property and crops, and compensation
to mitigate loss. It will require the provision of tangible benefits, directly linked to the presence of elephants, which
will increase tolerance and custodianship of elephants among people that own and use land outside of the
government PA network, where much of the existing and potential range for elephants in Kenya occurs.
The provision of adequate compensation for losses suffered has had difficulties: the enormous potential cost,
the shortfall in expectations by those affected and the prevalent incidence of false-reporting. It is also counter
to government policy. An alternative approach is ‘consolation’ payment, which is not intended to substitute the
market value for the loss, but as a gesture of goodwill. These schemes have had some limited success in reducing
tensions between people and elephants as they are often dependent on the availability of external funding sources,
through NGOs and committed individuals. Thus, their long-term sustainability is open to question.
More sustainable approaches need to be explored, such as environmental risk insurance schemes as part of a
framework of support to rural livelihoods (Sachs, 2007). Such schemes, which are rooted in rural development
programmes, could be developed in combination with micro-finance approaches linked to conservation-friendly
investment opportunities, to improve and diversify local livelihoods. Other approaches include community
self-insurance schemes. The levels of compensation and contributions are set, and investigations and payments are
undertaken by community members themselves, with support from NGOs and government. A similar approach is
underway in relation to compensation for predation on livestock in southern Kajiado District, Kenya. Such
approaches, where the local citizens themselves are in charge of the programme, have a greater likelihood of
success. There is scope for broadening the involvement in compensation funds of other stakeholders, who are
beneficiaries of wildlife in Kenya – other land owners, private sector commercial tourism operators and higher level
organisations, such as airlines, hotel groups and suppliers to the tourism industry.
The generation and streaming of positive benefits to landowners, including promotion of rational and collaborative
planning of land use in elephant range, is important. Incentives will need to be present at many levels; government,