Pastoralist livelihoods and wildlife revenues in East Africa: a case for coexistence?

East African arid and semi-arid lands are home to many of the world's pastoralists and most spectacular savanna wildlife populations, attracting substantial conservation and tourism revenues. Yet these peoples are among the poorest (and most affected by extreme climatic events), and the wildlife is...

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Main Authors: Homewood, Katherine M., Chenevix Trench, Pippa, Brockington, Daniel;
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Frontiers Media 2012
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/153383
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author Homewood, Katherine M.
Chenevix Trench, Pippa
Brockington, Daniel;
author_browse Brockington, Daniel;
Chenevix Trench, Pippa
Homewood, Katherine M.
author_facet Homewood, Katherine M.
Chenevix Trench, Pippa
Brockington, Daniel;
author_sort Homewood, Katherine M.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description East African arid and semi-arid lands are home to many of the world's pastoralists and most spectacular savanna wildlife populations, attracting substantial conservation and tourism revenues. Yet these peoples are among the poorest (and most affected by extreme climatic events), and the wildlife is in unsustainable decline. National governments, international donors and conservation agencies favour win-win solutions through conservation with development. Maasailand is a hotspot of conservation, poverty and new initiatives to redistribute tourist income. We outline pastoralist livelihoods and how these are changing, then summarise status and trends of wildlife populations, tourism revenues, and conservation and development initiatives in East Africa and Maasailand. We ask to what extent wildlife revenues contribute to pastoralist livelihoods and whether this translates into a robust basis for coexistence. To put in context the role and importance of wildlife- and tourism-based activities, we outline findings from a multi-site study of Maasai livelihoods. Livestock contribute half or more of the mean annual income in all sites, with off-farm work and farming ranking second and third, respectively, except in Mara, where wildlife-based income contributes around 20% income across all wealth categories. In most sites, significant areas have been set aside for conservation and tourism, but wildlife contributes <5% income to a small proportion of households at most. Few wildlife-derived benefits flow to pastoralists, while conservation restrictions constrain production and coping strategies, undermining potential for coexistence. In exceptional circumstances, significant wildlife revenue may reach households, but full social and ecological implications of associated conservancy agreements remain unclear.
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spelling CGSpace1533832025-09-25T13:01:41Z Pastoralist livelihoods and wildlife revenues in East Africa: a case for coexistence? Homewood, Katherine M. Chenevix Trench, Pippa Brockington, Daniel; wildlife livelihoods tourism pastoralism conservation income sustainability East African arid and semi-arid lands are home to many of the world's pastoralists and most spectacular savanna wildlife populations, attracting substantial conservation and tourism revenues. Yet these peoples are among the poorest (and most affected by extreme climatic events), and the wildlife is in unsustainable decline. National governments, international donors and conservation agencies favour win-win solutions through conservation with development. Maasailand is a hotspot of conservation, poverty and new initiatives to redistribute tourist income. We outline pastoralist livelihoods and how these are changing, then summarise status and trends of wildlife populations, tourism revenues, and conservation and development initiatives in East Africa and Maasailand. We ask to what extent wildlife revenues contribute to pastoralist livelihoods and whether this translates into a robust basis for coexistence. To put in context the role and importance of wildlife- and tourism-based activities, we outline findings from a multi-site study of Maasai livelihoods. Livestock contribute half or more of the mean annual income in all sites, with off-farm work and farming ranking second and third, respectively, except in Mara, where wildlife-based income contributes around 20% income across all wealth categories. In most sites, significant areas have been set aside for conservation and tourism, but wildlife contributes <5% income to a small proportion of households at most. Few wildlife-derived benefits flow to pastoralists, while conservation restrictions constrain production and coping strategies, undermining potential for coexistence. In exceptional circumstances, significant wildlife revenue may reach households, but full social and ecological implications of associated conservancy agreements remain unclear. 2012 2024-10-01T13:56:02Z 2024-10-01T13:56:02Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/153383 en Open Access Frontiers Media Homewood, Katherine M.; Chenevix Trench, Pippa; and Brockington, Daniel. 2012. Pastoralist livelihoods and wildlife revenues in East Africa: a case for coexistence? Pastoralism: Research, Policy and Practice 2:19 https://doi.org/10.1186/2041-7136-2-19
spellingShingle wildlife
livelihoods
tourism
pastoralism
conservation
income
sustainability
Homewood, Katherine M.
Chenevix Trench, Pippa
Brockington, Daniel;
Pastoralist livelihoods and wildlife revenues in East Africa: a case for coexistence?
title Pastoralist livelihoods and wildlife revenues in East Africa: a case for coexistence?
title_full Pastoralist livelihoods and wildlife revenues in East Africa: a case for coexistence?
title_fullStr Pastoralist livelihoods and wildlife revenues in East Africa: a case for coexistence?
title_full_unstemmed Pastoralist livelihoods and wildlife revenues in East Africa: a case for coexistence?
title_short Pastoralist livelihoods and wildlife revenues in East Africa: a case for coexistence?
title_sort pastoralist livelihoods and wildlife revenues in east africa a case for coexistence
topic wildlife
livelihoods
tourism
pastoralism
conservation
income
sustainability
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/153383
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AT chenevixtrenchpippa pastoralistlivelihoodsandwildliferevenuesineastafricaacaseforcoexistence
AT brockingtondaniel pastoralistlivelihoodsandwildliferevenuesineastafricaacaseforcoexistence