Human-Wildlife Conflict in the Greater Virunga Transboundary Landscape
Open Access
- Author:
- Vallejo, Valentina
- Area of Honors:
- Global and International Studies
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Kidane Mengisteab, Thesis Supervisor
Krista Brune, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- Greater Virunga Transboundary Landscape
Communities
Human-Wildlife-Conflict
Mountain Gorilla Conservation
Ecotourism - Abstract:
- Mountain gorillas are majestic primates, who share almost 98% of our DNA. Their population is distributed in the Virunga Mountains along the countries of Rwanda, Uganda, and the DRC. Considered to be an extremely resilient species, mountain gorillas possess a high tolerance to predators, food source diminution, and climate variability. However, like most wildlife, mountain gorillas face human-made hazards that are impossible for them to tolerate. Habitat destruction, disease outbreaks, and illegal poaching have caused gorillas to become endangered. Luckily, the countries of Rwanda and Uganda have long invested in conserving the species since the 20th century, creating protected areas like Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, and Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda. However, the formation of these national parks directly displaced the rural communities living adjacent to the parks. The communities’ extradition caused the livelihoods of poor residents to diminish, increasing their food security constraints and forcing most of the villagers to become subsistence farmers. The communities’ proximity to the parks and regional poverty incentivized most of the residents to heavily depend on extractive forest resources like water, medicinal plants, and bushmeat to name a few. Living adjacent to the parks also posed the issue of Human-Wildlife-Conflict, which for communities in Rwanda and Uganda made animal crop raiding the main problem. The destruction and devouring of the communities’ crops and livestock, create resentment towards wildlife, which complicates conservation efforts. Understanding the locals’ perspectives and values is crucial to solving complex biodiversity conservation. This thesis focuses on integrating the protection of wildlife and the development of the park adjacent communities through sustainable and equitable management of gorilla tourism in the Greater Virunga Transboundary Landscape.