Assessments of Conflicts Over Natural Resource Use and Their Handling in Babile Elephant Sanctuary, Eastern Ethiopia

Abstract

The focus of this study aims to assess the conflicts over natural resource uses and its management in Babile Elephant Sanctuary, Eastern Ethiopia. A simple random sampling method was used to gather data from sampled households. A total of 152 households were selected from three Peasant Associations (Erer Ebada, Agdora, and Dendema) of three districts (Babile, Fedis, and Babile Dendema) due to their proximity and the intensity of resource utilization in the sanctuary. A questionnaire survey, key informant interview, focus group discussion, field observation, and secondary data sources were used to generate the required data. Both qualitative and quantitative analysis approaches were employed to analyze the data. The result showed that, except for wildlife risk on humans and public participation in the sanctuary's management, all other factors were statistically significant at (P<0.050). From the overall respondents, about 44.1%, 42.1%, and 40.1% of the respondents replied lack of resources; poverty, and drought respectively were the driving factors. Among the respondents in each kebeles 79.5%, 58.3%, and 5.6% of the residents in Dendema, Agidora, and Erer Ebada kebeles respectively replied demographic change as a cause. The residents’ reliance on the resource varies. For example, 55.9%, 52.6%, and 46.7% of the respondents depended on grazing land, water resources, and farming, respectively, and conflicted with the sanctuary. Based on research results, the following inference is drawn; the current resource use conflict can be mitigated through boundary re-demarcation of the sanctuary and creation of alternative means of community livelihoods in collaboration with the concerned stakeholders along with law enforcement and community engagements.