The Soap Box Use of Illegal Methods in Kenya’s Rural Communities to Combat Wildlife Damage: A Case Study of Laikipia

Wildlife depredation in Laikipia, Kenya Kenya’s Laikipia District is located on the equator in the central part of the country, northwest of Mt. Kenya (Figure 1). It is a region with one of the highest diversities of wildlife in the country and one in which wildlife depredation is a common occurrence (Sifuna 2009). Wildlife-based tourism is an especially valuable resource for Kenya’s economy (Government of Kenya 2009). In 2008, for instance, the tourism earnings were approximately $658 million, an appreciable part of which was attributable directly or indirectly to wildlife (Government of Kenya 2009). Despite these benefits, wildlife in Laikipia, as in many other regions in the country, have negative impacts on rural communities when they cause damage to people or their property. Most of Laikipia, like many other areas of Kenya, is rural and comprised of tens of villages characterized by poverty resulting from unemployment and low income per capita (Government of Kenya 2009). Most of the people in the region are peasant farmers who rely primarily on small-scale subsistence crop farming and livestock raising for their livelihood. These people reside either on small farms or on tribal land that is communally owned. The overall attitude of the rural communities in the region toward wildlife is generally negative. The people with a positive attitude toward wildlife are those who are considered the elite. On the other hand, rural folk, who bear the brunt of wildlife losses, have a rather hostile attitude toward wildlife. In many areas of Laikipia, they feel strongly that wildlife is a curse instead of an asset, and they are bitter toward wildlife authorities, especially the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS). Rural communities are particularly dissatisfied with the way KWS handles wildlife matters, and especially the issue of depredation. Referring to wildlife, Paulo Lenges, a Samburu tribesman and herdsman in Mukogodo division, said in an interview with this author, “The problem with the Kenya government is that even if their cows eat your cows or kill you, it does not care.” Despite the huge sums of money that the government and people in the wildlife and tourism sector earn, the rural communities hardly receive any tangible economic benefits. Unfortunately, most of the revenue from wildlife tourism goes to urban-based tourist companies instead of the rural peasants who Soap Box