A Qualitative Exploration of Conflicts in Human-Wildlife Interactions in Namibia’s Kunene Region

• Published in: Diversity (Basel) Vol. 15; no. 3; p. 440
• Main Authors: Luetkemeier, Robert, Kraus, Ronja, Mbidzo, Meed, Hauptfleisch, Morgan, Liehr, Stefan, Blaum, Niels
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.03.2023
• Subjects: Animal populations; Anthropogenic factors; Attitudes; Biodiversity; biodiversity loss; Ecosystem services; Farmers; Human beings; human-wildlife conflict; hunting; Influence on nature; Interviews; Knowledge; Land use; Livelihood; livestock farming; National parks; Qualitative research; rangeland system; Social-ecological systems; Stakeholders; Sustainable use; Wildlife conservation; Wildlife management; Namibia
• ISSN: 1424-2818; 1424-2818
• DOI: 10.3390/d15030440

Wildlife numbers are declining globally due to anthropogenic pressures. In Namibia, however, wildlife populations increased with policy instruments that allow private ownership and incentivize their sustainable use. Antithetically, this resulted in increased resource competition between humans and wildlife and triggered conflicts among various stakeholder groups. This paper summarizes the results of a qualitative exploration of conflicts in wildlife management in Namibia’s Kunene Region, adjacent to Etosha National Park. We conducted a workshop and expert interviews with stakeholders from relevant sectors. Our qualitative research sheds light on societal conflicts over wildlife that originate from diverging interests, livelihood strategies, moral values, knowledge holders, personal relations and views on institutional procedures. We frame our insights into conflicting human–wildlife interactions with theoretical concepts of social-ecological systems, ecosystem services and ecosystem disservices and open the floor for quantitative assessments. Overall, our results may present a suitable way of understanding biodiversity conflicts in a theoretical way.