Of elephant and men: Crop destruction, CAMPFIRE, and wildlife management in the Zambezi Valley, Zimbabwe.

Abstract

This dissertation examines destruction of subsistence crops by reported pests attacking maize, millet, and sorghum in two nearby villages in northwestern Zimbabwe. The Communal Areas Management Program for Indigenous Resources (CAMPFIRE) enables district governments to earn substantial revenues by leasing safari hunting concessions. This is the preeminent collaborative natural resource management program established to date. However, elephant Loxodonta africana, buffalo Syncerus caffer and hippo Hippopotamus amphibius can cause extensive crop and property damage and occasionally kill people. Lethal problem animal control (PAC), especially for elephant, reduces the number of potential trophy animals and thus the market value of hunting leases. Furthermore, PAC represents both a management cost and foregone benefits. Villagers suffering from wildlife inflicted damage may be willing to forego collective revenues and prefer that offending animals be killed whether or not further crop damage is prevented or reduced. Protecting farmers while sustainably exploiting wildlife is one of the major challenges facing CAMPFIRE. Survey responses from villagers in two random samples, provided data on the perceptions of crop destruction by agricultural pests and opinions about wildlife, PAC, and CAMPFIRE. An electrified fence excluded elephant from Chunga village while Sinamusanga village was unprotected. Crop damage was monitored through the 1992-1993 and 1993-1994 growing seasons, with field inspections and post harvest surveys. Respondents reported none, little, moderate, severe, or complete destruction by each pest to each cultivated crop. Reports of damage to maize, millet, and sorghum from elephant, hippo, baboon Papio ursinus, goats/sheep, birds (Ploceidae), and four insect pests were statistically analyzed. There was great variation in the distribution and intensity of damage reports between crops, pests, respondents, villages, and seasons. In decreasing order of severity; crickets Hetrodes pupus, birds, hippo, elephant, and termites Hodotermes mossambicus each inflicted significantly (p = 0.01) more damage than any of the other reported pests. Damage was greater in 1993-1994 than in 1992-1993 (p = 0.01) and elephant damage was greater in Sinamusanga than Chunga for both seasons (p = 0.05). Elephant and hippo damaged a substantial portion of the crops in Sinamusanga. Respondents were poorly informed about CAMPFIRE and who provided the fence, were dissatisfied with PAC, and viewed elephant as a liability. PAC policy, procedures, and practice need to be substantially improved to earn residents' support. Better district-village communication and more substantial devolution of management responsibility are needed to strengthen this CAMPFIRE initiative.