Solving human elephant conflicts at Mikumi National Park
Mikumi national park is the fourth largest park in Tanzania, covering an area of 3230 km2 . The park is located in eastern Tanzania, in the Morogoro region, 283 km west of Dar es Salaam and shares boundary in the south with Selous Game Reserve. Mikumi and Selous constitute one ecosystem where animals migrate. Mikumi National Park (MINAPA) supports a variety of mammals (60), more than 300 bird species and more than 1200 registered plant species
The park is surrounded by 19 villages that affect the park existance. Most of the are known corridors and migratory areas for most wild animals (including elephants, buffalo, wildebeest and zebra) move from Mikumi national park .
Due to this, there have been conflicts between human and wild animals which have resulted to deforestation, illegal killings of wildlife, poverty and food insecurity. Farmers get low to no harvests from their farms due to crop raiding by elephants while there are cases for livestock depredation by lions and hyena. This challenge has left people in serious poverty and food insecurity that drive them to turn into forest and make charcoal as their last hope.
ECOWICE support farmers to develop various strategies that enable them to adapt the situation. They are enhanced through;
BEEKEEPING
Beekeeping is the forest friendly income generating activity that can enable a farmer to generate income without disturbing the forest. By doing beekeeping a farmer gain multiple benefits of income from bee products and pollination of their crops.
SESAME FARMING
Sesame is the highly demanded, profitable crop and less attacked by elephants. Villagers have started to cultivate this crop and it has helped them to earn income for buying food and other needs.