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Socio-Economic Benefits of Wildlife Conservation Relative to Distance from Maasai Mara National Reserve, Narok County, Kenya

Received: 1 November 2022    Accepted: 16 November 2022    Published: 29 November 2022
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Abstract

This paper assessed the relative influence of distance from protected areas on the distribution of the socio-economic benefits derived from conservation areas to the local communities. The local people living adjacent to the protected areas are expected to have high interactions with wildlife which in most cases it turns out to be negative co-existence, because of the high interruption caused to the local community’s livelihood networks. Further, closer to protected areas wildlife economic costs are felt at high intensity as compared to the community living further away from a protected area. Distributive justice requires that, the adjacent community should receive the greatest reward commensurate to the economic costs they face through mechanisms such as compensation. This paper, therefore, focuses on whether socio-economic benefits varied with distance from Maasai Mara National Reserve (MMNR) in the Maasai Mara Ecosystem. This study used Mixed Methods concurrent design and that the study area was stratified into 17 sublocations. Subjects within the strata were sampled through systematic random sampling. The main data collection tools were questionnaires, structured interviews and Focused Group Discussions (FGDs). The findings revealed that 62 % of the respondents were males, 40.8 % being majority were of age 38-47 years and 65 % were pastoralists. Further, the findings indicated that there were socio-economic benefits derived from the MMNR (r = -.180, df = 284, p = 0.002) and since p < 0.01, it revealed that socio-economic benefits vary significantly with distance from MMNR. The study concluded that, there are socio-economic benefits accruing from MMNR but the model used in resources distribution seemed inequitable. The study then recommends that; the County Government of Narok should enhance the 19% policy on compensation to 35% in order to equitably cover most of the deserving cases and that the establishments within the MMNR (hotels and camps) should consider partnering with the local community especially in trade.

Published in International Journal of Animal Science and Technology (Volume 6, Issue 4)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijast.20220604.13
Page(s) 90-99
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Wildlife Conservation, Socio-Economic Benefits, Distributive Justice

References
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  • APA Style

    Kipkosgei Meshack Lagat, James Simiren Nampushi, Maurice Omollo. (2022). Socio-Economic Benefits of Wildlife Conservation Relative to Distance from Maasai Mara National Reserve, Narok County, Kenya. International Journal of Animal Science and Technology, 6(4), 90-99. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijast.20220604.13

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    ACS Style

    Kipkosgei Meshack Lagat; James Simiren Nampushi; Maurice Omollo. Socio-Economic Benefits of Wildlife Conservation Relative to Distance from Maasai Mara National Reserve, Narok County, Kenya. Int. J. Anim. Sci. Technol. 2022, 6(4), 90-99. doi: 10.11648/j.ijast.20220604.13

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    AMA Style

    Kipkosgei Meshack Lagat, James Simiren Nampushi, Maurice Omollo. Socio-Economic Benefits of Wildlife Conservation Relative to Distance from Maasai Mara National Reserve, Narok County, Kenya. Int J Anim Sci Technol. 2022;6(4):90-99. doi: 10.11648/j.ijast.20220604.13

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijast.20220604.13,
      author = {Kipkosgei Meshack Lagat and James Simiren Nampushi and Maurice Omollo},
      title = {Socio-Economic Benefits of Wildlife Conservation Relative to Distance from Maasai Mara National Reserve, Narok County, Kenya},
      journal = {International Journal of Animal Science and Technology},
      volume = {6},
      number = {4},
      pages = {90-99},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijast.20220604.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijast.20220604.13},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijast.20220604.13},
      abstract = {This paper assessed the relative influence of distance from protected areas on the distribution of the socio-economic benefits derived from conservation areas to the local communities. The local people living adjacent to the protected areas are expected to have high interactions with wildlife which in most cases it turns out to be negative co-existence, because of the high interruption caused to the local community’s livelihood networks. Further, closer to protected areas wildlife economic costs are felt at high intensity as compared to the community living further away from a protected area. Distributive justice requires that, the adjacent community should receive the greatest reward commensurate to the economic costs they face through mechanisms such as compensation. This paper, therefore, focuses on whether socio-economic benefits varied with distance from Maasai Mara National Reserve (MMNR) in the Maasai Mara Ecosystem. This study used Mixed Methods concurrent design and that the study area was stratified into 17 sublocations. Subjects within the strata were sampled through systematic random sampling. The main data collection tools were questionnaires, structured interviews and Focused Group Discussions (FGDs). The findings revealed that 62 % of the respondents were males, 40.8 % being majority were of age 38-47 years and 65 % were pastoralists. Further, the findings indicated that there were socio-economic benefits derived from the MMNR (r = -.180, df = 284, p = 0.002) and since p < 0.01, it revealed that socio-economic benefits vary significantly with distance from MMNR. The study concluded that, there are socio-economic benefits accruing from MMNR but the model used in resources distribution seemed inequitable. The study then recommends that; the County Government of Narok should enhance the 19% policy on compensation to 35% in order to equitably cover most of the deserving cases and that the establishments within the MMNR (hotels and camps) should consider partnering with the local community especially in trade.},
     year = {2022}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Socio-Economic Benefits of Wildlife Conservation Relative to Distance from Maasai Mara National Reserve, Narok County, Kenya
    AU  - Kipkosgei Meshack Lagat
    AU  - James Simiren Nampushi
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    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijast.20220604.13
    T2  - International Journal of Animal Science and Technology
    JF  - International Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijast.20220604.13
    AB  - This paper assessed the relative influence of distance from protected areas on the distribution of the socio-economic benefits derived from conservation areas to the local communities. The local people living adjacent to the protected areas are expected to have high interactions with wildlife which in most cases it turns out to be negative co-existence, because of the high interruption caused to the local community’s livelihood networks. Further, closer to protected areas wildlife economic costs are felt at high intensity as compared to the community living further away from a protected area. Distributive justice requires that, the adjacent community should receive the greatest reward commensurate to the economic costs they face through mechanisms such as compensation. This paper, therefore, focuses on whether socio-economic benefits varied with distance from Maasai Mara National Reserve (MMNR) in the Maasai Mara Ecosystem. This study used Mixed Methods concurrent design and that the study area was stratified into 17 sublocations. Subjects within the strata were sampled through systematic random sampling. The main data collection tools were questionnaires, structured interviews and Focused Group Discussions (FGDs). The findings revealed that 62 % of the respondents were males, 40.8 % being majority were of age 38-47 years and 65 % were pastoralists. Further, the findings indicated that there were socio-economic benefits derived from the MMNR (r = -.180, df = 284, p = 0.002) and since p < 0.01, it revealed that socio-economic benefits vary significantly with distance from MMNR. The study concluded that, there are socio-economic benefits accruing from MMNR but the model used in resources distribution seemed inequitable. The study then recommends that; the County Government of Narok should enhance the 19% policy on compensation to 35% in order to equitably cover most of the deserving cases and that the establishments within the MMNR (hotels and camps) should consider partnering with the local community especially in trade.
    VL  - 6
    IS  - 4
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Author Information
  • Department of Environmental Studies Geography and Agriculture, Maasai Mara University, Narok, Kenya

  • Department of Tourism and Hospitality, Maasai Mara University, Narok, Kenya

  • Department of Environmental Studies Geography and Agriculture, Maasai Mara University, Narok, Kenya

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