Attitudes of Rural Communities Toward Wetlands and Forest Fragments Around Kibale National Park, Uganda

Rapid population growth, high population density, and intensive agriculture characterize the landscape surrounding Kibale National Park in western Uganda. Forest fragments and wetlands scattered throughout the agricultural landscape provide important natural resources for local people. These forest fragments, however, also provide habitat for animals that raid crops and threaten local agricultural practices, leading to human–wildlife conflict in the buffer zone of the park. Using a geographically stratified, random sampling technique to select study sites, 130 households outside Kibale were interviewed to understand human–agriculture–wildlife conflicts and how these problems vary spatially and demographically. Primates were the most common taxa associated with crop raiding, with vervet and redtail monkeys ranked as the worst crop raiders overall. Baboons and elephants were also problematic in agricultural areas proximate to the park boundary. Despite the problems reported, most respondents prefer to live closer to forest fragments and wetlands because of greater access to natural resources.

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