article · African Journal of Ecology
Around Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park in northern Congo, local perceptions of forest elephants vary widely across communities receiving different levels of conservation benefits. An assessment across four villages examined how factors such as employment, wealth, education, and ethnicity influence community views. Most respondents reported negative impacts from elephants, primarily due to crop raiding, with farmers expressing largely unfavourable attitudes. In contrast, residents living in the village where the local conservation project is based held significantly more positive views. Although misunderstandings persist regarding benefit sharing, stakeholder roles, and legal responsibilities in managing conflict, residents showed a willingness to adopt mitigation measures. Addressing these challenges requires measuring impacts, tackling root causes, and implementing community-based approaches. A proposed long-term initiative within logging concessions aims to organise farmer groups to implement shared mitigation techniques and develop alternative income opportunities.
Forest elephant conservation depends heavily on the tolerance and cooperation of neighbouring communities. When elephants damage crops, the resulting economic losses can fuel hostility and hinder conservation goals. Demonstrating that direct community benefits foster more positive attitudes helps conservationists and land managers design targeted interventions that protect local livelihoods while maintaining safe habitats for threatened wildlife.
The findings could guide community-based enterprise models and crop-protection services deployed within logging concessions and rural farming areas. Potential end users include commercial forestry companies, farmer cooperatives, and conservation managers seeking joint mitigation tools and alternative revenue programmes. As the proposal remains at the conceptual and planning stage rather than a tested intervention, it is currently at an early stage of development.
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Abstract Human–elephant conflict is a common conservation problem throughout Africa, but poorly studied where forest elephants ( Loxodonta cyclotis ) occur. Here, we investigated people's perceptions towards the impact of elephants around Nouabalé‐Ndoki National Park, northern Congo. We aimed to understand the perceptual differences amongst residents of four villages that varied substantially in the degree of conservation benefits received. We used a multivariate analysis to investigate how socio‐economic variables, such as employment, wealth, education and ethnicity, influenced perceptions. Using both quantitative and qualitative data, we found that the majority of respondents experienced elephant impacts, mainly through crop raiding. Residents of the village where the local conservation project is based had significantly more positive perceptions of elephants, whereas perceptions of farmers were mostly negative. We identified some misunderstandings regarding the responsibilities of elephant impact mitigation regarding benefit sharing, stakeholder involvement and lawbreaking, but also willingness to apply mitigation measures. To mitigate the prevalent impact of elephants, a comprehensive approach of measuring impact, exploring community‐based mitigating strategies and understanding of the root causes of the conflict is crucial. We propose a long‐term programme within logging concessions organizing groups of farmers to cooperate on mitigation techniques and explore alternative incomes.
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DOI: 10.1111/aje.12435
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