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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Human–wildlife interactions (HWIs) occur in many rural African communities, with potential
impacts on livelihood vulnerability. High livelihood vulnerability may force communities to
employ strategies that increase the risk of negative HWIs, yet the extent to which HWIs drive
or are driven by vulnerability is unclear. We hypothesized that more vulnerable households are
more likely to be exposed to wildlife and experience negative interactions. To test this hypothesis,
we calculated the Livelihood Vulnerability Index (LVI) of rural households in and around
Quirimbas National Park (north-eastern Mozambique) and assessed whether there is a link
between livelihood vulnerability and HWIs. We found a two-way association between LVI
and HWIs, with more vulnerable households indeed taking greater risks and encountering
wildlife when fetching water from rivers, whereas less vulnerable households tended not to
employ strategies likely to increase wildlife encounters. We also observed that HWIs exert a
strong effect on livelihood vulnerability, suggesting that HWIs should be included as an exposure
factor in vulnerability assessments for rural households. We recommend that livelihood
strategies and community vulnerability should be considered when designing HWI mitigation
schemes and implementing conservation measures.
Description
Keywords
adaptive capacity conservation exposure Mozambique rural community sensitivity
Pedagogical Context
Citation
Pereira, J., Rosalino, L., Mucova, S., Massangue, Y., Abdulrazak, M., Vahossa, S., . . . Santos, M. (2021). Livelihood vulnerability increases human–wildlife interactions. Environmental Conservation, 48(4), 301-309. doi:10.1017/S037689292100028X
Publisher
Cambridge University Press