This study was conducted in the greater Kitengela Wildlife Dispersal Area.

It set to: (i) examine the

impacts of the wildlife corridor on the local people’s welfare; (ii) assess the feasibility of an easement
program to the landowners based on their willingness to accept compensation for their land in
exchange for the free movement of wildlife; and (iii) examine and propose solutions to the major socio-
economic factors that have hindered development in the area. Regression analyses based on selected
independent variables was done to estimate the amounts the respondents were willing to accept for
their lands, while weighted rating (based on the semantic scale) was performed to assess their attitudes
towards wildlife conservation. A total of 171 respondents, comprising 144 males were interviewed.
The average land size owned was 154 acres, with very minimal agricultural activities reported due to
regular wildlife interferences. The average time taken to reach the nearest water point during the wet
season was 35 minutes, as opposed to over 2 hours during the dry season. Predation was predominant
during the wet season, during which time the wildlife migrated closer to the homesteads. Up to 56
attacks were reported, compared to 20 attacks during the dry season. The main predators in increasing
order of attack were the jackal, cheetah, leopard, hyena, and lion. Most of the dry season grazing was
done on the neighbour’s lands (37%), own lands (30%), and inside the park (15%), with over 97% of
the respondents indicating that access to grazing space had decreased during the previous 5 years.

During the time of the study (March 1999), the number of livestock owned had reduced by 41% for
cattle, 49% for shoats and 11% for donkeys (compared to the January 1998 figures). This decrease was
attributed to predation, disease, sales, and home consumption. Tourism activities were minimal in the
area, with over 75% of the respondents indicating that they had never encountered tourists in the area
in the previous 1 year, while of those who had done so, over 94% of them had never received any
wildlife and tourism related income. Quarrying was undertaken by only 11% of the respondents,
mainly because of lack of better alternatives, with over 70% of them willing to stop the business if
better alternatives were provided. The amount of money received annually from quarrying ranged from
US$ 400 to 160,000. Over 74% of the respondents practised subsistence farming, with average land
size dedicated to farming ranging from 0.2 – 15 acres. Over 68% of the respondents were willing to
leave part of their land (between 0.5 – 250 acres) unfenced if in return they were compensated at an
average of US$ 1.25 per acre. This shows that for this dispersal area to be left open, an average annual
amount of approximately US$ 400,000 should be set aside as compensation if easement program is to
succeed. The study recommends that: (i) more youths should be encouraged to attend school, since the
more educated lot supported wildlife conservation; (ii) wildlife-related enterprises like curio shops,
restaurants, and cultural Manyatta should be initiated to engaged these youths; (iii) environmentally
unfriendly activities like quarrying should be discouraged by compensating the individuals engaged in
the activity; and (iv) funds should be solicited to buy the land from willing group ranchers, thereby
expanding the dispersal area.