Mapping Resource Demand and Extraction Patterns Around Chyulu National Park: Implications for Sustainable Conservation
Loading...
Date
2025-08
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Journal of African Interdisciplinary Studies (JAIS)
Abstract
Effective participatory conservation, a cornerstone of modern biodiversity management, requires a clear and granular understanding of the complex resource pressures that protected areas (PAs) face from adjacent local communities. This study provides a data-driven analysis that maps the demand for and the actual extraction of vegetative resources around Chyulu National Park (CNP), Kenya, with the aim of generating actionable insights for sustainable and equitable co-management. Employing a convergent parallel mixed-methods design, the research surveyed 210 households to quantify resource demand and utilized systematic boundary transects to spatially map and measure actual extraction activities, including tree cutting, livestock grazing, and charcoal production. The results reveal a significant and deeply problematic disconnect between official conservation policy and local reality. The communities expressed high and non-negotiable demand for essential resources, including firewood (63%), construction poles (59%), and, most critically, grazing land (77%), which directly translated into observable and spatially concentrated extraction hotspots. On average, 5 trees were found to be illegally harvested and 6 active charcoal kilns were identified per kilometer of the surveyed park boundary. Extraction patterns were spatially concentrated in areas with low ranger patrol frequency and proximity to market access points, indicating a rational, risk-averse pattern of exploitation. Critically, the study identified a major institutional failure: an astonishing 70% of respondents were entirely unaware of the existence of any formal conservation agreements with the park, such as Resource Access Agreements, rendering the existing participatory structures largely ineffective and irrelevant to the community. The study concludes that the sustainable management of protected areas requires a fundamental shift away from the mere existence of formal agreements towards a data-driven, adaptive management approach that maps resource hotspots and directly addresses the specific livelihood needs that drive demand. The profound lack of community awareness highlights an urgent and critical need for improved institutional outreach and genuine communication to transform communities from passive subjects into genuine partners in conservation. Ultimately, conservation interventions must be spatially targeted, socially nuanced, and economically aligned with the realities of park-adjacent populations to have any chance of success.
Description
Article
Keywords
Citation
Mwongela, M. N; Mahiri, I.O & Osebe, D. A. (2025). Mapping Resource Demand and Extraction Patterns Around Chyulu National Park: Implications for Sustainable Conservation. Journal of African Interdisciplinary Studies, 9(8), 159 – 167.