A Review of the Visible and Hidden Opportunity Costs of Human-Wildlife Conflict in Kenya

David Owino Manoa^1,2*, Francis Mwaura², Thuita Thenya² and Stellah Mukhovi²

¹Born Free Kenya, Karen, Nairobi, Kenya

²Department of Geography & Environmental Studies, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya

*Corresponding Author : David Owino Manoa, Department of Geography & Environmental Studies
University of Nairobi, Born Free Kenya, Karen, Nairobi, Kenya
Tel: +254721550317
Email: davidmanoa@me.com

Received date: January 28, 2020; Accepted date: February 12, 2020; Published date: February 19, 2020

Citation: David OM, Francis M, Thuita T, Stellah M (2020) A Review of the Visible and Hidden Opportunity Costs of Human-Wildlife Conflict in Kenya. J Biodivers Manage Forestry 9:1. doi: 10.37532/jbmf.2020.9(1).228

This paper reviews the Human-Wildlife Conflict (HWC) studies in Kenya with special interest on the hidden opportunity costs. The paper considered the negative implications to the victims of HWC and explores ways of ensuring full integration of all costs especially in regard to the search for more comprehensive compensation frameworks. One of the specific interests in the paper was to determine whether the hidden costs of HWC in Kenya are well considered in the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act 2013 (WCMA 2013) or whether there is need for a review and amendments. Data for this review was obtained from Google Scholar and Crossref references and citation-enhanced indexing databases. Content analysis from the two databases showed a lot of research interest on the cost of HWC to societies around conservation areas. Further content analysis revealedthat most of the HWC costs estimation studies have mostly concentrated on the visible costs (127 publications and 1507 citations) without serious consideration of the hidden costs (33 publications and 893 citations). As such, more research is required on the hidden costs in order to formulate more effective HWC loss compensation frameworks as a strategy for ensuring sustainable co-existence between society and wildlife.