Butati Nyundo
Other projects
14 May 2019
Community-Based Study to Enhance Conservation of Primates in Ntakata Forest, Western Tanzania
31 May 2022
Fostering Co-Existence Between Humans and Primates: Mitigation Measures of Human-Primate Conflicts in the Villages around Ntakata Forest, Tanzania
Primates in Ntakata forest, especially those ranging in proximity to human settlements and farms, have been reported to pose substantial challenges to human livelihoods resulting in human-primate conflicts. Human-primate conflict around Ntakata forest has been revealed to be triggered by the actions of humans to grow palatable crops next to primate habitats. Most of the grown crops around Ntakata forest are appealing to primates resulting in crop feeding or damage by primates. Nevertheless, mitigation of human-primate conflicts requires complex and multifaceted approaches. Also, the ability of humans and primates to co-exist greatly depends on the willingness of stakeholders to recognize the problems and discuss how to mitigate the problem. Since the local communities, particularly the farmers, close to Ntakata forest are willing to participate in the project and adopt the recommended conflict mitigation strategies and actions, support to these farmers is of paramount importance.
In this project we aim to encourage the local communities to grow unpalatable crops to primates in their farms that are close to Ntakata forest. We will also educate and advise the farmers on the need to establish buffer zones between Ntakata forest and their farms. Furthermore, apart from human-primate conflict mitigation measures, primates are also reported to be hunted for bushmeat in the area. Thus, we will identify the local hunters and have discussions with them to understand what drives them to do this. The discussions will pave a way to understand various aspects of primate hunting and what needs to be done to address the issue. An education package will be prepared to educate the local hunters. In the end, the hunters will be convinced and encouraged to engage themselves in poultry farming and goat rearing. This will act as an alternative approach to enable the local hunters to have access to meat and, hence, proteins. This will greatly contribute to conservation of primates and all wildlife in and around Ntakata forest.
Therefore, this project intends to enable co-existence between humans and primates through growing unpalatable crops to primates. The project will also address the issue of primate killing for meat consumption by the local hunters. In the end, both primates’ survival and human livelihoods is anticipated to thrive.