Nalaila Jacob Gabriel
Land Use Land Cover (LULC) changes have been a subject of high concern in recent decades due to rapid human population growth and some infrequent cases of natural processes. Invasion of human activities and settlements into spaces of land which were first wildlife habitat and/or wildlife migratory routes have caused habitat shrinkage for wildlife and thus, elevated human-wildlife interactions.
African savanna elephants, a wide-ranging species listed as endangered by the IUCN redlist have suffered from LULC which results in intolerable habitat and hence escalates human-elephant interactions, thus, conflicts.
This is because elephant habitats are currently farms and settlements of people. This study aims to assess the LULC changes for the past 30 years around Mkomazi National Park and elephant distribution around Mkomazi National Park. Then, this information will help to sysnthesise the implications of LULC changes and elephant distribution on human-elephant interactions and recommend viable mitigations and necessary actions example, a proper land use plan.