• Living with Elephants II: A manual for implementing an integrated programme to reduce crop loss to elephants and to improve livelihood security (F.V. Osborn & G.E Parker)

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This manual is designed to help communal farmers and wildlife managers mitigate the impact of wildlife upon small-scale agriculture. Crop damage is a severe problem across Africa where elephants and people coexist because it can severely affect the livelihood security of semisubsistence farmers. Current methods for reducing crop damage are ineffective and plagued with logistical and technical problems. Poor agricultural practices make certain crops particularly vulnerable to damage by elephants and a range other wildlife. The Mid Zambezi Elephant Project (MZEP) has developed a two-stage integrated approach that reduces the impacts of elephant conflict upon farmers. The first component is a range of crop protection methods that can be administered by the farmers themselves. The second is a commercial venture with the Chilli Pepper Company (CPC) to reorganize and improve food crops currently grown, and to introduce cash crops that are unpalatable to wildlife. This document first explores the issues that influence crop damage, then presents the integrated approach to conflict mitigation. The methods described have been field-tested, and are designed to be replicated in different conflict situations.