Abstract:
This paper traces and elaborates on the philosophical
thinking on the history of wildlife crop damage and
management measures to mitigate the damages. It explores
how crop farmers become vulnerable to wildlife crop
damage, besides identifying useful theories and practices
on wildlife crop damage and management. Vulnerability to
crop damage is depicted from the biophysical, social and
institutional vulnerability. In the absence of appropriate
compensation schemes, wildlife crop damage management
interventions and strategies, crop farmers around
protected areas remain vulnerable to crop damage by
wildlife globally. The location of crop farms the protected
area and the nature of agricultural activities practiced by
farmers near protected areas make them vulnerable to crop
damage by wildlife through foraging. Since foraging by
wildlife is triggered by nutrition stress and crops grown by
farmers are of more nutritive value as per optimal foraging
theory. The need for compensation for wildlife crop damage
always arises around protected areas and this task
institution mandated with managing wildlife to find
appropriate crop damage mitigation measures. Wildlife
crop damage is a natural phenomenon presumed to have
existed since the birth of agriculture and emphasizing
wildlife freedom irrespective of damage wildlife imposed
on agriculturalists was key philosophical thinking that
boosted wildlife populations which resulted in increasing
damage by wildlife. This paper evaluates policies on
wildlife crop damage management and suggests how to
mitigate wildlife crop damage.