An African dilemma : pastoralists, conservationists and tourists - reconciling conflicting issues in Kenya

Kieti, Damiannah and Nthiga, Rita and Plimo, Jonathan and Sambajee, Pratima and Ndiuini, Ann and Kiage, Ezekiel and Mutinda, Peter and Baum, Tom (2020) An African dilemma : pastoralists, conservationists and tourists - reconciling conflicting issues in Kenya. Development Southern Africa, 37 (5). pp. 758-772. ISSN 1470-3637 (https://doi.org/10.1080/0376835X.2020.1747988)

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Abstract

Kenya is facing irreconcilable tensions by competing interests from conservationists, tourism developers and pastoralists. Concerns arising from the well-being of flora and, in particular, fauna by conservationists; tourists and commercial tourism; and the increasingly restricted use of traditional lands and herding animals by pastoralist indigenous communities, have populated the discourse of land use in Kenya. In this paper, we look into the varying perceptions of each group of stakeholders and seek to analyse the current narrative that gives priority to wildlife protection and the commercial exploitation of wildlife through high-end tourism development to the detriment of the rights and interests of pastoralism. As pastoral land becomes more appropriated, our analysis shows that the antagonistic relationship between conservationism, commercial tourism and pastoralism is likely to deteriorate. We therefore propose a more participatory model of tourism development that will allow pastoralist communities to have a voice in the process.

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