East African human-wildlife conflict: Policy challenges and proposed solutions from Kenya

Kenya's persistent human-wildlife conflict (HWC) poses a threat both to regional conservation objectives and human livelihoods. This study integrates a historical review of Kenya's land, wildlife, and HWC legislation with stakeholder analysis, a synthesis of leading mitigation techniques by decade, and field interviews to identify critical gaps in the current compensation framework and propose a set of targeted reforms. First, we recommend eligibility should be confined to the most severe incidents such as human fatalities and major injuries, providing compensation only for high-damage species such as elephants and leopards, and limiting eligibility to Indigenous peoples who practice wildlife-friendly land-uses within a defined buffer of protected areas. We further advocate for decentralizing claim adjudication to district-level Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) offices and transitioning entirely to in-kind transfers of proven wildlife deterrents (such as chili-pepper repellents, acoustic alarms, solar spotlights). We also propose tax reliefs on approved non-lethal deterrents. Finally, we call for strengthened land-use zoning and cadastral surveying in Kenya, with an emphasis on conservancies and group ranches, alongside enforceable per-acre limits on livestock stocking.