Illegal Cultivators and Causes of Wild Fire Assessment in Kafta Sheraro National Park, Tigray, Ethiopia

Abstract

This study was conducted in Kafta-Sheraro wereda in Northwest Tigray region of Ethiopia to identify the causes of wildfire and community attitude towards illegal cultivators and host livestock settlers. A total of 240 households were selected from 12 villages using stratified random sampling procedures. Six of the villages represented samples closer (on average 7.2 km) to the park and the other 6 villages represented samples far (average 39 km) from the park. Significant different are (X² = 63.5, df = 33, P = 0.0011) shown among villages. About 64.6% (n=155) of the respondents out of the total villages attributed the cause of wildfire to illegal arable land grabbing. From all the factors, distance to the park, year of resided in the area and level of education differed significantly (P<0.5) on the identification of illegal cultivators. 66.6% of respondents closer to the park attributed illegal cultivators for illegal settlers. This may probably due to the observation of illegal action nearby their surroundings. In conclusion, the un-proper land use by host settlers as well as legal settlers maximizes the level of habitat disturbance due to illegal cultivation with high number of livestock crossing the park. Most of illegal actions undertaken in the parks are by illegal settler, in some cases also landless peoples from the area participating too. Local leaders of the park are less responsible due to lack of well developed rules to manage the vast wildlife areas. It is possible to recommend enhancement of local prosperity, bringing community in to discussion for increasing and encouraging the anti-illegal team, improving the extension services and training in awareness creation and participation of local people in conservation, area design, planning, implementation and evaluation. Wildlife laws should be reviewed and, where appropriate, reformed to ensure adequate protection to park. In this regard, range states are encouraged to ensure that laws are not confusing or self contradictory and that adequate penalties should given for illegal cultivators.

Keywords: Community attitude; Illegal cultivators; Villages; Wildfire;