Local Responses to Marginalisation: Human-Wildlife Conflict in Ethiopia's Wetlands

In western Ethiopia, population pressure, upland land degradation and recurrent food shortages have forced many local communities to extend their agricultural activities into marginal areas such as wetlands. This move into wetland agriculture, however, has brought humans in closer proximity to wild animals, and wild vertebrate crop-raiding has now emerged as a serious problem affecting food security from wetlands in region. Drawing upon qualitative field research undertaken with wetland farmers in the area, this article explores the nature of this conflict through the lens of the marginalisation of both humans and wild animals, within the contested space of wetlands. The results suggest that the escalation of crop-raiding can be attributed to the interaction of various environmental, social and political factors including conservation legislation, land use change, and the erosion of local institutional arrangements governing wetland management. The development of local-level adaptation and mitigation strategies that build on local knowledge, are offered as potentially sustainable solutions to current problems.