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In many places around the world, humans and wildlife don\u2019t share the same spaces.<\/p>\n
In others, humans and wildlife are in nearly constant contact.<\/span><\/p>\n For example, in Kenya\u2019s savannahs, elephants and black rhinos share the land with pastoral Maasai communities.<\/span><\/p>\n And that proximity can become dangerous, even deadly, when resources are scarce: It\u2019s estimated that hundreds of people and thousands of animals die every year<\/a> as a result of human-wildlife conflict.<\/span><\/p>\n Now, a new study<\/a> from Conservation International shows one way to reduce the risks:<\/span><\/p>\n Restore grasslands.<\/span><\/p>\n The problem of human-wildlife conflict is \u201ca competition problem,\u201d said Camila Donatti, lead author of the study and a Conservation International expert on climate change adaptation. \u201cWhen grassland ecosystems are degraded and out of balance, they can\u2019t support wildlife and the livestock that pastoralists raise, which leads to conflict.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n In areas where grasslands were restored, communities reported a significant decline in human-wildlife conflicts, Donatti said.<\/span><\/p>\n For this study, conflict included crop raiding by wildlife, livestock killing by wildlife, damages to assets and properties by wildlife and lethal and non-lethal attacks on humans by wildlife. Restoration practices focused on sustainably managing livestock, pruning bushes that threaten to outcompete grasses, and seeding degraded areas with native grasses.<\/span><\/p>\n The study, conducted over 16 months with data collected from more than 1,500 households, took place in Chyulu Hills<\/a>, Kenya, where a Conservation International project (in partnership with Apple) has restored 11,000 hectares (27,180 acres) of degraded grasslands to date and which aims to restore 20,000 hectares (49,420 acres) by 2027.<\/span><\/p>\n In addition to a decline in human-wildlife conflicts, the study also found a reduction in social conflicts among community members and a decline in feelings of insecurity.<\/span><\/p>\n “Grassland restoration is helping to restore balance to our land and our people,\u201d said Samson Parashina, Chairman of Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust. \u201cWith healthier pastures, we see fewer conflicts \u2014 both with wildlife and within our own community. While challenges remain, having more grazing land means less competition, making it easier for people and wildlife to share the land without constant struggle.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Before this study, the connection between healthy grassland ecosystems and conflict had not been widely explored, Donatti said.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cConflict is often an overlooked symptom of climate change and biodiversity loss,\u201d Donatti said. \u201cBut for the people living on the front lines, the effects can be devastating.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Grasslands, in the Chyulu Hills and elsewhere, are under increasing stress from climate change and human activity, she said. As grasslands become drier and hotter, trees, shrubs and bushes often outcompete grasses<\/a> and disrupt food sources for livestock and wildlife.<\/span><\/p>\n Wildlife plays a key role in the health of grasslands. For example, elephants act as \u201cecosystem engineers<\/a>,\u201d pushing over trees to maintain savanna ecosystems, excavating waterholes and fertilizing the land with their dung. But if they can\u2019t find enough food, they can wander into farms, destroying crops<\/a> and sometimes killing people or livestock.<\/span><\/p>\n Wildlife isn\u2019t beneficial only to the grasslands \u2014 ultimately it helps humans, too, as grasslands are an underappreciated climate ally. Stretching across 40 percent of the planet, they hold more than a third<\/a> of the world\u2019s land-based carbon in their vast underground root and soil systems. Then there\u2019s the \u201calbedo effect<\/a>,\u201d which is the ability of a surface to reflect sunlight back to the atmosphere: Light-colored areas, such as grasslands, are more reflective than darker-colored trees, meaning they provide a cooling effect.<\/span><\/p>\n The study\u2019s findings are increasingly urgent, as climate change is expected to lead to even greater<\/a> human-wildlife conflict, according to recent Conservation International research.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOur findings are very promising,\u201d Donatti said. \u201cThere\u2019s so much potential to foster human security and consequently protect wildlife through grassland restoration and other solutions<\/a> rooted in nature.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Mary Kate McCoy is a staff writer at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? Sign up for email updates<\/a>. Also, please consider supporting our critical work<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n