Community Perceptions and Challenges to Wildlife Conservation, the Case of Borana National Park, Southern Ethiopia.

Background: Despite conservationist' efforts to safeguard natural resources, wildlife continues to disappear at an alarming rate around the world. This research focused on evaluating community perceptions and factors affecting wildlife conservation in Borana National Park in Southern Ethiopia. The study was conducted by the year 2020. Methods: Questionnaires, focus group discussions, key informant interviews and personal observation were utilized to collect data from 95 households. Quantitative data was compiled and presented in tables using a five-point rating scale with scores of 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 correspondingly. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 20 and transformed into frequency, percentages and mean. Result: Despite the abundance of wildlife and communities' long-standing indigenous conservation practices, the study area faced challenges such as extreme resource competitions, human-wildlife conflicts, a lack of compensation, illegal hunting, settlement, variability and unfavorable weather conditions. Furthermore, invasive species expansion and increasing commercialization of wildlife products were feasible problems that require immediate attention in order to achieve sustainable wildlife resource development in the study area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]