A study to examine the attitudes and awareness of the local communities towards conservation values of the park, its flora and fauna with particular emphasis on mountain nyala was carried out in the Bale Mountains National Park in 2007. The study specifically investigated how attitudes vary with different groups of people involved in either recent or long term settlements; people with different livelihood strategies and among people that live at different distances away from the park. Questionnaire and interviews were directed to randomly selected households and key-informants in 7 villages located near the park. Out of the 136 people interviewed, 26% of the respondents felt that they benefited, while 55% experienced conflict by living near the park. The most important benefits were leasing of horses to tourists (62%), serving as tourist guide (44%), and use of the park’s vehicles during the time of emergency (38%). A significant portion (83%) of the respondents agreed that there was lack of equity in benefit distribution. The main conflicts were fear of forceful relocation (84%), livestock grazing restrictions (74%) and restriction of firewood collection (54%). Perceived benefits and conflicts varied across livelihood strategy but not proximity to the park and duration of settlement. The majority of respondents (66%) believed that their presence in the area does not contribute to habitat degradation, an attitude more commonly held among recent settlers than long-term settlers. The overall attitude of the local people towards the park and the presence of mountain nyala were positive. 80% of the respondents would support the park’s conservation activities suggesting that there is a room to enhance cooperation of the local people and improve the prospects for conservation of the mountain nyala and its habitat.

 

Key words: Attitude, benefit, conservation, conflict, encroachment, local people, mountain nyala.