The nature of conflict between human activities and biodiversity conservation at Letseng-la-Letsie Nature Reserve in Quthing, Lesotho

Abstract

This study was conducted in Quthing, Mphaki Community Council on five villages focusing on the nature of conflict between human activities and biodiversity conservation at Lets’eng- la-Letsie. The main objectives were to assess the nature of conflict between local communities and biodiversity conservation; assessing the effect of natural resource management policy instruments and strategies; identify areas of collaboration and not- collaboration as well as assessing the effect of conflict on the communities’ livelihoods and biodiversity. A mixed method approach was used to conduct this study whereby qualitative data was initially collected through one to one interviews from nine key participants. The results obtained from them were used to structure and obtain quantitative data from seventy-two individuals on five villages. The findings obtained through thematic analysis revealed that conflict in biodiversity conservation have been negatively affected local communities’ livelihoods and biodiversity due to lack of information on policies and laws and the presence of ethnic conflict. The statistical software called Excel was used to determine whether the current biodiversity efforts had generated income for the communities and whether local communities were actively involved in the management decisions. The Cronbach’s Alpha test was used to determine the relationship between the nature of conflict and biodiversity conservation. The results obtained showed that there is an association between the nature of conflict and biodiversity conservation.