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Evaluating support for rangeland‐restoration practices by rural Somalis: an unlikely win‐win for local livelihoods and hirola antelope?

In developing countries, governments often lack the authority and resources to implement conservation outside of protected areas. In such situations, the integration of conservation with local livelihoods is crucial to species recovery and reintroduction efforts. The hirola Beatragus hunteri is the world's most endangered antelope, with a population of <500 individuals that is restricted to <5% of its historical geographic range on the Kenya–Somali border. Long‐term hirola declines have been attributed to a combination of disease and rangeland degradation. Tree encroachment—driven by some combination of extirpation of elephants, overgrazing by livestock, and perhaps fire suppression—is at least partly responsible for habitat loss and the decline of contemporary populations. Through interviews in local communities across the hirola's current range, we identified socially acceptable strategies for habitat restoration and hirola recovery. We used classification and regression trees, conditional inference trees, and generalized linear models to identify sociodemographic predictors of support for range‐restoration strategies. Locals supported efforts to conserve elephants (which kill trees and thus facilitate grass growth), seed and fertilize grass, and remove trees, but were opposed to livestock reduction. Locals were ambivalent toward controlled burns and soil ripping (a practice through which soil is broken up to prevent compaction). Livestock ownership and years of residency were key predictors of locals’ perceptions toward rangeland‐restoration practices. Locals owning few livestock were more supportive of elephant conservation, and seeding and fertilization of grass, while longer term residents were more supportive of livestock reduction but were less supportive of elephant conservation. Ultimately, wildlife conservation outside protected areas requires long‐term, community‐based efforts that are compatible with human livelihoods. We recommend elephant conservation, grass seeding and fertilization, manual tree removal and resting range from livestock both to enhance the potential for hirola recovery and to build positive rapport with local communities in the geographic range of this critically endangered species.