Restoring African grassland habitats makes life more peaceful for humans and wildlife, scientists find

Across Kenya, grasslands underpin people’s lives — as well as those of animals like elephants, giraffes, and hyenas. But the climate crisis is drying out these habitats, forcing people and animals to compete for resources, and increasing both community tensions and conflict between humans and wildlife. Researchers monitoring both grassland restoration and conflicts have now found that restoration can help reduce human-wildlife conflict and improve community relations: the more local grassland is restored, the less conflict there is. 

“Grassland restoration is playing a role in reducing human-wildlife conflicts, social conflicts and the overall feeling of insecurity in Chyulu Hills, Kenya,” said Dr Camila Donatti of Conservation International, lead author of the article in Frontiers in Environmental Science. “Grasslands maintain 60% of the livestock produced in Kenya and support 70% of all the wildlife that is found outside protected areas, so people, livestock, and wildlife rely on those grasslands for their survival and live in close proximity. This means this system is ideal for studying the connections between grassland restoration and peace and security.” 

Deadly droughts 

Droughts dry grasslands out, reducing the amount of available food and water, and increasing competition for the resources that remain. The scientists found that 89% of the households they surveyed in the Chyulu Hills experienced conflict with wildlife, while 32% experienced social conflict. This area is particularly vulnerable to the climate crisis, and is expected to experience longer, increasingly severe droughts over the next 30 years. 

“Grasslands prevent soil erosion while supporting agriculture and livestock grazing, which sustain the livelihoods of pastoralists and farmers in Kenya,” explained author Maureen Mwanzia, formerly affiliated with Conservation International Kenya and now a statistician at the World Health Organization. “Additionally, they support rich biodiversity. Beyond their ecological functions, grasslands hold cultural significance and offer tourism and recreation opportunities, making their protection and restoration essential for both environmental and human wellbeing.” 

The restoration of 11,000 hectares of Chyulu Hills grassland had begun in October 2021. The team conducted 1,567 household surveys across four sites around the restoration areas between September 2022 and October 2023. They asked about human-wildlife conflict, including crop raids, attacks on humans, livestock killings, or property damage, as well as about strategies households adopted to protect themselves; however, they didn’t ask about retaliatory killings of wildlife, because these are illegal. They also asked about social conflicts, the participants’ perception of insecurity or damaged community relationships, and related mitigation strategies.  

“Of the total households interviewed, 23% had at least one member experiencing non-lethal attacks by wildlife,” said Donatti. “Elephants, giraffes, lions, spotted hyenas, and buffalos were the most likely species to be involved.” 

Grassland benefits 

The scientists analyzed this data to monitor the changes over time, identify any seasonal patterns, and to investigate any potential differences between male- and female-led households. They found that human-wildlife conflict levels were highest in the rainy season, possibly because predators struggle to find prey and resort to hunting livestock, while herbivores are tempted by ripe crops. The larger the area of grassland restored locally, the less conflict there was between humans and wildlife, but these benefits didn’t accumulate: conflict levels remained steady over time, possibly because the areas of grassland being restored were too small compared to the animals’ home ranges.  

Larger restored areas of grassland also led social conflict to drop. These benefits were cumulative — levels of social conflict and perceptions of insecurity fell over the study period — but not equally distributed. Women-led households experienced more social conflicts and perceived greater insecurity.  

“However, we only have 16 months of data,” cautioned Donatti. “Tracking conflicts should continue in the area to understand long-term patterns. Additionally, the information we requested from household members relates to the conflicts and mitigation strategies we have previously identified; other conflicts and strategies may have been happening in the area. Finally, household surveys do not properly capture retaliatory measures on wildlife. These should be assessed using a different methodology.” 

“I would like to see the integration of grassland restoration into national and international environmental and development strategies, with dedicated funding and resources,” said Mwanzia. “Policies should address human-wildlife and social conflicts while incorporating gender-sensitive approaches that consider the unique challenges faced by men and women in grassland areas.”