Factors Influencing of Pastoralist Perceptions towards Wildlife Conservation in Borana National Park, Southern, Ethiopia

This study was designed to assess the factors that affect local people's attitudes and perceptions towards the Borana National Park, southern Ethiopia where the livelihoods of local people around the Park depended on livestock rearing and that might have high impacts on Park resources. A total of 346 households were randomly interviewed from July - August 2019 for data collection. The data were analyzed using the Statistical package for social science (SPSS) in which descriptive statistics and Chi-square tests were used to determine factors for the perception and attitude of the local communities. The perception and attitude of the local communities towards the conservation of Borana National Park showed a significant difference among the education level (χ2=11.846a, df =3, P<0.05), age of respondents (χ2=18.817a, df=2, P<0.05), and occupation (χ2=12.077a, df =2, P<0.05). The result indicated that attending a higher level of education, young age respondents, and employed in an organization had a better understanding of the importance of Wildlife and the Park. Therefore, it can be concluded that the academic level, age of respondents, and occupations were the major determinant factors that influence the perception and attitude of the local communities. It is therefore recommended; employment opportunity, community involvement in decision-making, and share of the tourism revenue and infrastructure development as alternative measures in improving local attitude towards the Park.