Factors Influencing Performance of Wildlife Community Enterprises in Northern Rangeland Trust, Kenya

Abstract

Wildlife linked conservancies are experiencing deteriorating performance in developing nations and Kenya in particular. Conservancies being one of the sources that the government generates revenue, wildlife protection and conservation of natural resources has not only been subjected to human disruptions but also little effort is put by the government to safeguard the natural resources for sustainable development. Based on the fact that Kenya is underperforming among countries of the world in terms of conservation of natural resources, it’s therefore on this regard that this research sought to assess factors affecting performance of wildlife linked community enterprises in the Northern Rangeland. The specific objectives were to determine the influence of community support on the performance of wildlife community enterprises of Northern Rangeland Trust in Kenya; To establish the influence of management practices on the performance of wildlife community enterprises of Northern Rangeland Trust in Kenya; To determine the influence of donor support on performance of wildlife community enterprises of Northern Rangeland Trust in Kenya; and to establish the influence of technical support on performance of wildlife community enterprises of Northern Rangeland Trust in Kenya. The study was guided by commitment-trust theory, the stakeholder, equity, and agency theories. Commitment-trust theory guided community support; stakeholder theory guided management practices; equity theory guided donor support; and agency theory guided technical support. This study employed a descriptive design of research. This study targeted management of the Northern Rangeland wildlife community linked enterprises. All (78) management employees of the Northern Rangeland wildlife community linked enterprises were used as the participants. This research used a census sample design for management and because targeted population was manageable and the participants were within accessible environs. Data was collected through questionnaire. Internal consistency of the tool was assessed through Cronbach Alpha coefficient of 0.7. Instrument’s Validity was affirmed through experts in the field of tourism and lecturers of Kenya Methodist University. Multiple regression was utilized to examine the data and reveal the statistical link among the factors. The study established a positive association among community support, management practices, donor support, technical support and performance of wildlife linked community enterprises. The study concludes that unless management of wildlife linked community enterprises embrace initiatives intended to promote community support, stakeholder involvement, attraction of local and foreign donors and provision of technical support and resources, achieving sustainability of wildlife conservancies will be an uphill task. This research recommends that government and in partnership with community conservancies should embrace policies that promote protection of conservancies rather that wildlife human conflict.