Transaction Costs Associated with Consolation Payments for Elephant-Related Losses around National Park, Tanzania

Human–elephant conflict remains a persistent conservation and livelihood challenge for communities living adjacent to protected areas in Tanzania. In Mikumi villages, elephant-induced crop damages, human injuries, and deaths are common incidents, which have prompted the government to implement wildlife damage consolation schemes. While these schemes aim to alleviate socio-economic burdens and promote tolerance, the transaction costs incurred by victims to pursue consolation payments remain largely undocumented and unaccounted for within policy frameworks. This study assessed the magnitude and implications of transaction costs associated with compensation payments for elephant-related losses among Mikumi communities. Using a mixed-methods approach, primary household survey data were collected from 405 households which experienced elephant damage from ten villages during the 2023 wet and dry seasons. Data captured direct monetary expenses incurred during claim processing. Secondary data from Kilosa and Mvomero Districts for households which received consolations were acquired and analysed to examine the time taken to receive consolations from 2012 to 2022, and the loss in the value of money due to delayed disbursement from 2020 to 2023. Descriptive analysis was conducted in R to generate summary tables of mean monetary and delay-related costs and a box plot illustrating median consolation processing time. The study found that victims spend an average of TZS 88,893.33 (US$ 36.80) to process claims, with a median waiting time of 35 months to receive consolations. Delayed payments resulted into average monetary value loss of TZS 106,030 (US$ 43.90) to paid victims. Timely reporting after damage and application submission did not have a significant influence on payment timeliness. These findings highlight substantial financial and temporal burdens facing victims seeking consolation. The study recommends reforming consolation regulations to incorporate transaction costs into wildlife consolation frameworks, decentralise damage assessments to the village level, and adopt digital claim submission and tracking systems to improve efficiency