Opportunity Costs of Elephant Presence in Communities Adjacent to Mikumi National Park, Tanzania

Global human-elephant interaction challenges have consequences that have resulted in direct effects to communities, including crop loss, property damage, human injuries and fatalities. Such consequences have been attributed by widespread loss of habitats from anthropogenic activities, which have converted lands next to core protected areas into farms and residential areas, bringing communities in contact with elephants. Research on human-elephant interactions around Mikumi National Park (MNP) has primarily focused on such direct effects while neglecting indirect effects. Such an oversight has resulted in the design of mitigation measures that address only direct effects. This paper examines the opportunity costs incurred by communities as indirect effects of human-elephant interactions for villagers living near MNP. We collected primary data during the dry and wet seasons of 2023 from 405 households through household surveys from households which had experienced elephant incursions during the study period. Descriptive analysis was run to produce frequency distribution tables and a box plot to visualise financial and temporal opportunity costs. The study found that on average, households spent 11 hours per night guarding farms against elephant incursions, resulting in an estimated average opportunity cost of TZS 574,500 (US$ 237.78) per year. Adults lost approximately 1 hour of their normal daily activities, and pupils lost 2 hours of school time in fear of elephants. Distance from the household to the park boundary does not influence the opportunity costs induced by the elephant. These findings demonstrate the opportunity costs resulting in financial, temporal and social distress of the affected communities. The study recommends the establishment of crop insurance as a long-term financial mechanism to protect crop damage from elephant losses, and the provision of adequate hostels and dormitories for pupils in areas susceptible to elephant attacks