An investigation on challenges of human settlement on wildlife was carried out in 2014/2015 in and around Bale Mountains National Park. Among 25 villages bordering the National Park, 10 villages were purposefully selected for data collection. During the study period, semi-structured interviews and direct observations were conducted within the selected communities. A total of 365 households (35 households per villages, except 50 households for Rira) were randomly selected. Many parts of the protected area were found to be under cultivation. The main socio-economic activities of the respondents were mixed farming (58.0%) and livestock keeping (28.9%). The major reasons for off settlement near/inside the National Park were forage (52%), farming (25.6%) and both forage and farming (21.5%). Human settlement, agricultural expansions, and livestock grazing are the major problems of wildlife management inprotected area. Most of the cropland and human settlement expansions have been increasing from time to time and resulting in excessive losses of natural habitats for wildlife. This phenomenon was also attributed to migration of people from other places for farming and livestock grazing which has led to deforestation and intense decline in vegetation of protected area. Therefore, provision of appropriate conservation education should be emphasized for the local communities at different levels in the study area. Active measures have to be implemented to control the human settlement and livestock impact and safeguard the future of wildlife management in the park.

 

Key words: Bale Mountains, conservation, human settlement, park, wildlife.