Zoonosis and pest ecology research for sustainable livelihood at the human-wildlife interface in Omo Basin, Southern Ethiopia

The livelihood activities of rural communities in Ethiopia are performed at the expense of biodiversity in areas with a high degree of contacts between humans and the wildlife. This project is aimed at improving academic and research capacity at Wolaita Sodo University (WSU) focusing on ecological interactions at the human-wildlife interface and generating better knowledge of human-wildlife conflict to elucidate possible mitigation measures. The intermediate results (outputs) anticipated from the project include, description of the human-wildlife conflict and its economic impact, investigation of zoonosis epidemiology with emphasis on leishmaniasis, investigation of wetland to dryland shifts and its effects on small mammal populations and conflicts, and building capacity of academicstaff. The spatial and temporal data on human-wildlife conflicts will be collected by three PhD students linked to the project in the Department of Biology, Wolaita Sodo University. Improved livelihood of rural communities, enhanced biodiversity conservation, food security, health and capacitated department are ultimately envisaged through the project.