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By Benadeta Mwaura - Reporter
Kenya, 13 November 2025 - Tsetse flies are threatening farmers’ livelihoods around Ruma National Park in Homa Bay County, as communities report rising cattle deaths linked to wildlife encroachment from the park.
While conservation efforts have boosted tourism and protected endangered species like the Roan antelope, locals say the spread of tsetse flies is crippling farming and driving economic losses.
Authorities are being urged to act before the balance between wildlife conservation and rural livelihoods collapses.
What began as a conservation success story is now turning into an ecological crisis for farmers living around Ruma National Park. Once celebrated for reviving wildlife tourism in Suba South Constituency, the park’s expansion has triggered an invasion of tsetse flies, killing cattle and threatening livelihoods that depend heavily on animal-powered farming.
“The presence of the park has improved economic activities around the area, we get tourists, we host marathons, and our roads are maintained,” said Robert Alida, a community representative from Gwasi South Ward. “But as much as the park has advantages, we are suffering. The tsetse flies brought by warthogs and hyenas have killed so many of our animals.”
A Park of Promise and Paradox
Ruma National Park, located in the Lambwe Valley, is the only terrestrial park in Nyanza region and home to Kenya’s last remaining population of the Roan antelope, one of Africa’s most endangered species.
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According to the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), the park also hosts black and white rhinos, zebras, giraffes, and numerous bird species, making it a cornerstone of Kenya’s western tourism circuit.
But for local farmers, conservation’s benefits come with a cost.
“Tsetse fly infestation in the region has hampered livestock keeping within Lambwe Valley,” notes a report by researchers from the University of Eldoret published in Longdom Journal of Ecosystem & Ecography.
The study highlights that communities surrounding the park face economic losses as the flies transmit East Coast fever and other livestock diseases, reducing herd sizes critical for ploughing and income.
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Balancing Conservation and Community Needs
Locals say most households practice subsistence farming, relying on oxen to till the land.
“We don’t use tractors, we depend on bulls and oxen,” Alida explained. “If they all die from this menace, we’ll face a calamity.”
The county government of Homa Bay, in partnership with conservation groups, has tried to turn the park into an eco-tourism hub, hosting annual marathons and promoting local crafts. However, villagers argue that more must be done to protect livestock from vector-borne diseases and wildlife incursions.
Environmental experts say the situation reflects a wider challenge across Kenya, finding balance between wildlife conservation and rural livelihoods.
Ecologists have advised that community inclusion is the only way conservation succeeds claiming that If locals bear the costs while others enjoy the benefits, the model cannot hold.”
A Call for Intervention
Residents are urging both the county and national governments to intervene, deploying veterinary officers, spraying programs, and erecting buffer zones between the park and villages.
“With just a little balance, we can enjoy the fruits of the park,” Alida added. “We want development, but we also want our cattle to live.”
As Ruma’s wildlife continues to thrive, the people who have long called its periphery home are left hoping that conservation and coexistence can finally find common ground.
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