Breaking Down Barriers to Conservation Conflict Resolution in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review

The global commitment to expand protected areas (PAs) to cover 30% of Earth’s land and oceans by 2030 has sparked significant debate. Such expansions often displace local communities, particularly smallholder farmers and pastoralists in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), leading to lost livelihoods, food insecurity, and social conflicts. This systematic review, conducted via Google Scholar, JSTOR, and Dimensions, analyses 26 peer-reviewed studies from 2010–2024, guided by the PRISMA framework, to explore why conservation conflict resolution mechanisms in SSA are often ineffective. The findings reveal that while community-based conservation initiatives show promise in improving livelihoods, they frequently impose restrictions that exacerbate food insecurity and economic instability. The intensity of these impacts varies across SSA countries due to historical land tenure disputes, resource scarcity, non-participatory governance, and inadequate compensation for wildlife-related damage. The study concludes that effective conservation requires participatory governance, equitable benefit sharing, and the integration of local socioeconomic and cultural needs to balance ecological sustainability with social justice.