Using Indirect Questioning to Assess Community Preference for Alternative Forms of Livelihoods Under Zambia’s Community-Based Wildlife Conservation Policy
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54536/jwc.v2i1.8370Keywords:
Choice Experiments, Indirect Questioning, Kafue National Park, Wildlife Conservation, ZambiaAbstract
Poaching for bushmeat is a rising problem for wildlife conservation, yet standard surveys often understate its true drivers because respondents conceal illegal behavior. We surveyed 219 households living near the Kafue National Park in the Central province of Zambia, and applied a discrete choice experiment (DCE) with a split-sample design: half the respondents answered direct questions; the remainder used an indirect questioning format that masks individual answers. Each choice set combined deterrence measures (more frequent patrols, longer jail terms) with alternative livelihood options designed to replace poaching income—agricultural-input packs, access to a community micro-credit scheme, and donation of dairy cows. The study finds that respondents subjected to the indirect questioning technique report a higher opportunity cost of providing conservation services and prefer access to a microcredit facility over other proposed alternative livelihood options. The study results also reveal marked differences on a number of conservation and livelihood related preferences between the two groups. These results suggest a hypothetical bias in standard formulation of DCE when related to illegal resource use. Accounting for this bias is essential since policies that rely solely on conventional DCE may underestimate the opportunity cost of conservation.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Shadreck Mukanjo Mutti, Damien Jourdain, Selma Tuemumunu Karuaihe, Thomas Hedemark Lundhede, Eric Dada Mungatana
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