Review of: "Stakeholders' Perception of Socioecological Factors Influencing Forest Elephant Crop Depredation in Gabon, Central Africa"

Abstract

An interesting study that links together a number of factors influencing forest elephant crop depredation in Gabon.The effort made by the authors to show interactions between landscape-scale and site-scale factors is commendable.Figures five and six are particularly interesting and make it easy for the reader to understand the findings presented in written paragraph prose.In the thematic analysis section, the authors indicate that they looked at the context of CDI across space and time.The results, however, are not very clear on matters of 'time' as they are on matters of 'space.'Does it matter that in the results section, the links by villagers and their intensity are fewer than those of professionals?Is it the expected result, and how do we explain that, therefore? Study Area:Pages 2 and 3.It would be interesting to give a little more detail that sets Lope National Park aside.From Figure 1, I can see that it is centrally located.Does that influence CDI in any way compared to the other parks?Interview Procedure: 'Villagers were selected from two villages, Kazamabika and Ramba, when only permanent residents were present, near the park…' It would be good to unpack this statement.Two villages out of how many, and why these two?'The family members were interviewed prior to their elders to avoid influencing the family members' narratives…' on page 4. What does the author mean by this statement? Suggestion-Conceptual Framework:Maybe a conceptual framework showing the different themes/factors and the manner in which they are interlinked would help ease understanding much earlier before the reader gets to figures 5 and 6 later in the paper.