Human-Wildlife Conflict
worldwide:
analysis of
management strategies and good
practices
• Human-wildlife conflict refers to the interaction between wild animals and
people and the resultant negative impact on people or their resources, or
wild animals or their habitat.
• It occurs when growing human populations overlap with established
wildlife territory, creating reduction of resources or life to some people
and/or wild animals.
Driving forces
Human population growth
Land use transformation
Species habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation
Growing interest in ecotourism and increasing access to nature
reserves
Increasing livestock populations and competitive exclusion of
wild herbivores
Abundance and distribution of wild prey
Increasing wildlife population as a result of conservation
programmes
Climatic factors
stochastic events.
1. Demographic and social changes place more people in direct contact with
wildlife: as human populations grow, settlements expand into and around
protected areas E.g human population growth is correlated proportionally with
the number of encounters and serious incidents with cougar (Puma concolor),
black bears (Ursus maritimus) and grizzly bears (Ursus arctos)
2. Transformation of forests, savannah and other ecosystems into agrarian areas or
urban agglomerates is a consequence of the increasing demand for land, food
production, energy and raw materials.
E.g In the Periphery of Gir NP and Sanctuary, intense and escalating conflicts with
Asian lions (Panthera leo persica) and leopards (Panthera pardus) are due to the
rapid and extensive change in land use associated with the conversion of
groundnut (Arachis hypogea) and great millet (Pennisetum typhoides) fields into
sugarcane (Saccharum offinarum) and mango (Mangifera indica) cultivation.
These crops create favourable habitats for predators and play a major role in
influencing the natural distribution and abundance of wildlife communities
3. Species habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation are also interconnected
with population growth and land use change. E.g In Sumatra, the alteration of
forest areas into agriculture and grazing land has restricted the Sumatran tiger’s
(Panthera tigris sumatrae) home range to a small pocket
4. Recreational activities and growing public interest in charismatic species,
such as large carnivores and endangered species, have increased the human
presence in protected areas and raised concern about capacities to manage and
regulate public access and large-scale use of protected areas.
5. Growing densities in livestock number can create an overlap of diets and
forage competition with wild herbivores, resulting in overgrazing and decline
or local extinction in wild herbivore populations. In India the domestic animals
often out number the ungulate population(densities of 1500/Km2). 73% of
sanctuaries and 39% of NP are affected by grazing
6. Abundance and distribution of wild prey: when native prey is abundant,
wild predators consume it in preference to livestock and that
impoverishment of prey populations is one of the major causes of
carnivores shifting their diets to livestock. Clearly, this is due to the ease of
capture and limited escape abilities.
7. In recent years, the successful recovery of declining or near exticnt
species through wildlife management and protection from over
exploitation has led to a new type of conflict. Effective protection and
habitat management within the Gir National Park and Sanctuary in the
Indian state of Gujarat doubled the Asian lion (Panthera leo persica)
population between 1970 and 1993. The social organisation, habitat and
prey requirment of the species were difficult to accommodate within the
human-defined home range, and resulted in many lions straying out of the
reserve into local villages
In India, traditions and cultural/religious attitudes towards wild animals
make people more tolerant towards wildlife
Orthodox Hindus for instance consider monkeys to be sacred animals, to be
revered and protected this influences people’s perception of the conflict,
resulting in its partial acceptance
CS1: Snow leopard conflict in India [Snow leopard (Uncia uncia),
endangered; Tibetan wolf (Canis lupus chanku), vulnerable]
Kibber Wildlife Sanctuary-conflict among agro-pastoralists and wildlife is
increasing in relation to the growing livestock population, (18% of
livestock killed =12% of annual family income) villagers have not resorted
to killing the main source of the problem: the snow leopard
retaliatory action is performed against the Tibetan wolf, whose pups were
captured and killed
I. Preventive strategies
1. Artificial and natural barriers (physical and biological)
Barriers have the function of preventing spatial overlapping among wild
animals and local communities; they are usually man-made
Natural barriers such as rivers, coasts or mountain ranges may occur along
a nature reserve boundary
Fladry barrier is a technique traditionally used in Eastern Europe and
Russia to hunt wolves. It consists of hanging flags 0.5 m apart; nowadays
it is employed to protect domestic animals from wolf attacks
planted hedgerows of various spiny cacti. Plant hedges have the positive
aspects of being a low cost solution and are effective with both carnivores
and ungulates
Artificial barriers
1. Game proof fence
The fence is meant to keep out the wild animals – it consists of
woven wire at the bottom with 5 to 6 strands of barbed wire on top
Fence post: of any durable species; 18 to 23 cm dub; 3.16 m (for
sandy soil 3.36 m) long, fixed at 3 m to 3.6 m apart by burying
them in pits 70cm (for sandy 90 cm) deep in soil
Woven wire:125 cm wide in rolls 30m to 33m long vertical wires
are spaced 30cm apart and horizontal wires are 5cm apart at the
bottom and 23 cm at the top
Top and bottom horizontal wire are 8 to 9 swg and vertical and the
remaining horizontal wires are 10to 11 swg
The woven wire is buried 5 cm in the ground
Barbed wire- two ply galvanised wire with 4 barbs spaced at 7.5
cm apart one strand of the barbed wire is fixed 20 to 25 cm below
the ground in a trench; above the ground the strands are fixed
above the woven wire at a spacing of 7 cm from it and thereafter
15cm,23cm, 30cm and 38cm from the lower strand making the
total height of the fence above ground level at 2.33
2. Guarding
Monitoring herds and active defense are essential features of animal husbandry in
East Africa, India etc where human herders are effective and fearless in warding off
predators.
II, MITIGATIVE STRATEGIES:
1. Compensation systems- HWC carries significant economic costs to humans and
compensation is a measure which aims to alleviate conflict by reimbursing people
for their losses.
• Compensation systems rely on giving out monetary payments or licenses to exploit
natural resources, allowing the hunting of game or the collection of fuel wood,
timber and fodder from inside protected areas.
2. Insurance programmes: Livestock and crop insurance is often proposed as an
innovative solution to mitigating the impact of HWC, but it is yet to be
experimented broadly.
• It covers crops and livestock from the risk of wildlife attacks and involves the
villagers and local governing bodies paying a premium share of the insurance and
allows rural inhabitants to make a minimum annual cost and to be refunded in the
event of crop or livestock losses.
3. Wildlife translocation
• Translocation consists of moving a certain number of animals from a
problematic zone to a new site.
E.Fg. Northern India, 260000 Macaca mulatta live in areas of human
settlement and translocation has been reported to be the best
nondestructive control measure.
4. Incentive programmes: Incentive programmes are based on subsidies.
They offset the cost of conservation and demand the adoption of
conservation-friendly practices, creating tolerance towards wildlife through
the exchange of benefits.
