Predictive maps will now be used to control, pre-empt and mitigate human-wildlife conflicts, and foster coexistence of people and wildlife. Additionally, the framework can be used to test the success rate of implemented mitigation measures in reducing conflicts.
This is the outcome of a research led by Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) together with Samrakshan Trust, US Geological Survey and University of Florida. The study claimed to have developed a reliable approach to predict the occurrence of human-wildlife conflict that particularly influence patterns in crop raids by elephants.
According to the lead researcher Dr Varun Goswami, Head of Elephant Programme, WCS, the research has been carried out in various conflict-prone areas of the country where over 400 people and 100 elephants are killed annually.
“Mitigating human-wildlife conflict is of crucial concern for both wildlife conservation and human well-being and a reliable understanding of why such conflicts occur holds the key for effective mitigation,” he said.
One such conflict area covered by the study was Garo Hills in North-east. The study is a result of intensive seven-year-long monitoring of human-elephant conflicts in the area. Nearly 600 instances of crop depredation by elephants across 49 conflict-prone villages were studied.
The landscape included a mosaic of community-managed forests and four Protected Areas — Baghmara Reserve Forest, Balphakram National Park, Siju Wildlife Sanctuary and Rewak Reserve Forest — interspersed with agricultural lands.