Human-Wildlife Conflicts in Arid Areas of Western India: Strategies for Mutual Co-Existence

Abstract

The study has been carried out in the North Gujarat region of Gujarat state, Western India which represents unique habitats from arid regions to dry deciduous forests with annual rainfall ranging from 25-125 cms. Humanwildlife conflicts are intensifying owing to increase in human population and destruction of wildlife habitats. In the present study we characterized and classif ied the conflicts, identif ied zones with acute conflicts and evaluated the economic loss to the local villagers due to such humanwildlife conflicts. Sampling methods mainly included village surveys for interviewing locals who are affected by wildlife damage. The information was overlaid on the existing digital land use data to identify landscape characteristics associated with wildlife occupancy in the region. The result depicts that 80% of total damage in seasonal crop is caused by wild ungulates. Wild animals like Blue bull, Wild boar and Porcupine are reported as a chief crop raider. The Leopard is the only big cat occurring in the region reported to cause human injury and livestock predation. Sloth bear attacks on human are very common in some part of the study area. Conflicts are more severe around unprotected forests while high intensity of conflicts was recorded on the fringes of the forests. Less compensation and delayed process of compensation by the government makes the local community more hostile towards the presence of wildlife in the area. Human-Wildlife Conflicts in

Assessment of Human-Wildlife Conf licts in Poba Reserved Forest, Dhemaji District, Assam (INDIA)

“…With increasing population and pressure on forest ecosystems, human-wildlife conflict is also increasing (Zubiri & Switzer, 2001). Considering the magnitude of implications of humanwildlife conflicts it is priority to develop effective preventive and mitigation strategies to avoid losses on both sides (i.e., man and animals) (Naughton- Treves, 1998;Woodroffe 2005;Linkie 2007;Treves 2009;Patel & Dharaiya, 2014). The objective of this paper is to discuss the causes and implications of human-wildlife conflicts in Poba Reserved Forest (RF), a threatened ecosystem in Dhemaji district of Assam state, during the period from 1971 to 2013.…”