HUMAN WILDLIFE CONFLICT (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Env and Eco)

Context: Recently, according to the population assessment, there is no indication of a decline in the populations of Asiatic lions, tigers, and elephants.

Human Wild Life Conflict

• About: Human-wildlife conflict refers to the negative interactions or conflicts that arise when human activities intersect with the natural behaviour and habitat of wildlife.
• Causes of Human-Wildlife Conflict

oHabitat Loss and Fragmentation

oCompetition for Resources

oEncroachment into Wildlife Territories

oChanges in Land Use

oHuman Waste and Food Availability

oClimate Change

oInsufficient knowledge and understanding

Impacts of Human-Wildlife Conflict

• Livelihood and Economic Losses: For instance, studies estimate that farmers in some regions of India experience annual crop losses of up to 20%, leading to economic losses of millions of dollars.
• Conservation Challenges: According to a survey conducted in India, 40% of respondents expressed negative perceptions of wildlife, associating them with threats to agriculture and human safety.
• Human Casualties and Injuries: In 2020, India recorded approximately 800 reported cases of human injuries caused by wildlife attacks, with the majority occurring in conflict-prone regions.
• Displacement and Relocation: Over the past decade, an estimated 100,000 people in India have been displaced or forced to relocate due to human-wildlife conflicts, resulting in social and cultural disruptions in affected communities.

Plan Bee: Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has adopted an innovative technique called ‘Plan Bee’ to save elephants from train accidents.

• It is an amplifying system imitating the buzz of a swarm of honey bees to keep wild animals from getting killed on the railway tracks.

Project Re-Hab: Started by KVIC.

• Under this project fencing of bee boxes is installed in areas from where elephants move towards the human settlements and farmers’ agriculture. The bee-boxes fencing on the routes of movement of elephants will block the path of wild elephants preventing them from attacking humans and destroying farmers’ crops.