Man and wildlife conflicts are ever increasing. Discuss its causes, consequences and remedies.

Causes of Man-Wildlife Conflicts

The increasing frequency and intensity of man-wildlife conflicts can be attributed to a confluence of ecological, anthropogenic, and climatic factors:

• Habitat Loss and Fragmentation:
  • Urbanization and Industrialization: Rapid expansion of human settlements, infrastructure development (roads, railways, industries), and mining activities lead to the destruction and fragmentation of natural habitats. This forces wild animals to venture into human-dominated landscapes in search of food, water, and shelter. For instance, India lost 668,400 hectares of forest area between 2015 and 2020.
  • Encroachment of Wildlife Corridors: Human settlements and development activities often encroach upon traditional wildlife corridors, disrupting animal movement patterns and leading to increased encounters with humans. Linear infrastructure development like highways and railways are significant drivers of accidental wildlife deaths and habitat disruption.
• Increasing Human and Wildlife Populations:
  • Human Population Growth: India's growing population (1.45 billion and rising) puts immense pressure on land and resources, leading to encroachment into forest areas and closer proximity to wildlife.
  • Conservation Success Leading to Population Recovery: Successful conservation efforts for certain species, such as tigers and elephants, have led to population increases in protected areas. For example, the tiger population in Bandipur rose from 120 (2014) to approximately 150 (2025). When these populations exceed the carrying capacity of their habitats, animals disperse into human-dominated areas.
• Resource Scarcity and Changes in Land Use:
  • Depletion of Natural Prey and Water Sources: Deforestation, drought, and climate change-induced shifts in weather patterns reduce natural prey availability and water sources within forests, driving carnivores and herbivores alike towards human settlements and agricultural fields. Elephants, for instance, are attracted to irrigated paddy fields, especially during droughts.
  • Agricultural Expansion and Crop Raiding: Expansion of agricultural land into forest fringes provides easy food sources for herbivores like elephants, wild boars, and nilgai, leading to crop raiding. This often leads to retaliatory actions by farmers.
• Climate Change and Environmental Degradation:
  • Extreme weather events like delayed monsoons or droughts force animals to seek resources near human habitations, disrupting ecological balance and increasing conflict.
• Ineffective Management and Awareness:
  • Weak Enforcement of Laws: Ineffective application of wildlife conservation laws and insufficient funds for habitat preservation can exacerbate conflicts.
  • Lack of Awareness: Many communities living near wildlife habitats lack awareness about wildlife behavior, conservation, and appropriate response mechanisms during encounters.

Consequences of Man-Wildlife Conflicts

The repercussions of HWC are severe and multi-dimensional, affecting both humans and wildlife:

• On Human Lives and Livelihoods:
  • Fatalities and Injuries: Wild animal attacks result in human deaths and severe injuries. Between 2014-2015 and 2018-2019, 2,361 people were killed due to conflict with elephants in India. Uttarakhand alone reported over 900 lives lost in the last 25 years due to HWC, with leopard attacks claiming 548 lives.
  • Economic Losses:
    • Crop Damage: Animals like elephants, wild pigs, and nilgai frequently raid agricultural fields, causing significant crop loss and financial distress for farmers. Crop raiding by elephants can cost families their annual food supply.
    • Livestock Predation: Carnivores such as leopards and tigers prey on livestock, leading to substantial economic losses for rural communities.
    • Property Damage: Animals entering human settlements can damage houses and infrastructure.
  • Psychological Trauma and Fear: Communities frequently affected by conflicts experience emotional trauma, fear, and a sense of insecurity, leading to resentment towards wildlife and conservation efforts.
  • Disruption to Daily Life: The presence of dangerous wildlife can disrupt daily activities like farming, collecting forest produce, and even children attending school.
• On Wildlife Populations and Conservation:
  • Retaliatory Killings: Frustration and economic losses often lead to retaliatory killings of wild animals by communities, either through direct hunting, poisoning, or electrocution.
  • Habitat Degradation: Increased human intervention and unchecked development within and around wildlife habitats further degrade the quality of these ecosystems.
  • Species Extinction Risk: Defensive and retaliatory killings, combined with habitat loss, can push already threatened species closer to extinction. Over 500 elephants were killed between 2014-2015 and 2018-2019, many due to human-elephant conflict.
  • Stress and Behavioral Changes: Constant disturbance and conflict can alter animal behavior, making them more aggressive or prone to venturing into human areas.

Remedial Measures for Coexistence

Addressing man-wildlife conflict requires a multi-pronged, integrated, and community-centric approach:

1. Habitat and Corridor Management:

• Restoration of Habitats and Corridors: Efforts to restore degraded forest areas and protect critical wildlife corridors (e.g., through Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF) projects) are crucial to provide animals with sufficient space and resources within their natural range. The Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act (2016) allocates funds for afforestation and includes provisions for managing HWC.
• Water and Fodder Augmentation: Creating and maintaining artificial waterholes and planting fodder species within forests can reduce the need for animals to venture out in search of resources.
• Smart Green Infrastructure: Implementing wildlife-friendly infrastructure such as underpasses and overpasses (eco-bridges) along linear development projects to ensure safe animal movement.

2. Community Engagement and Awareness:

• Awareness and Education Programs: Educating local communities about wildlife behavior, ecological roles, and best practices for coexistence can reduce misunderstandings and prevent conflicts. The Wildlife Trust of India's "Prakritishala" (nature interpretation hubs) serve this purpose.
• Community Participation: Involving local communities in conservation and conflict mitigation strategies, such as forming "Primary Response Teams" (PRTs) for immediate conflict management, builds ownership and improves effectiveness.
• Crop Pattern Changes: Promoting the cultivation of unpalatable crops (e.g., chili, ginger, lemongrass) in forest-fringe areas to deter herbivores.

3. Technological and On-ground Interventions:

• Early Warning Systems (EWS): Deploying technologies like sensor-based alerts, camera traps, and radio-collaring for tracking animal movement can provide timely warnings to communities. Wildlife SOS and Chhattisgarh forest department initiated an EWS for elephants.
• Physical Barriers: Construction of elephant-proof trenches, solar-powered fences, bio-fencing (using thorny bushes), and predator-proof livestock enclosures can prevent animal ingress into human settlements and farms.
• Rapid Response Teams (RRTs): Establishing well-equipped and trained RRTs with veterinarians and wildlife experts for immediate and humane intervention during conflict situations.
• Minimizing Attractants: Proper waste management around human settlements near forests to avoid attracting animals like bears and leopards.

4. Policy and Financial Mechanisms:

• Enhanced Compensation Mechanisms: Prompt and adequate ex-gratia payments for crop loss, livestock depredation, injury, and human fatalities are crucial to reduce resentment and retaliatory killings. The Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC) enhanced ex-gratia payment for death from ₹2 lakh to ₹5 lakh per person in 2018.
• Insurance Schemes: Integrating HWC losses into agricultural insurance schemes like the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), allowing states to provide add-on coverage for crop loss due to wild animals.
• Inter-departmental Coordination: Establishing State-Level Co-ordination Committees, as advised by MoEF&CC (2021, 2022 guidelines), to ensure coordinated action between forest, agriculture, police, and other relevant departments.
• National Human-Wildlife Conflict Mitigation Strategy: The Government of India has rolled out a national-level strategy focusing on habitat fragmentation, damaged corridors, and retaliatory killing, promoting mitigation, data-driven monitoring, and stronger habitat protection.
• Legal Frameworks: Strengthening the implementation of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, and related policies to ensure robust protection for wildlife while addressing human concerns.

The table below summarizes common conflict scenarios and their specific mitigation measures:

Conflict Scenario	Species Involved (Examples)	Specific Mitigation Measures
Crop Raiding	Elephants, Wild Boar, Nilgai	Electric fences, trenches, bio-fencing, unpalatable crops, early warning systems, rapid response teams, compensation.
Livestock Predation	Leopards, Tigers, Wolves	Predator-proof corrals, livestock guarding dogs, rapid response teams, compensation, improved prey base in forests.
Human Fatalities/Injuries	Elephants, Tigers, Leopards, Bears	Awareness campaigns, rapid response teams, habitat enrichment, maintaining safe distances, ex-gratia payments, radio-collaring.
Property Damage	Elephants, Monkeys	Stronger building materials, deterrents, managed feeding programs (for monkeys), relocation.