Human Wildlife Conflict - A Fragile Coexistence

Author: LawSphereX

Category: Environmental Law

Published: 2026-08-23T20:15:35.224238+00:00

Updated: 2026-08-26T17:11:16.771+00:00

HUMAN WILDLIFE CONFLICT - A FRAGILE

COEXISTENCE

M. Laxmi Priya, Advocate

M. Jeevitha, Assistant Professor, Sathyabama Institution of Science and Technology,

Chennai

ABSTRACT

Human-wildlife conflict is a serious obstacle for people's livelihood worldwide, as it has become prevalent while the shrinking of resources along with an increase in human population, development of infrastructure, increase in people’s demand, global climatic changes and other environmental factors, which puts great direct competition between wildlife and human. The vital issue arises during the predation of agricultural livestock and death or injury to the people. So, the people who depend wholly upon their earning livestock and cultivable land get affected by depletion of their economic level and it also affects the whole family of the victim. In understanding the conflict, it is important to assess the extent of the damages and the context of local people should be considered because a suitable remedy found only through sound integration of local realities.

This problem experienced rapidly in areas where regular predation on humans takes place. Better land use policies, benefiting people through compensation scheme and educating local communities regarding the conservation of wildlife helps in mitigating wildlife-human conflict, increase in fragmentation leads to increase in human wildlife conflict. The root cause of Human Wildlife Conflict includes insufficiency in the size of protected area for wildlife needs. Consequently, wildlife starts to roam outside the protected areas for predation, this leads to triggering conflict. So, the standard of life people should be considered while making law and policy regarding land use policy and compensation. Keywords: Human wildlife conflict, remedies, law and policy

INTRODUCTION:

Human-wildlife conflict is conflict between the different species of the animal kingdom that threatens the existence of the entire biodiversity. Such conflict affects not only its population but also has broadened environmental impacts on ecosystem equilibrium and biodiversity conservation. People lose their crops livestock, property and sometimes cause injury which in cases costs their lives1 . The dimension of human suffering due to human wildlife conflict has vast area of consequence and primarily has been ignored for a long period of time as the legislation is more animal centric. Competition between rural communities and wild animals over natural resource is more intense in developing countries, where local human population tends to suffer higher costs.

The proximate causes are human population growth, agricultural intensification, global climate changes and wealth creation has limited the living space and resources for both human and animal, creating conflict. 2 Human wildlife conflict is a growing global problem which is not restricted to particular geographical region, it is common in all area where wildlife and human population shares there limited resources. In India, elephant, tiger, bear, leopard etc. , causes life threat and damages to property to the people in Kerala, sunder bans, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, west Bengal and Assam etc. , respectively. 3 Constitution of India confers power to parliament to enact law for the protection of wildlife, and compensation will be awarded to the people who lost their property, injured and killed.

It’s an ongoing continuous competition between man and animal which cannot be eradicated in near future. Hence the main aim of the paper is to identify the predicaments and challenges in current legal and policy strategies that enhances the welfare of the locals in the conservation zone and suggests opinion for the reforms of such legal policies available in India.

FLAWS IN LAW AND POLICY WHICH INCREASE HUMAN WILDLIFE

CONFLICT:

Law and policy have a crucial role to play in carrying out mere positive outcomes for human wildlife conflict. Here we look into financial assistance as bearing cost, land use pattern and 1 Current Conservation, http://www.nina.no/portals/ninaenglish/documentes/current%20conservation.pdf. 2 P.Chardonnet, “Managing the Conflicts between People and Lion”, Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, last accessed September 23, 2024, http://www.fao.org/docrep/012/k7292e/k7292e00.pdf 3 Francine M Madden, “The Growing Conflict Between Human And Wildlife”, India Environment Portal, last accessed September 22, 2024, http://re.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/The%20Growing%20conflict%20Between%20Humans.pdf.

tourism. Land use pattern: Land use policies have a direct bearing on the extend and severity of Human Wildlife Conflict. The land conserved as protected area is often insufficient for the targeted wildlife exists as a result the people in the adjacent land affected by wildlife to realize its need. These overlapping needs can be prevented by effective land use policies4. In case of Karnataka has a rich diversity of flora and fauna. In total geographical area of Karnataka, area of 38720 km sq is as recorded forest area. These forests support 25% of the elephant population and 15% of the tiger population in India. Karnataka has more tigers than any other state in India. Karnataka has 5 national park and 29 wildlife sanctuaries covering an area of 2,472. 18km sq. and 5360,508km sq. respectively it also has 12 conservator reserve of area 624. 8018km sq. and a community reserve of areas 3.

12 km sq. thus nearly total of 10, 153. 949km sq. of the state geographical area is the protected area network5. Karnataka faces a very serious problem of elephant and human conflict. By the effective protection of the elephant population habitat by Karnataka forests department the population of elephant has increased and stabilized over last few years. On the other hand increase in elephant population as well as fragmentation of forests has resulted in increasing man elephant conflict. Here the law and policies are narrowly concerned about the conservation of wildlife and neglects the livelihood of local community6. In case of effective law and policy within the Gir National Park in Gujarat, the population of Asian lion is doubled between 1970 and 1993. As an outcome, lion started to stray out of the reserve into local villages7.

Fragmentation: Human Wildlife Conflict is categorized as damage and killing of crops and livestock by wildlife also human injury and in other hand utiliatary killing of wildlife by people. On an average in India nearly 400 people died annually by elephants while about 100 elephants are died in retaliation. The elephant task force (ETF) in its GAJAH report 2010 calls the resultant stress

4 . Id.

5. Karnataka Forest Department, “Karnataka Forest Department” last accessed on September 23, 2024,

http://www.aranya.gov.in.

6 Karnataka ENVIS Centre, .”Human Wildlife Conflict Need For Calm Coexistence”, Lat accessed on

September 23, 2024, http://www.karenvis.nic.in/writereaddata/publication/human%20wildlife%20conflict.pdf. 7 .Elisa Distefano, “Human wildlife conflict worldwide. Collection of case studies, Analysis of Management Strategies and Good Practices” September 15, 2024, http://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/e2/b6162-b3ad- 4661-8c52-710f95ebeaf7/.

suffering and laws “all too real”. Increasing in fragmentation results in increasing in conflict, in northern west Bengal conversion of forests land into cultivable land has resulted in much transform landscape for elephant8. Increasing fragmentation of forests in northern west Bengal results in increasing level of conflicts in this region9. the elephant human conflict is more intense in western part as compared to the eastern part where the Buxa tiger reserve and the Jaldapara sanctuary are located this is due to more fragmented western part of landscape. Crucial elephant corridor identified in the tea garden linking Buxa and Jaldapara. Here the relief for conflict is possible by funding to transform tea plantation into mixed forest plantation for elephants. If this becomes reality, there is a possibility for reduce in man elephant conflict.

Population: As of conservation policies the wild life population goes on increasing. When the population gets increased the requirement of the species also increases then it becomes difficult for them to accommodate within the human defined home range10. According to the UNESCO’S global chain of biosphere reserve from the yearly 1970’s sundarbans is one of the nine initial tiger reserves. The science and politics of international capitalism informs that the sundarbans become local threat for a large campaign. Due to severe conflict between tiger and men in sundarbans the tigers where recognized as man eaters by the government, the government thought the only way of reducing the conflict is the destruction of as many tiger as possible is. So, the government rewarded people with monetary benefit for the killing of tiger.

Because of this, the sundarbans spreads in multiple direction, often far beyond the aspirations of the original project. by this the project tiger was implemented and the inner core zones of sundarbans was undisturbed for reproduction, villagers access for collection of forests product also limited, as directed by ecosystem approaches stake grazing, commercial timbering, where suspended and all roads are closed for local community. By the implementation of the project tiger many villagers relocated from buffer zones hundreds of people where relocated, only in few areas the people where allowed. 8. Raman Sukumar And Lalitha Murali, “Elephants, People And The Battle For Peaceful Coexistence”, Last accessed on September 20, 2024, http://www. nina. no/portals/ninaenglish/documentes/current%20conservation. pdf.

9 Id.

10 Elisa Distefano, “Human wildlife conflict worldwide. Collection of case studies, Analysis of Management Strategies and Good Practices” September 15, 2024, http://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/e2/b6162-b3ad- 4661-8c52-710f95ebeaf7/.

The ideal size of reserve suggested by international wildlife biologist would have been 3000 sq. km, but India as an overpopulated country they have no other choice than only 15000 sq. km was provided. Here the population created a severe crisis when the population of the tiger increases, due to lack of sufficient space it starts to roam outside the core and buffer zones. It results in clash between forest officials and the local community because of death and injuries. Here it affect the economic level of the local people when tiger destroys their cultivable land and livestock, when their financial burden increase they started to enter the forests illegal for poaching, collecting of honey, fishing, and got killed by tigers.

Thus, victims, widow and children forbidden to say the real happening, because if the actual case of the death is revealed, then the government will impose penalty on the family for dead trespasser and will be treated like criminals11. So, the law and policy shouldn’t be in the narrower sense of conserving wildlife it should also consider the socio-economic level of the local community, because it plays major role in wildlife human conflict.

WAYS TO MITIGATE CONFLICTS:

Cost-Benefit and Local Empowerment: When there was no benefit and the cost of wildlife conservation often fall disproportionately on the people, when this happens people will not come forward to tolerate the wildlife. Law and policy must be enacted with the object of minimizing the cost and maximizing the benefit. The cost can be minimized by compensating the victims; people also be ready tolerate the wildlife when they are benefited. Variety of costs imposed upon people by human wildlife conflict. The economic level of local people will be affected, when the surplus crops of market food destroyed by crop raiding, it also disturbs the education of the growing children in the adjacent area due to the threat of vulnerable species and the children also made to stay in home for helping, to protect crops, these disproportionately affects the education level of people.

The threat of wildlife attacks injury, raiding of cultivable land and death have major effects on local peoples way of living and sense of well-being. To be effective their law and policies of conservation need to find way for minimizing the cost of local people and help local people to gain benefits from wildlife12. The tolerance of local people towards wildlife can be increased 11Ranjan Chakraborty, “Prioritizing The Tiger a History Of Human-Tiger Conflict In The Sunderbans”, last accessed on September 17, 2024, http://www. nina. no/portals/ninaenglish/documentes/current%20conservation. pdf. 12Francine M Madden, “The Growing Conflict Between Human And Wildlife”, India Environment Portal, last accessed September 22, 2024, http://re. indiaenvironmentportal. org. in/files/The%20Growing%20conflict%20Between%20Humans. pdf.

if benefits accrued to them for the wildlife and threats are minimized. Missing of compensation is another contentious issue, in some areas people demand for compensation for their losses. When the animal takes a livestock of the people, the compensation provided was not sufficient to cover their losses acquired13. When the authorities fails to disclose compensation or when they fails to fulfill them the situation will gets exacerbated. In case of corruption and lack of timely payment it may turns the local communities against the authorities and the park itself, this can be created as major crux for conflict. Adequate Alternative Place to Reside The authorities in conserving the wildlife process, when the local people is relocated the adequate facilities need to be provided to them properly. In Sunkesula village of Andhra Pradesh in southern India state which has tiny villages.

The people of village gave up 860 acres of their land to the forest department for the expansion of the Great Indian Bustard Wildlife Sanctuary which is famous for endangered blackbuck. The expansion of sanctuary captured the area which contains the reservoir that was their source of stored-water now falls within the sanctuary. Now the access to water completely denied this causes crisis among the local community. Here no legal framework concentrated on local people for any other alternative or compensation14. Insurance Schemes to Protect Livestock and People Compensation will also be considered as a negative payment because it does only little to remove the conflict between human development and the conservation program. When comparing to this the insurance scheme acts as a preventive tool.

In Namibia, the insurance scheme which is implemented for protection against damages during human wildlife conflict is Human Animal Conflict Self Insurance Scheme (HACSIS) which encourages the people to invest in protection and the compensation will be paid in case of predation. The principle aim of HACSIS is to promote equitable distribution of benefit earned by the wildlife and their second aim is to encourage better land management. The major outcome of this scheme is to increases tolerance of people for wildlife among the farmers and their communities15. Human

13 Arati Rao, “Whose Right Is It Anyway ?The Farmer-Ungulate Conflict”, Last accessed on

http://www.nina.no/portals/ninaenglish/documentes/current%20conservation.pdf.

14 Id.

15 P.Chardonnet, “Managing the Conflicts between People and Lion”, Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, last accessed September 23, 2024, http://www.fao.org/docrep/012/k7292e/k7292e00.pdf

animal conflict is particularly when farmers feel powerless to protect their crops and livestock against predation; the insurance will be the protective tool against human wildlife conflict Community Awareness: Beyond the compensation and land use policies the community awareness plays major role in mitigating human animal conflict. The attitude of people towards wildlife is also matters, in Odissa the survey of people’s attitude where conducted that revealed villagers continued to revere the elephant and started to accept the unavoidable of crop damage near forest areas. Only few respondents where aware of strategies for the conservation of elephants. Many people want to conserve but they don’t know how to go about doing it. If we can educate the local people residing near wildlife forest areas, then they could be the stakeholders of the conservation process.

A conference on people participation in wildlife conservation conducted by the World Bank

funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and United Nation Development Program (UNDP), which covers more than 100 participants over 20 countries held in New Delhi, India on October 23, 2017. This conference not only covers wildlife conservation in India but around the world. It will be very hard to win against human wildlife conflict without local communities’ participation and benefit16. Nature and Wildlife Tourism: Wildlife tourism as an important growing industry, development of tourism will create profound impact on conservation challenges including Human Wildlife Conflict. Tourism provides powerful incentives to conserve wildlife and other biodiversity when it provides adequate economic benefit to local people.

In case of, Nanda Devi biosphere reserve, the Himalayan region and Nepal in India suffers from wildlife damage of crops and livestock, due to properly maintained tourism has provided alternative income opportunities for local people. It builds tolerance power of people against wildlife. Massai project: Intermediate Technology Development Group (ITDG) implemented a project funded by; the UK department for international development (DFID) their main aim is to resolve the problem of achieving distribution of tourism revenue. ITDG staff implemented their work in eastern Africa with two communities Massai and Kamba in Southern Kenya, Massai 16 World Bank, “ Global wildlife Program Promotes Peoples Active Participation Wildlife Conservation” Lat accessed on September 15, 2024, http://www. worldbank.

org/en/news/press-release/2017/09/29/global-wildlifeprogram-promotes-peoples-active-participation-wlidlife-conservation.

are nomadic herders whose cattle graze in the land of Amboseli National Park and the other group Kamba lives on the edge of Tsabo East National Park, and they have mixed arable and livestock farming. In the initial of work, ITDG founded that low intensity eco-tourism will be viable source of income for the communities. The people in the community has no experience of tourism they regarded it as white people business, as first stage ITDG staff invited the community to the other area in Kenya where the community run eco-tourism projects in operation. This tour was planned with all the section of people including poorer families there the community people visited all the game reserves, lodges and also enterprises like bee-keeping, butterfly-breeding and alternative farming systems.

These entire where attracted by visitors and also managed along with wildlife reserves, the participants allowed to question about their management, dividing of profit and implementations scheme. 17 By the findings from the tour they developed a best practice model. To make it function they include players, donor and a private investor, players are responsible for an eco-tourism venture beneficial for local people and long lasting, donor is responsible for infrastructure funding and private investor responsible for overseas tourism agencies in running the venture in conjunction to them. Finally, this model includes function of Non-Governmental Organization for negotiation with the other three parties.

This relates mainly to the distribution of profit by applying this model they have estimated that ten visitors at one time could expect to earn around thirty thousand profits, in addition to that, the income earned was divided among the community and invested in further infrastructure project or in other community needs. This was recognized as the best practice model. Hence proper development of tourism will also be one of the best way to mitigate human wildlife conflict.

CONCLUSION:

The absence of adequate law and policy and inadequate compensation has impacted the ecosystem balance and the standard of life of human beings and the wellbeing of animal kingdom. Human wildlife conflict is a serious issue because it represents long-term threat to the life of millions of people as well as to the existence of wildlife. The path towards the conflict mitigation should benefit both the people and wildlife. The basic conflict like predation on livestock or raiding drops can be reduced by taking practical measures like use of special breeds 17 Wildlife tourism-spreading the benefits, last accessed on September 20, 2024, http://www.new-ag.info/02- 2/develop/dev02.html.

of livestock guarding dogs, traditional material such as stone timber fence substitutes electrical fences and it is the need of the hour that the government implements law and policies that effectuate a safe environment for local people. Laws and policies has the ability to shape the attitude and behaviors of the people towards wildlife habitat hence the government should implement welfare measures that enhance the livelihood of the people by implementing, “best practice” model and ecotourism ventures that are long lasting and beneficial to the local people. The justice for human suffering could be achieved when Central Government, State Government and the union territories evolving better prevention strategies in consultation with wildlife board.

By better communication between local people and wildlife management authorities and creating forums for discussing issues and developing solution in a collaborative manner the conflict can be reduced and a more sustainable environment can be created. People should be educated about the conservation of wildlife. The flexibility in mindset of people and also flexibility in legislative and operational activities should be adapted to the wide range of situations that can occur and extensive research should be undertaken to embark a new journey towards a more amiable and sustainable environment.