The
recent death of an elephant after consuming firecracker laden fruit meant for
wild boars raised much clamour in the Indian as well as international media.
But a mere google search can show you that incidents such as these are more the
norm and less an exception in our country. But it is an extremely privileged
and unempathetic standpoint to view from if one is only blaming the perpetrators
who are local farmers defending their crops from vermin. A sustainable solution to addressing an issue like
this would require a more fundamental approach, rather than attributing blame
to a few scapegoats.
Thanks
to strong conservation legislation implemented in the last three decades, the
once declining populations of many animals have been seeing an optimistic
uptick. But as human and animal populations continue to rise and the resources they
compete for remain limited, it turns into a fatal fight for survival. It is
estimated that one human life is lost to animal attack every day. There is also
widespread crop and livestock depredation totalling to millions of rupees of
loss to farmers every year. Farmer tolerance to depredation is often a function
of factors such as economic status of the farmer, vulnerability, extend and
nature of the damage, success of the growing season and religious beliefs.
Bound by law on the one hand and poverty on the other, both farmers and animals
continue being a part of an unjust system that cascades the rising mutual
antagonism among local communities and wildlife.
Though
understanding the context of this survival struggle would require delving deep
into the causes, this article will be limited to the exploration of viable
mitigation strategies to solve the growing crisis.
Lessons from the Maasai:
 |
| The Maasai warriors. Source:Maasai Mara Bookings |
If,
up until very recently, boys of the Maasai tribe in Northern Tanzania attained
warrior status by single-handedly killing a lion, the new metric for manliness
has evolved into protecting the same wildlife from harm. In return, the Maasai
are paid conservation dividends by the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust,
from the income generated via Campi ya Kanzi, a luxury wildlife safari. They
are also provided education and health facilities that embrace and celebrate
the Maasai traditional knowledge base. As a pastoral community, they avoid
conflicting meetings with wild animals by not interrupting natural animal
movement and adopting simple tricks such as cowbells that warn wild animals of
the presence of cattle herds and herders. Any animal depredated is compensated
by the trust and not retaliated against. This is a textbook example of how
effective human-wildlife conflict resolution can be brought about by incentivizing
local community collaboration and sensitizing them about the value of wildlife
to the community
Other non lethal solutions:
There
are other less explored, but effective methods like intermixing your crop with
variants unpalatable to the animal. Farmers in Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Mozambique
have been intermixing their crops with chili peppers to keep away elephants as
they are averse to capsaicin.
Beehive
fencing is another innovation that banks on the fact that elephants have an
inherent fear of bees. The farmers also benefit from the income generated via
apiculture. The practice is being successfully adopted across Africa. Closer to
home, “Thaen”, is a similar project implemented by IRMA Alumni, Arnelit and
Arun of PRM 39, in the Nilgiris and has met with considerable success.
 |
| Beehive fencing in Kenya. Source:Mongabay WildTech- Technology for conservation |
The
Sundarbans, infamous for its man-eating tigers, has been leaving human dummies
rigged with battery-powered live electric wires in buffer zones to develop a
fear of humans among predators. Assam government recently launched
anti-depredation squads which recruited and trained local youth to scare away
attacking herds back to the forest and spread awareness about peaceful coexistence.
Government intervention:
Since
the conflicts are a direct consequence of human interference, mitigation should
also focus on preventive strategies such as improving natural food sources by
conserving non-cattle prey base and introducing palatable vegetation within the
animal habitat. Revival of natural animal corridors, though expensive, are
believed to be extremely useful in keeping animals that migrate large distances
off human habitats. Immune contraception is an effective way to cull mounting
pest populations such as wild boars and monkeys. These are cost-intensive and
may need policy intervention. Another effective intervention from the
government would be timely, equitable and convenient disbursal of compensation
payment to pacify emotional uprisings and retaliation against the animal, as
has been proved by the case of the Maasai.
 |
| 62 km Eco bridge in Singapore. Source: Soapboxie |
Lastly,
the lack of empirical data evidence on solution feasibility discourages
conservation agencies from making the required financial investments which are
often hefty. There are lacunae with regard to accurate data on the animal
population, movement routes, land use patterns in the village, the loss
incurred in attacks etc. Aggressive data
generation aided by technology such as aerial surveys should be undertaken.
Extracting and analyzing patterns from such information would aid the process
of drafting preventive action plans.
Conclusion:
The
historic solution of coexistence via spatial separation now ceases to be a
viable option, and band-aid policies have been shown to often cause further
detriment. The best way forward is to accept that there is no more room for
adhocism and that there is no single panacea to this problem. We should now
focus on policy changes that can enable the formulation of tailor-made, data-based,
region-specific solutions, in collaboration with the local stakeholders. These should
also be constantly revisited and revised to evolve, as animals tend to devise
ways to circumvent obstacles as with traditional trenches and electric fences installed
to keep off elephants in Nilgiris, and facemasks worn at the back of the head
to mislead tigers in Sundarbans. Also, solutions such as fostering eco-tourism,
which encompass incentives for local community participation seem to be the
most effective. This will lead us to a trade-off point where animals and humans
can coexist benefitting mutually. With a focussed, empathetic,
interdisciplinary approach, this destination is not too far.
-Ardhra
Prakash
June 15, 2020
Article for The Rural Post
 |
| Source: The Rural Post.Org |
