CRNRM Assignment- Roll No.

1236

Reluctance among local communities in acknowledging Human- Wildlife Conflict in India

Submitted by Sireesh Yeshwantapur

Table of Contents
Background ............................................................................................................................................. 2 Introduction to the Present Paper .......................................................................................................... 3 Methodology........................................................................................................................................... 3 Site Location:....................................................................................................................................... 3 Results and Discussion ............................................................................................................................ 5 1. Apprehension that the area will be converted to a higher level protected area if the presence of animals like tigers is detected. ....................................................................................................... 5 2. Apprehension of punishment or fine for illegal grazing in the protected areas. ........................... 5 3. Compensation being too small for taking the trouble .................................................................... 5 4. Difficult Valuation of Losses and procedures of claim: ................................................................... 5 Suggestions to help reporting in order to improve management of conflict ......................................... 5 References .............................................................................................................................................. 7

Background
India is among the few countries with a huge population that dwarfs its geographical area, even though India is a relatively large country. Consequently the population density is high, with the national average around 350 persons per sq. km with some constituent states having population densities as high as 1100-1200 persons per square kilometre. Despite the large human population, India is also one of the most biologically diverse countries, with a forest cover of around 20% of its geographic area. It is home to some of the most threatened species of wildlife like the Asiatic Lion, the Royal Bengal Tiger, the Asian Elephant, the Greater One horned rhinoceros and the Great Indian Bustard. The coexistence of such a large human population and such wildlife may be attributed to the overbearing influence of animism and tolerance on most major Indian religions. It is important that such tolerance and respect for wildlife is perpetuated, if our wildlife is to be conserved for posterity, as no amount of investment or effort can succeed without the active support and cooperation of local people. However, with the rapid pace of development and the pressures of changing land use due to the increasing population, human- wildlife conflict is today arguably the most major threat to the conservation of the rich natural heritage of this country. It is caused mainly by the competition between people and wild animals for increasingly scarce natural resources, and the most common instances of conflict are cattle and crop depredation, human deaths due to confrontation between people and animals, and poisoning, trapping and other methods used by people to kill problematic animals. It is therefore important, even critical, that human- wildlife conflict is mitigated, and since it cannot be eliminated, instances of conflict be resolved expediently to assuage people and ensure their continued tolerance for wildlife, and to ensure that they feel the ownership of natural heritage that every citizen holds, as well as because it is a matter of upholding the rights of all sentient beings.

Introduction to the Present Paper

When I visited a peri-urban village near Bhopal where there is news of recent cattle lifting by a tiger, I was surprised to find that none of the villagers would acknowledge the existence of such a problem, and even say it happened in another, neighbouring village. When I visited the neighbouring village, they directed me back to the first village. The problem here may be that the cattle lifting was reported to have taken place inside the Reserve Forest area, and the villagers are probably not willing to admit grazing in the RF area to avoid anticipated harassment by the forest department. When I searched available literature for possible explanations, I discovered that non- reporting of conflict is a fairly common phenomenon, and is attributed to many factors. (Barua & Bhagwat, 2013)

In the context of Human Wildlife Conflict management and mitigation, it is of fundamental importance that conflict is reported, if it is to be resolved. Deeming the resolution of HWC to be necessary, we must take steps to ensure that all cases of conflict between people and wildlife are reported and addressed. Even when villagers do not seek redressal from the state for the damages caused, the anger caused in them must be quelled, to ensure their support for conservation, and to prevent cases of poisoning, etc;

Methodology
The methodology followed in this paper is that of field surveys being used to generate a hypothesis, and literature being used to explain and support the hypothesis.

Site Location:
Mendora/Mandori Villages, Near the National Law Institute University, outside Bhopal. Mendora: Lat: 23.1709795, Long: 77.3722458 Mandori: Lat: 23.1810792, Long: 77.3605728 The field survey was in the form of informal unstructured interviews based on the snowball technique, where we kept probing for better sources of information regarding HWC, but surprisingly found that no one was ready to share concrete information, and most people denied the conflict flat- out. A typical sample would be chosen by the judgement method, generally asking around for the sarpanchs house and asking an elderly person in the household. We also talked to people at the local tea stall and other such places where we found people in groups.

A typical interview was as follows: Me: Hello Sir, how are you? (Namaste sir, kaise hai?) Interviewee: Im fine thank you. Who might you be? (Hum theek hai, aap kaun?) Me: Im Sireesh, a student here to find out about the tiger frequenting these areas; would you know anything about it sir? (Mai Sireesh hu Sir, college mein padhta hu... yaha aaspaas koi bagh ghumraha tha suna tha, uske bare Mei pata karne aaya hu) Interviewee: (There hasnt been any tiger here atleast in the village for quite some time. The people of the other village(mendora or mindori as the case may be) had some problem about 3 years ago when they used to go into the forest to graze, the tiger lifted a cow, Ive heard) ( bohot dino se gao ke paas toh nahi aaya hai koi bagh. Teen Saal pehle dusre gao (mendora ya mendori) wale log jab charne jarahe the toh jangal mein koi bagh ne gay utha liya tha) Me: So, no cow was lifted from the grazers of your village? (Toh aapke gau ke koi gay nahi uthayi thi bagh ne?) Interviewee: No, we dont go into the jungle to graze (nahi hum jangal mei jate hi nahi hai jaanvar ko leke) Me: could you tell me whom to meet to find out more? Do you know whose cow was lifted? (Kya aap bata sakte hai mujhe kisse baat karni chahiye, kisko pata hoga? Waise kiski gay uthai thi naam pata hai aapko?) Interviewee: I dont know ask in the other village. (hume nahi pata saab.. yaha toh kisiko nahi pata hoga dusre gao mei puchiye)

We then searched for literature to explain this phenomenon of reluctance to admit the existence of conflict, and made inferences from the literature found.

Results and Discussion

Non- Reporting of Losses due to HWC is a fact. (Karanth, 2013) The following were factors that we think may be responsible for people not wanting to acknowledge conflict:

1. Apprehension that the area will be converted to a higher level protected area if the presence of animals like tigers is detected.
We found that sometimes, communities deny the existence of large carnivores like tigers and even indicators like conflict that may point to the existence of large carnivores in the forests surrounding their settlements, for fear of creation of protected areas like tiger reserves, thus endangering their rights/ way of life. This was a case in point in the creation of the Kawal Tiger Reserve, where the local communities denied the presence of tigers in the Kawal Wildlife Sanctuary for fear of eviction. (Hindu, 2011) (Today, 2012)

2. Apprehension of punishment or fine for illegal grazing in the protected areas. (Vasant Saberwal, 2001)
Many a times, tiger attacks happen during the illegal visits of locals into protected areas like national parks, and acknowledging these will not fetch any compensation, but create further legal troubles. So the villagers may deny conflict, and seek alternative methods of compensation like poisoning the animals. (Vasant Saberwal, 2001). (NTCA, 2012)

3. Compensation being too small for taking the trouble

In many cases, the compensation fixed by the government is abysmally low and totally disconnected from reality. Such low amounts mean people have to spend disproportionate efforts and money to travel to report the incident, for low returns. This may be a factor in contributing to the non reporting of conflict in many cases, as a study found in case of attacks on humans. (Naim Akhtar, 2010 ) (Groo, 2008)

4. Difficult Valuation of Losses and procedures of claim:

The valuation of losses incurred is a difficult thing, with various states having their own rates. Moreover, the assessment of the extent of damage is difficult, as is the proof and claim procedures. These factors further discourage locals from reporting incidents. (Mansoor, 2009)

Suggestions to help reporting in order to improve management of conflict

It must be kept in mind that whether or not people complain about conflict, if it is there people will be dissatisfied and may seek compensation by hurting conservation efforts. The support of locals is critical to conservation as discussed, and thus we must put into place mechanisms to improve 5

reporting of conflict and also mechanisms of speedy resolution of conflicts that looks fair. As it is said, justice must not only be done, but it must also be seen to be done. It might help to simplify processes of resolution of conflict, and to help remove the fear of forest personnel from the people, and to sensitise personnel. Moreover, with the advent of FRA, grazing and such activities will no longer be illegal. Secondly the list of species for compensation damage eligibility must be increased to all those that are protected by law. If a farmers crops are eaten by a wild boar, it is still damage, and must be compensated. Moreover, as seen, the compensation amounts are too meagre in many cases, as was the case in UP where a damaged house would fetch around Rs. 4000 in compensation, totally making the effort of claims pointless. Any hospitalisation costs incurred due to conflict must be borne by the authorities, as the anger will reduce considerably with a little respect and the comfort of knowing they will be treated and cured t the extent possible. Moreover, rehabilitation of those disabled permanently must be done, providing them with alternate livelihoods.

References
Barua, M., & Bhagwat, S. A. (2013). The hidden dimensions of humanwildlife conflict: Health impacts, opportunity and transaction costs. Biological Conservation, 157, 309-316. Groo, M. (2008, Aug 4). Human-elephant conflict in India. Retrieved Feb 11, 2014, from Save the Elephants: http://infochangeindia.org/200808027255/Environment/Politics-of-Biodiversity/Can-you-do-family-planning-of-nilgai-sir.html Hindu, T. (2011, Nov 30). Tribal people against tiger reserve. Retrieved Feb 12, 2014, from http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-andhrapradesh/tribal-peopleagainst-tiger-reserve/article2673569.ece Karanth, K. (2013, Aug 24). More compensation fosters better coexistence with wildlife. The Hindu. Mansoor, D. M. (2009, Sept 10). Man- Wild animal conflict in J&K state. Retrieved Feb 11, 2014, from Greater Kashmir: http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/2009/Sep/10/man-wild-animalconflict-in-j-k-state-42.asp Naim Akhtar, N. C. (2010 ). INTOLERANT ATTIDUTE OF PEOPLE TOWARDS BLACK BEAR and Mitigation strategies in Kashmir Valley, India. Tiger Paper, Vol 37 No. 1 pp 7-12. NTCA. (2012, May- June). Status Report. Stripes, p. 6. Today, I. (2012, April 12). Andhra Pradesh: Kawal Sanctuary declared as tiger reserve. Retrieved Feb 12, 2014, from http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/kawal-wildlife-sanctuary-declared-astiger-reserve/1/184064.html Vasant Saberwal, M. R. (2001). People, Parks and Wildlife. Orient Blackswan.