[Answered] Human-animal conflict is clear & present danger, and India can’t afford to ignore it. Elucidate

The report ‘A Future for All – A Need for Human-Wildlife Coexistence’, released by WWF and UNEP said that India will be most-affected by human-wildlife conflict. It is because it has the world’s second-largest human population as well as large populations of tigers, elephants, lions and other species.  However, there is no government data on the deaths of animals due to human-animal conflict.

Why is there a need to address human-wildlife conflict?

• Threat to survival: Conflict between humans and animals is one of the main threats to the long-term survival of some of the world’s most iconic species.
• Loss of species: Human-wildlife conflict has driven the significant decline of species that were once abundant. The species that are naturally less abundant have been pushed to the verge of extinction.
• Loss of livelihood: It could cause injury, death or loss of livelihood. The animals are pushed to find food outside of protected areas where they clash with humans. This, in turn, causes the loss of livelihoods for their families.
• According to the Environment Ministry, 1,608 human beings were killed between 2014 and 2017 due to this conflict — an average of more than one human being every day. Of these, most lives are claimed by tigers, elephants, snakes, leopards and bears.

How to tackle human-wildlife conflict?

• Compensation to the victims: Compensation should be paid promptly to the victims of wildlife attack so that the people will not become enemy of the wild animals.
• Community Involvement: Education and training activities at different levels should be taken up for disseminating innovative techniques, building local capacity in conflict resolution. Local volunteers should be trained to handle with human-wildlife conflicts.
• Capacity Building of Forest Personnel: Technical and financial support should be provided for development of necessary infrastructure and support facilities for immobilization of problematic animals.
• Rescue centers: Once an animal turns into a man-eater, it has to be put in a jail the way criminals are, but those jails should be comfortable, large enclosures, not zoos. For this, every state should have rescue units that are permanently manned, have a vehicle, a veterinarian, a tranquilizing gun.

To address what is to blame for the conflict, we need to understand the drivers of human-wildlife conflict. Reducing human-wildlife conflict can lead to opportunities and benefits not only for biodiversity and impacted communities but for society, sustainable development, production, and the global economy at large.