BALANCING THE NEEDS OF PEOPLE AND WILDLIFE: When Wildlife Damage Crops and Prey on Livestock.

killed lion

WHETHER ONE CONSIDERS LIONS, tigers and bears preying on livestock or elephants, parrots and deer feeding on crops, conflicts arise when the activities of wild animals coincide with those of people. Although damages by wildlife do
not have the regional impact that drought and disease have, they do have critical, political and environmental significance for the conservation of biodiversity. They also can have catastrophic economic consequences for vulnerable households. The fringes of protected areas and landscapes with a mix of human development and wild land see most human-wildlife conflicts (HWC). Each year, thousands of people lose their lives and billions of dollars are lost in property because of HWC globally. Traditionally, people respond to wildlife threats by killing “problem” animals and eliminating wild habitat to prevent further losses. The scale of biodiversity and economic costs is hard to estimate for developing countries, but data from developed nations are indicative.

Conclusions
This brief outlines the wildlife dimension of human-wildlife conflicts, reviews recent advances in understanding affected people’s perceptions of risk and resolution, traces paths to successful intervention through co management, and finally examines the key role of research in the resolution of human-wildlife
conflicts. Our approach emphasizes social science input because HWC is as much a social problem as a technical challenge. Although the steps are simple and straightforward, site-specific details can be maddeningly complex.

The capacity to effectively manage wildlife related threats to human safety and property without compromising wildlife population viability or human life and livelihoods is within our grasp. To do so, we believe co managers must combine technical expertise with local knowledge and embrace transparent and democratic processes of participatory planning, with the sacrifices this entails.

save wildlife forever.

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