Nature and extent of human–elephant Elephas maximus conflict in central Nepal

Abstract

Human–elephant conflict is one of the main threats to the long-term survival of the Asian elephant Elephas maximus. We studied the nature and extent of human–elephant interactions in the buffer zones of Chitwan National Park and Parsa Wildlife Reserve in Nepal, through household questionnaire surveys, key informant interviews, site observations, and analysis of the reported cases of damage during January 2008–December 2012. During this 5-year period 290 incidents of damage by elephants were reported, with a high concentration of incidents in a few locations. Property damage (53%) was the most common type of damage reported. Crop damage was reported less often but household surveys revealed it to be the most frequent form of conflict. There were also human casualties, including 21 deaths and four serious injuries. More than 90% of the human casualties occurred during 2010–2012. More than two thirds of the respondents (70%) perceived that human–elephant conflict had increased substantially during the previous 5 years. Despite the increase in incidents of human–elephant conflict in the area, 37% of respondents had positive attitudes towards elephant conservation. Our findings suggest that public awareness and compensation for losses could reduce conflict and contribute to ensuring coexistence of people and elephants in this human-dominated landscape.

Human-Elephant Conflict and Mitigation Measures in Jhapa District, Nepal

“…Our study found that the risk of elephant damage was more on the settlements located nearby the Jalthal forest compared to areas further than the forest. Similar findings were recorded in study by Pant et al (2016) which showed that the incidents of elephant damages decreased proportionately with increase in distance from the park boundary in buffer zones of Chitwan National Park and Parsa National P ark. In terms of HEC incidents, crop damage including paddy was more frequently recorded in Jalthal area.…”

Dispersal and ranging patterns of the Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus) in relation to their interactions with humans in Nepal

“…ten Velde (1997) revealed that the same bull elephants were raiding crops in both Parsa and Chitwan areas and also in the adjoining reserve forests. This trend has continued, with one of the bull elephants in central Nepal being responsible for most of the human-elephant conflict incidents from 2010 onwards (Pant et al 2015).…”

Spatial Concentrations of Wildlife Attacks on Humans in Chitwan National Park, Nepal

“…In Chitwan National Park (CNP) most poor people living near forests are of indigenous ethnicity and a lower caste, have no or few work opportunities, receive informal education and typically own a smaller piece of land, and survival problems are more acute for them than conservation issues. In places where people and wildlife share the same landscape for resource usage, wildlife leaves negative impacts on people and vice versa [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]. In addition, wildlife damage leads to resentment and people resort to retaliatory killings, even of endangered species.…”

“…Heinen and Mehta [13] stated that the buffer zone in Nepal has granted local participation but the managerial structure remains largely top down with regard to the Park's Warden regulatory role. Other studies (e.g., tiger: [7,14] and elephant: [8,15]) addressed issues of wildlife attacks on people and recorded injury and death cases in the landscapes of CNP and its neighborhoods. However, there is no simple formula for combining conservation objectives with local needs [16].…”

“…The rhino has also been the subject of many studies [31,32]. In recent years, the elephant has also been one of the priority areas of research [8,15]. Besides the focus on these species, there were several studies that addressed socio-economic and policy issues [33,34] and ecosystem and landscapes.…”