The Role of Agricultural Land Use Pattern Dynamics on Elephant Habitat Depletion and Human-Elephant Conflict in Sri Lanka

Abstract

The drastic depletion of elephant habitats in the dry zone of Sri Lanka has led to intense human-elephant conflict (HEC) in a region that is home to one of the celebrated agrarian settlements in Asia. Known as the tank villages, these settlements have a long history of human coexistence with elephants and other wild animals. However, the escalating incidence of human-elephant fatalities and crop losses to farmers indicates that the mode of interaction between the tank village inhabitants and the elephants has transformed from coexistence to conflict. Both population and agricultural land use pattern dynamics have contributed to agricultural expansion and loss of elephant habitat in the dry zone of Sri Lanka. However, our knowledge of how the agricultural land use pattern dynamics has contributed to the drastic depletion of elephant range in the dry zone is limited. This research attempted to gain insight into the role of agricultural land use dynamics on elephant habitat depletion and HEC in Sri Lanka through the study of Kuttikulama, a dry zone tank village. The data were collected through focus group discussions, key informant interviews and a cross sectional survey. The study revealed that agricultural land use patterns in traditional dry zone villages have changed in major ways over the last few decades. Such changes included the transition from a shifting-cultivation mode of farming to a fixed sequential mode of farming, the expansion of the per capita cropping area, and the disappearance of communality in agricultural land use patterns. The changes were found to have significantly contributed to a shift in human–elephant interactions from relatively harmonious ones to contentious ones. The study reveals the potential of traditional and alternative cropping and land use systems to minimize human-elephant conflict in Sri Lanka.

Mortality Patterns of Asian Elephants in a Region of Human–Elephant Conflict

“…Mortality from intentionally caused deaths was more common than unintentional causes. It is illegal to kill an elephant in Sri Lanka, but when pressed, people have strong motivation to protect themselves and their property (Anuradha et al 2019). Equally as important to preserving elephants is ensuring the well-being of the people that live around them, as coexistence is largely dependent upon tolerance by local communities (Barua et al 2013, Kansky et al 2016, Saif et al 2020.…”

“…Human-elephant conflict (HEC), most often through crop-raiding, is a major impediment to the wellbeing of humans and elephants in elephant range countries. Asian elephants are threatened primarily by habitat loss and fragmentation, exacerbating HEC in areas with growing human populations (Choudhury et al 2008, Barua et al 2013, Wilson et al 2015, Anuradha et al 2019, Menon and Tiwari 2019. At the same time that HEC threatens the safety and livelihood of local human communities, elephants are also critically important to the normal functioning of the ecosystems where they live (Blake and Hedges 2004, Campos-Arceiz and Blake 2011, Tscharntke et al 2012.…”

Sustainability of Village Tank Cascade Systems of Sri Lanka: Exploring Cascade Anatomy and Socio-Ecological Nexus for Ecological Restoration Planning

“…During the past two decades, the integrity and functions of VTCSs have been degraded significantly affecting the provision of ecosystem goods and services. For example, deterioration of micro-land use components and upstream catchment forest has had a significant impact on biotic diversity (species diversity, functional diversity and vegetation structure), abiotic heterogeneity (soil erosion and land degradation) and imbalance of water budget (soil moisture, evaporation, surface runoff), leading to a significant reduction in the capacity of supplying and regulating ES in the VTCS [87][88][89][90]. Thus, the study examined the identified causal factors and their interactive relationships [27,28] within the framework of resilience, adaptive capacity, and the vulnerability (RACV) concept [29], while incorporating exposure and sensitivity indices specific to Mahakanumulla VTCS.…”

“…Recent studies have shown that various factors impact the ecological productivity of the VTCSs. For instance, agricultural expansion into ecologically sensitive areas of the major VTCS zones due to demographic changes and urbanization has led to a drastic reduction in forest cover during the last two decades [8,89,90]. The degradation of the integrity and functionality of the cascade ecology has resulted in the reduction of capacity to supply ES and increased severity of droughts [6].…”

“…The traditional knowledge system is also a heavily influential element in the VTCS [82] but has been neglected in the applications of climate change adaptation and mitigation measures [96]. The combination of all these factors ultimately contributes to lower the cropping intensity, causing farming systems to be less productive and less resilient [6,90,98].…”