Exploring the possibilities of co- existence with wildlife

Abstract

India is a country where humans live alongside large wildlife and maintain a high tolerance towards them. Occurrences of wild animals around human settlements during the COVID-19 lockdown serve as a reminder that we share our habitat intimately with wildlife. This qualitative research is a probe into increasing human wildlife conflicts in India and their underlying factors. Much of wildlife inhabits regions outside Protected Areas (PAs), in human-dominated landscapes. The current practices of conservation and co-existence are assessed along with the laws, policies, and framework vis-à-vis traditional methods of co-existence. Vidarbha Region in Maharashtra, especially Chandrapur District where Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) is located, is emerging as the most conflicted area because of isolation of the reserved areas due to expanding human infrastructure and the state ban on cattle killings. Chandrapur and its neighbouring districts contain large patches of forests scattered along with agricultural fields. These patches form corridors that connect the protected areas of forest located in the Vidarbha region and also provide sustenance livelihoods for tribal people and other forest dwellers. In these human-dominated areas, large carnivores like tigers, sloth bears, and leopards are often sighted as the corridors are frequently used by the animals resulting in increased interaction between animals and humans. The connectivity of TATR with neighbouring reserved areas is interrupted by industrial projects, primarily coal mines. A temporal analysis was done for land use landcover on ArcGIS for identifying anthropogenic activities contributing to land degradation and impacting the wildlife habitats, corridors, and their health. A map is prepared by marking the proposed infrastructure projects and mining areas vs. the forest areas to highlight what is at stake if these projects areallowed to build or expand throughout the region. Two areas were selected from the fifteen taluka of Chandrapur District to understand the circumstances of conflicts in both urban and rural settlements. The first is Urjanagar of Chandrapur Taluka, right outside the buffer of TATR and adjacent to mining sites, where wild-animals sightings have escalated in the last few years. Tigers (Panthera tigris) have started inhabiting close to human settlements as they have adopted the thorny bushes, being planted under CSR by mining industries, as their habitat. The second is Brahmapuri Taluka having the highest number of conflicts owing to its geography and a surge in the tiger population. Brahmapuri tiger corridors remain among the most disturbed in Chandrapur because of forest degradation. Open-ended interviews with the public- urban and rural, forest officials, NGOs, and media were conducted using a research + interview guide that had questions formed referring to basic principles of grounded theory. Along with interviews, participatory resource mapping activities were done using maps and photographs. Qualitative analysis was done to highlight the co-relationship between the various factors that positively or negatively affect the co-existence, using the software MAXQDA. Attitude and behaviour of people towards wildlife are highly affected by social factors rather than the realities of wildlife threats. Participatory land-use planning interventions and conflict management policies built upon existing tradition and culture, involving media and local people among other stakeholders to strengthen conservatory efforts, are recommended for encouraging coexistence. Reflecting on mitigation measures outside protected areas is important to address these crucial issues.