Human-Wildlife Conflicts in Paschim Kusaha Village of Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, Sunsari District, Nepal

doi:10.5814/j.issn.1674-764x.2022.06.007

Abstract

Abstract:

Human-wildlife conflict has been one of the most trouble-causing issues in many areas of Nepal including Eastern Nepal. This study assessed the human-wildlife conflict status in Paschim Kusaha Village of Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve (KTWR), Sunsari District, Nepal. Data were collected from 47 respondents of different households through questionnaire surveys and formal and informal interviews. Results revealed that the most destructive wild animals were wild elephants, wild boar, and wild water buffalo and the most raided crops were paddy (63.83 %), maize (19.15%), and potato (17.02%). Most of the encounters between humans and wildlife were recorded at night (after dusk and before dawn) (78.72%). Local people were suffering from damage of physical properties, human harassment or nuisance, and depredation of cropland due to wild animals. A total of 70% of respondents had a positive attitude towards conservation despite disturbing human mortality records (22 deaths in the last five years) from the reserve area and surrounding. Awareness of wildlife behavior together with conservation and easy access to compensation schemes were suggested to minimize conflicts in the area.

Key words: adaptation measures, crop damage, human-wildlife conflict, people's perception

Deepa KARKI, Nabin POUDEL, Sweta DIXIT, Sijar BHATTA, Bharat GOTAME, Man Kumar DHAMALA, Dipak KHADKA. Human-Wildlife Conflicts in Paschim Kusaha Village of Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, Sunsari District, Nepal[J]. Journal of Resources and Ecology, 2022, 13(6): 1022-1029.

Figures/Tables 12

Fig. 1 Study area map of Paschim Kusaha Village of Sunsari District at Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve (KTWR)

Table 1 Demographic profile of respondent

Demographic parameter	Description	Total respondents	Percentage (%)
Age	16-30	9	19.14
	31-55	32	68.09
	Above 55	6	12.77
Sex	Male	17	36.17
Sex	Female	30	63.83
Education	Primary	12	25.53
	Secondary	5	10.64
	Higher Secondary	3	6.38
	Illiterate	27	57.45
Occupation	Agriculture	30	63.83
	Remittance	9	19.15
	Service	3	6.38
	Business	5	10.64

Fig. 2 Percentage of conflicts with different wild animals with wild elephant being the most encountered species

Fig. 3 Frequency of wild animals visit in the village

Fig. 4 The trend of HWC cases

Fig. 5 Time in which people encountered wild animals

Fig. 6 Major crop raided by wild animals

Fig. 7 Crop damage area reported by the respondents

Fig. 8 Number of death cases recorded within five years Note: Source: Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, 2020.

Fig. 9 Respondent's attitudes according to their education level towards conservation

Fig. 10 Mitigation measures applied by respondents

Fig. 11 People's perception of mitigation measures

References 46

[1]	Acharya K P, Paudel P K, Jnawali S R, et al. 2017. Can forest fragmentation and configuration work as indicators of human-wildlife conflict? Evidences from human death and injury by wildlife attacks in Nepal. Ecological Indicators, 80: 74-83. DOI URL
[2]	Acharya K P, Paudel P K, Neupane P R, et al. 2016. Human-wildlife conflicts in Nepal: Patterns of human fatalities and injuries caused by large mammals. Plos One, 11(9): 1-18.
[3]	Aryal K, Dhungana R, Silwal T. 2021. Understanding policy arrangement for wildlife conservation in protected areas of Nepal. Human Dimensions of Wildlife, 26(1): 1-12. DOI URL
[4]	Banikoi H, Thapa S, Bhattarai N, et al. 2017. Mitigating human-wildlife conflict in Nepal: A case study of fences around Chitwan National Park. ICIMOD working paper. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.33992.83207. DOI
[5]	Barnes R F W. 2002. Treating crop-raiding elephants with aspirin. Pachyderm, 33: 96-99.
[6]	Barua M, Bhagwat S A, Jadhav S. 2013. The hidden dimensions of human-wildlife conflict: Health impacts, opportunity and transaction costs. Biological Conservation, 157: 309-316. DOI URL
[7]	Bhatta M, Joshi R. 2020. Analysis of human-wildlife conflict in Buffer Zone Area: A case study of Shuklaphanta National Park, Nepal. Grassroots Journal of Natural Resources, 3(3): 28-45.
[8]	Bhattarai B R, Fischer K. 2014. Human-tiger (Panthera tigris) conflict and its perception in Bardia National Park, Nepal. Oryx, 48(4): 522-528. DOI URL
[9]	Dhakal K R. 2020. Human-wildlife conflicts: The case of Chitwan National Park and buffer zone people in Nepal. American Journal of Zoology, 3(4): 65-71.
[10]	Fernando P, Wikramanayake E, Weerakoon D, et al. 2005. Perceptions and patterns of human-elephant conflict in old and new settlements in Sri Lanka: Insights for mitigation and management. Biodiversity and Conservation, 14(10): 2465-2481. DOI URL
[11]	Ghimire P. 2019. Analysis of human wildlife conflict in buffer zone area: A study from Chitwan National Park, Nepal. International Journal of Natural Resource Ecology and Management, 4(6): 164-172. DOI URL
[12]	Hedges S, Gunaryadi D. 2010. Reducing human-elephant conflict: Do chillies help deter elephants from entering crop fields? Oryx, 44(1): 139-146. DOI URL
[13]	Hoare R E. 1999. Determinants of human-elephant conflict in a land-use mosaic. Journal of Applied Ecology, 36(5): 689-700. DOI URL
[14]	Jnawali S R, Baral H S, Lee S, et al. 2011. The status of Nepal's mammals: The national red list series. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN.
[15]	Joshi G, Neupane B, Dahal D, et al. 2020. Assessment of human-wildlife conflict in Kailali District of Nepal. Journal of Animal Diversity, 2(3): 24-36. DOI URL
[16]	Karanth K K, Nepal S K. 2012. Local residents perception of benefits and losses from protected areas in India and Nepal. Environmental Management, 49(2): 372-386. DOI PMID
[17]	Karanth K K, Vanamamalai A. 2020. Wild seve: A novel conservation intervention to monitor and address human-wildlife conflict. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 8: 198. DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2020.00198. DOI URL
[18]	Kioko J, Muruthi P, Omondi P, et al. 2008. The performance of electric fences as elephant barriers in Amboseli, Kenya. African Journal of Wildlife Research, 38(1): 52-58.
[19]	König H J, Kiffner C, Kramer-Schadt S, et al. 2020. Human-wildlife coexistence in a changing world. Conservation Biology: The Journal of the Society for Conservation Biology, 34(4): 786-794. DOI PMID
[20]	KTWR. 2018. Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve and its Buffer Zone Management Plan (2074/75-2078/79). Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve Office, Paschim Kushaha, Sunsari, Nepal.
[21]	Kusi N, Sillero-Zubiri C, Macdonald D W, et al. 2020. Perspectives of traditional Himalayan communities on fostering coexistence with Himalayan wolf and snow leopard. Conservation Science and Practice, 2(3). https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.165.
[22]	Limbu K P, Karki T. 2003. Park-people conflict in Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve. Our Nature, 1(1): 15-18. DOI URL
[23]	Limbu K P. 1997. An assessment of crop depredation and human harassment due to wild animals in Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, Diss., Kathmandu, Nepal: Tribhuvan University.
[24]	Madhusudan M D. 2003. Living amidst large wildlife: Livestock and crop depredation by large mammals in the interior villages of Bhadra Tiger Reserve, South India. Environmental Management, 31(4): 466-475. PMID
[25]	Megaze A, Balakrishnan M, Belay G. 2017. Human-wildlife conflict and attitude of local people towards conservation of wildlife in Chebera Churchura National Park, Ethiopia. African Zoology, 52(1): 1-8. DOI URL
[26]	Nath C, Sukumar R. 1998. Elephant-Human conflict in Kodagu, Southern India: Distribution patterns, people's perception and mitigation methods. Asian Elephant Conservation Centre. Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Sciences, Bangalore, India.
[27]	Neupane B, Budhathoki S, Khatiwoda B. 2018. Human-elephant conflict and mitigation measures in Jhapa District, Nepal. Journal of Forest and Livelihood, 16 (1): 103-112. DOI URL
[28]	Neupane D, Johnson R L, Risch T S. 2013. Temporal and spatial patterns of human-elephant conflict in Nepal. 2013 International Elephant & Rhino Conservation & Research Symposium Proceedings, Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium. Pittsburg, USA: 1-11.
[29]	Ogra M, Badola R. 2008. Compensating human-wildlife conflict in protected area communities: Ground-Level perspectives from Uttarakhand, India. Human Ecology, 36(5): 717-729. DOI URL
[30]	Ogra M. 2008. Human-Wildlife conflict and gender in protected area border Borderlands: A case study of costs, perceptions and vulnerabilities from Uttarakhand (Uttaranchal) India. Geoforum, 39(3): 1408-1422. DOI URL
[31]	Pokharel M, Aryal C. 2020. Human-wildlife conflict and its implication for conservation at Sundarpur, Udayapur, Eastern Nepal. International Journal of Environment, 9(2): 217-233. DOI URL
[32]	Pudasaini S. 2020. An assessment on human-wildlife conflict in Ward 2, Banepa of Kavrepalanchok District, Nepal. Diss., Kathmandu, Nepal: Tribhuvan University
[33]	Shah D N, Khana1 S, Singh N B. 2021. Addressing patterns of human-wildlife conflict in Sunsari District of Nepal.: Academic Journal of Research and Scientific Publishing, 2(21): 1-22.
[34]	Sharma B K. 1995. An assessment of crop damage by wild animals and depredation of the wildlife due to local people's activities in Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, Diss., Kathmandu, Nepal: Tribhuvan University.
[35]	Shrestha R. 2007. A case study on human-wildlife conflict in Nepal: With particular reference to human-elephant conflict in eastern and western Terai Regions: 1-63.
[36]	Siljander M, Kuronen T, Johansson T, et al. 2020. Primates on the farm- spatial patterns of human-wildlife conflict in forest-agricultural landscape mosaic in Taita Hills, Kenya. Applied Geography, 117: 102-185.
[37]	Soti J M. 1995. An assessment of crop depredation due to wildlife in the neighborhood of Shivapuri Watershed and Wildlife Reserve, Diss., Kathmandu, Nepal: Tribhuvan University.
[38]	Studsord J E, Wegge P. 1995. Park people relationships: A case study of damage caused by park animals around the Royal Bardia National Park, Nepal. Environmental Conservation, 22(2): 132-142.
[39]	Subedi P, Joshi R, Poudel B, et al. 2020. Status of human-wildlife conflict and assessment of crop damage by wild animals in buffer zone area of Banke National Park, Nepal. Asian Journal of Conservation Biology, 9(2): 196-206.
[40]	Sukumar R. 1989. The Asian elephant: Ecology and management, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press: 109-173.
[41]	Sukumar R. 1990. Ecology of the Asian elephant in southern India: Feeding habits and crop-raiding patterns. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 6(1): 33-53. DOI URL
[42]	Thapa S. 2010. Effectiveness of crop protection methods against wildlife damage: A case study of two villages at Bardia National Park, Nepal. Crop Protection, 29(11): 1297-1304. DOI URL
[43]	Timsina T B, Ranjitkar P. 2014. Factors influencing human wildlife conflict in communities around protected area-the case of Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve in Eastern Nepal. International Journal of Scientific Research and Reviews, 3(1): 200-213.
[44]	Tshewang U, Tobias M C, Morrison J G. 2021. Non-violent techniques for human-wildlife conflict resolution in Bhutan: Conservation and environmental protection in the Himalayas. Springer: 71-153.
[45]	Upreti B N. 1985. The park-people interface in Nepal. Kathmandu, Nepal: KMTNC and ICIMOD.
[46]	Woodroffe R, Thirgood S, Rabinowitz A. 2009. The future of coexistence: Resolving human-wildlife conflicts in a changing world. In: Woodroffe R, Thirgood S, Rabinowitz A. (eds.) People and wildlife. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press: 388-405.