Conservation conflict in Nepal : An examination of the pattern and ecological dimension of human-wildlife conflict and wildlife conservation

Abstract

Human-wildlife conflict is recognized as one of the most challenging conservation issues worldwide. The problems have been compounded by unsustainable exploitation of forest areas to meet human needs that often contradict with needs of wildlife species. The problem is particularly acute where the mega-herbivore and charismatic carnivores such as tigers, rhinoceros, leopards, elephants and bears come into conflict with humans. These species have already suffered the highest shrinkage of habitat range. Consequently, conservation planning has evolved to consider multi-level approaches, while accounting for species-specific requirements, to maximize conservation outputs. Human-wildlife conflict, however, has remained unabated —even escalating in several previously unreported sites. The need to create an extensive forest landscape with no human intrusion and fragmentation has become increasingly evident, but in practice the aim to protect all areas of biological significance is unrealistic. The central focus of a conservation strategy should include an understanding of species-specific conflict patterns and their underlying mechanisms. The following summary of this cumulative dissertation presents key issues of wildlife conservation in the face of growing human-wildlife conflict at the landscape level. These issues included (a) the spatial and temporal pattern of human-wildlife conflict, (b) drivers of human-wildlife conflict, and (c) conservation of non-conflict species. The first part of the comprehensive summary provides the thematic context of three articles. This thematic context consists of the theoretical and empirical background associated with human-wildlife conflict, species conservation and management. It introduces human-wildlife conflict and wildlife conservation and presents the main terms and definitions. Then, a ‘framework of human-wildlife conflict and conservation’ focuses on three key issues: (a) pattern of human-wildlife conflict, (b) drivers of human-wildlife conflict, and (c) conservation in the face of conflict. The ‘conservation in the face of conflict’ provides short summaries of four candidate species studied in this dissertation. The second part of the comprehensive summary integrates the three articles that constitute the cumulative dissertation into the thematic context. The first article focuses on the nationwide pattern of human fatalities and injuries caused by attacks by Bengal tigers (Panthera tigris tigris), Asiatic elephants (Elephas maximus), one horned rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) and common leopards (Panthera pardus). The paper presents a pattern of wildlife-induced human death and injury over a five-year period, and examines the pattern by seasons, months and locations. The paper shows that while conservation is paying off, there is a growing trend of conservation conflict throughout country. The second paper examines the role of habitat requirements and forest fragmentation in creating human-wildlife conflict. The paper demonstrates that a large undisturbed forest is needed to reduce human-wildlife conflict although there are considerable variations between wildlife species. The third article focuses on the status of population recovery of gharials (Gavialis gangeticus) in Nepal. It shows that the gharial population is growing, but faces critical conservation challenges. The gharial populations are sex-biased and limited within a protected area system. Each article is presented with an abstract, followed by a discussion of the respective article in the thematic context, showing the implications and recommendations of the findings for the issues presented in the first part. Based on the results of the articles and their discussion in the thematic context, specific conclusions on the conservation in the face of conflict are drawn. The first part of the conclusion shows that human-wildlife conflict is pervasive and growing outside of protected areas. The second part shows that landscape-based protection is not panacea of all conservation problems of all species. There is a need for a multi-species focused conservation strategy to sustain the wildlife population throughout landscapes. The complete versions of the three articles, together with the comprehensive summary, constitute this cumulative dissertation.