Man-animal conflicts in INDIA
The incidents that were rare in the past i.e 10 to 15 years ago are now coming to light
Not handling the man-animal conflicts now would lead to long-term losses of wildlife as well as human life and property,the media has also become active in this area now.Current conflicts receiving news coverage today are a gamut from repeated poaching of rhinoceros in Assam to widespread and erratic elephant migrations in eastern and southern India to the poaching of tigers and defenseless migratory birds. Even rare and endangered animal species kept and bred at zoological gardens are being targeted.Why are animal deaths and destruction, and loss of human life and property from man-animal conflicts taking such serious turn?
It is important to consider the following factor to answer the above question,
Post independence one of the important factor not taken into consideration was the expansion of protected areas.As a result, wildlife populations in different protected habitats are competing increasingly for space, food, water, mates and prime hunting grounds. The consequence was erratic migration and movement of these wildlife species into adjoining human habitation.Unmanaged and illegal human construction and habitation on these routes have greatly impacted erratic migration patterns.
Without proper social and economic development in forested belts and until appropriate support systems are made available, the conservation success of the late 1960s, 1970s and 1980s will start dying out in the new millennium. The symptoms are already showing, and it is not difficult to diagnose the root cause of the social unrest in these vulnerable areas. If we stop hiding our face from reality and face the crude and bitter truth, we could possibly start working toward rebuilding these areas and, thereby, protect the precious legacy and heritage of India’s legendary biodiversity
Tanmay Shinde SCIT MBA ITBM (2013-15)