Man Animal Conflict On The Rise

                                                                 

 Man wildlife conflict is on the rise  In  chandrapur district man animal has alredy been increased since 2oo5. It has heightened in 2010-2011 to 21 human deaths in chandrapur district. Now it is turn of bhandara gondia belt. . In Bhandara one shepherd from Chandori in Bhandara district was killed and eaten on 17-02-2012 on the bank of Chandori Tank. Similarly one fuel wood collector was killed in Ghanod village in sakoli taluka of district Bhandara district. on 14-01-2012 by bear. In Chandrapur village of Bhandra district 1 bear was poached for genital parts on 14-04-2010 where as two blue bulls were poached in lakhani Taluka in Bhandara district by people..Five iron tiger traps were laid by poachers from katni in the FDCM Bhandara forest area which were recovered on 05-05-2007. Katni poachers are very cruel in tiger poaching. After traping tigers in iron trap they insert pointed bamboo through mouth and take it out from behind to kill it.

  In Chandrapur district at Zaran Tiger was electrocuted on 23-01-2012, where as one Tiger was killed by accident near Lohara nursery near chandrapur. A farmer was killed and eaten by tigers and her two clubs in Kawatha Kheda near Pandharkawada in yavatmal district. In Bothbahattar on outskirts of Tipeshwar sanctuary one tiger was wiretrapped on 18^th December 2011. Where as one tiger was trapped in Gosikhurd canal in Tasgaon near Bhiwapur in Nagpur district on 12 October 2011 where as it was released in Forest with collar on 27^th November 2011. One pregnant female Tiger was trapped in open canal near Kathalabodi near Kalmeshwar on 7^th February 2011 and delivered 3 dead cubs due to heavy impact. However survived female was released in Forest on 14 February 2011. In Chandrapur village of Bhandra district 1 bear was poached for genital parts on 14-04-2010 where as two blue bulls were poached in lakhani Taluka in Bhandara district by people..Five iron tiger traps were laid by poachers from katni in the FDCM Bhandara forest area which were recovered on 05-05-2007. Katni poachers are very cruel in tiger poaching. After traping tigers in iron trap they insert pointed bamboo through mouth and take it out from behind to kill it. Most of the wild life animal poaching is carried out by electrocution and poisioning waterhole with urea.

Main causes of human wild life conflict are due to natural and biological reasons. Natural reasons of wild life menace is due to sex related wild animal behavior, advance climatic conditions, biology of animals, Social and learned behavior of wild animal. Another main reason for conflict is man made which includes insufficient prey base, wild life habitat loss, poverty, increase in human & cattle population, over exploitation of Forest, illicit cutting and poaching, wrong agricultural practices. Forest cover, density, soil and moisture, biodiversity, climate is affected due to illicit felling, encroachment, fire, grazing resulting in fragmentation of forest affecting corridor for wild life. Creation of roads, railways have broken the corridor of wildlife like National Highway On national high way No. 6 in 2009 one wild boar, one sloth bear, two deers and in 2010 four wild boars died due to accidents by vehicles.Wild life corridors were broken due to roads canals and deforestations .It will cause inbreeding in wildlife and increase in of man wild life conflict. So corridor development programme should be undertaken on priority. Removal of encroachment in and around protected area is urgently needed . In 2002 encroachment of 84 ha. of land in Pench National Park and 200 ha. in Bor sanctuary were removed  durig my tenure in in wildlife divisin. After 9 years, it converted in Meadows with grass and fodder plants with development of corridors.

In Maharashtra tiger population has increased to 169 in 2010 due to good conservation and protection methods. Tiger and other wild animal population is increasing in Maharashtra as compared to other states. There is dense growth of bamboo in Tadoba. However research on increased density of forest cover and its impact on habitat of wild animal is to be studied.Moreover research should be done for modifications in wildlife management in view of change of environment,habitat and behavioural pattern of wildlife Spill over population of tigers and other animals in near about area of sanctuary, National Park create menace to human population. Commercial plantation area around Nagzira acting as buffer zone to spill over population.

There should be long term and short term measures to tackle human wild life conflict. In long term measures includes Shifting and relocation of villages from protected area, Habitat development for wild life, soil and moisture conservation, encroachment removal, grass, fodder and fruit plantations, deep trenches and stone walls around villages, solar fencing, change of crop pattern, increase in protected area up to 5% of the total Forest area. Intensive cattle management development should be implemented at large scale so that less milk producing cattle should be replaced by hybrid cattle’s and their number is limited. In lieu of decrease of non forest area of Great Indian Bustard wild life sanctuary, Nanaj in Solapur and Ahmednagar district out of total 8496 ha. another sanctuaries should be declared in Maharashtra.  Sanitation and garbage disposal around human habitation should be improved so that dogs, cattle’s, pigs are kept under control. Toilet facilities in rural area should be provided to avoid accidental encounter with wild life. Closed cattle shed should be constructed in the forest and protected area. Meadows and natural and artificial water sources should be developed on large scale. Village ecodevelopment plan should be implemented on largescale in and around the protected area to provide infrastructure development and provide jobs to locals. It will compensate the huge loss of mandays due to declaration of new sanctuaries and national parks.Rehabitation of villages in protected area should be given utmost importance .compensations to the injured ,death of human being and killing of cattles by carnivores should be paid in stipulated time.

. Awareness campaign to protect wild life importance of conservation code and conduct in forest, capacity buildings of state holders, forest officers should be carried out at root level though Pamphlets,  TV, Radio, Gramsabha, debate, rallies, work shop, appointment of wild life friend or volunteer from local communities. Compassion, mercy, love and importance of wild life, conservation attitude should be developed among masses by creating desire to conserve wild life. Behavioral science of wild life, do and don’t do in forest and wild life should be taught to the people and how to keep distance from the wild life and allow them natural space they required. Active participation of all stake holders in the planning and implementation of conflict mitigation measures and wild life management should be undertaken. Harshwardhan Dhanwate and Poonam Dhanwate of Tiger Research And Conservation Trust (TRACT) have undertaken corridor conservation programme in Chandrapur landscape. They have created network of 79 villages, in Chandrapur and Bramhapuri district and carried out capacity building of 500 villagers and forest officers for conflict mitigation and wild life management and monitoring of carnivores by tracking and camera trapping. It resulted in to sudden drop of human death by wild life conflict.

Primary response team at each village should be formed which consists of forest friends or volunteer, form local Panchayat which are trained in conflict mitigation at first instance. They will help in crowd management and emotional out burst of people on wild life attack. Emergency Response Team consists of forest officers, Veterinary doctor and five supporting members. Facilities of tranquilization gun, medicine, trapping cage, rope, pulley and ladder should be mode available to emergency response team. Setting of a central conflict mitigation command centre with 24 hours helpline facilities should be created at state level. Which directs animal rescue team and immobilization units.

So in brief Integrated approach of wild life management with changed circumstances, conflict avoidance, corridor development, soil and moisture conservation, meadow development, alternative crop pattern, strict adherence and implementation of wild life protection Act 1972, training the staff in wild life conflict management, creation of primary response team, emergency response team, central conflict mitigation command centre can mitigate human wild life conflict to certain extent & save wild life for future and conserve biodiversity and climatic change.