Human-wildlife conflict and the likelihood of reporting losses in Nepal

All development indices are changing due to increased exploitation of nature and growing economies in developing countries. This situation may increase the intensity of conflict between humans and wild species, such as large carnivores. Despite the increasing intensity of human-wildlife conflicts an...

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Main Authors: Gita Bhushal, Bernabas Wolde, Pankaj Lal
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2024-03-01
Series:Trees, Forests and People
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666719324000207
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author Gita Bhushal
Bernabas Wolde
Pankaj Lal
author_facet Gita Bhushal
Bernabas Wolde
Pankaj Lal
author_sort Gita Bhushal
collection DOAJ
description All development indices are changing due to increased exploitation of nature and growing economies in developing countries. This situation may increase the intensity of conflict between humans and wild species, such as large carnivores. Despite the increasing intensity of human-wildlife conflicts and the existing compensation scheme that compensates for the loss, most losses to human-wildlife conflicts are not reported to authorities. Thus, this study was conducted in the Banke National Park of Nepal to explore possible factors influencing the propensity to report losses. All 197 surveyed participants reported suffering from crop raids by wild animals, and 80 respondents (40.60 %) reported livestock depredation. Results revealed that socio-economic factors, such as age (β = 1.99, SE = 1.61), gender (β = -0.56, SE = 0.28), employment (β = -1.10, SE = 0.68), family size (β = 1.54, SE = 0.54), and conflict with certain species including Bengal tiger (β = 0.48, SE 0.24), leopard (β = 0.92, SE 0.35), elephant (β = 0.58, SE 0.34), and monkey (β = 0.56, SE 0.27), were statistically significant at p values ≤ 0.01, ≤ 0.05, and ≤ 0.10, in influencing the likelihood of reporting a loss. Except for gender and employment, all other factors positively influenced the likelihood of reporting a loss. These findings could be considered while formulating/executing policy guidelines for compensation or any policy related to protected areas to improve reporting rates. This study can also initiate future studies in other protected or forested areas globally.
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spelling doaj.art-db925bd112ca42249867097718b3751e2024-03-01T05:07:36ZengElsevierTrees, Forests and People2666-71932024-03-0115100512Human-wildlife conflict and the likelihood of reporting losses in NepalGita Bhushal0Bernabas Wolde1Pankaj Lal2Corresponding author.; Montclair State University, New Jersey, USAMontclair State University, New Jersey, USAMontclair State University, New Jersey, USAAll development indices are changing due to increased exploitation of nature and growing economies in developing countries. This situation may increase the intensity of conflict between humans and wild species, such as large carnivores. Despite the increasing intensity of human-wildlife conflicts and the existing compensation scheme that compensates for the loss, most losses to human-wildlife conflicts are not reported to authorities. Thus, this study was conducted in the Banke National Park of Nepal to explore possible factors influencing the propensity to report losses. All 197 surveyed participants reported suffering from crop raids by wild animals, and 80 respondents (40.60 %) reported livestock depredation. Results revealed that socio-economic factors, such as age (β = 1.99, SE = 1.61), gender (β = -0.56, SE = 0.28), employment (β = -1.10, SE = 0.68), family size (β = 1.54, SE = 0.54), and conflict with certain species including Bengal tiger (β = 0.48, SE 0.24), leopard (β = 0.92, SE 0.35), elephant (β = 0.58, SE 0.34), and monkey (β = 0.56, SE 0.27), were statistically significant at p values ≤ 0.01, ≤ 0.05, and ≤ 0.10, in influencing the likelihood of reporting a loss. Except for gender and employment, all other factors positively influenced the likelihood of reporting a loss. These findings could be considered while formulating/executing policy guidelines for compensation or any policy related to protected areas to improve reporting rates. This study can also initiate future studies in other protected or forested areas globally.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666719324000207Buffer zoneCompensationCrop raidingLivestock depredationNepal
spellingShingle Gita Bhushal
Bernabas Wolde
Pankaj Lal
Human-wildlife conflict and the likelihood of reporting losses in Nepal
Trees, Forests and People
Buffer zone
Compensation
Crop raiding
Livestock depredation
Nepal
title Human-wildlife conflict and the likelihood of reporting losses in Nepal
title_full Human-wildlife conflict and the likelihood of reporting losses in Nepal
title_fullStr Human-wildlife conflict and the likelihood of reporting losses in Nepal
title_full_unstemmed Human-wildlife conflict and the likelihood of reporting losses in Nepal
title_short Human-wildlife conflict and the likelihood of reporting losses in Nepal
title_sort human wildlife conflict and the likelihood of reporting losses in nepal
topic Buffer zone
Compensation
Crop raiding
Livestock depredation
Nepal
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666719324000207
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