CONSERVATION OF WILDLIFE THROUGH PARTICIPATORY MANAGEMENT OF HUMAN -WILDLIFE CONFLICT IN THE EASTERN PALAKKAD FOREST AREAS OF KERALA
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Date
2019
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COLLEGE OF VETERINARY AND ANIMAL SCIENCES POOKODE, WAYANAD
Abstract
A study on conservation of wildlife through participatory management of HumanWildlife Conflict (HWC) in the Eastern Palakkad forest areas was undertaken to assess the
socio-economic impact of HWC, analyse the attitude and perception of inhabitants of HWC
affected areas towards conservation of wild animals and identify the constraints in HWC
management and conservation of wild animals. Purposive sampling was used to select thirty
non-tribal and tribal conflict affected persons from each division of the Eastern Palakkad
forest circle of Kerala, which encompasses Mannarkkad, Nilambur North, Nilambur South,
Palakkad and Nenmara forest division. The data were collected through personal interview
method using a structured pre-tested interview schedule and using appropriate research tools.
It was found that majority (68.9 per cent) of the respondents were elderly and eighty per cent
of the non-tribal respondents had primary school to graduate education, whereas 56.67 per
cent of the tribal respondents were illiterate. Majority of the respondents were from nuclear
families. A majority (73.33 per cent) of the non-tribal respondents had in agriculture as their
primary occupation whereas most of the tribal respondents (86.67 per cent) were engaged in
petty jobs with honey and wood collection as their secondary occupation. Crop damage was
the major type of conflict reported by both categories of respondents who had adopted solar
fence as an effective method of mitigation. Majority of the non-tribal respondents had
adopted trench as an effective conflict mitigation measure. Both classes of respondents
perceived that without wildlife, it is not possible to enjoy the beauty of nature and
conservation of wildlife required more financial assistance from government and wildlife
conservation included scientific activities that protected the plants, animals and their habitats
from extinction. With regard to perception of respondents towards government compensation
programmes, both classes of respondents perceived the compensation received for the loss of
livestock as meagre; they found it very difficult to fill in compensation forms. With regards to
perception towards HWC, both classes of the respondents perceived nature as being
important on account of nature’s contribution to human aesthetic values, pleasure, and human
welfare. In the case of non-tribal respondents, they had a positive attitude towards
conservation of wildlife whereas most of the attitude of tribal respondents was moderate to
high level favorableness towards conservation of wildlife. Constraint analysis of participatory
management of HWCs revealed that water scarcity during the summer period and inadequate
food availability due to climate change and deforestation, shrinkage of grassland/pasture
land, lack of proper barriers (solar fence, trench) and proximity to forest land were important
that need issues to be addressed. Constraints in participatory management of conservation of
wildlife include lack of awareness, lack of training and inadequate financial support for
conservation. The study sheds light on the techniques of participatory management to be
adopted keeping in mind the important socio-psychological characteristic of people living in
close proximity to besides being a blue print for action and policy programmes of the future.