Tracts of agricultural and forest land intersperse at the Terai landscape in Uttar Pradesh, making it a hotspot of human‒wildlife conflict. The region at the Himalayan foothills had reported a high number of wildlife attacks in the past, especially involving large carnivores, triggering intense friction between big cats and local communities.
But a consistent and community-based programme by Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) has yielded admirable results and according to officials, the model can be customised for other species such as elephants and bears and implemented in States like Kerala.
“The most integral part of it is uninterrupted sensitisation and only such measures can be sustained in the long run. Relocating is not always possible and preferable, so we used a scientific approach to identify and reduce the drivers of conflict. Following the launch of the programme in 2012, there was a sharp dip in human deaths and injuries with cases falling from 12 per year to four. After Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and West Bengal, we have now launched the programme in Wayanad,” says Anil Kumar Nair, coordinator and project head.
