Guwahati: Human-elephant conflict(HEC) has become a perennial problem now for Assam with incidents happening frequently often catching officials and people off guard.
Most of the elephant habitats in the state are fragmented or intermingled with human-used lands. As a result, human-elephant conflict (HEC) has been increasing in the state. Each year, on average, 80 elephants and 70 humans die in the state because of conflict.
But do we know when and where it happens most so that policymakers can take steps to take mitigation measures?
Different methods have been adopted to identify conflict-affected areas, but none of the studies have tried to identify all the HEC-affected areas in the state.
“In the whole state of Assam, no attempt was made to understand and assess the spatial distribution of HEC, as it is difficult to cover all the areas within a limited study period. Keeping this drawback in mind, we propose a rapid appraisal approach for identifying conflict hotspots by using digital news, as media information is now very common and widely available due to the accessibility of the internet and the availability of local reporters. This study has immense significance for researchers and policymakers seeking to understand the locations of HEC-related conflicts and future mitigation measures” a study carried out by Nazimur Rahman Talukdar, Parthankar Choudhury and Firoz Ahmad says. The study has been published in the Biodiversity and Conservation journal.
“The study was conducted by using a new method where newspaper/media information was used as the primary source of information on human-elephant conflict (HEC). The information published in the news such as the location of HEC, and types of HEC (Crop damage, property damage, death and injury of humans and elephants) were collected from the published news (between 2018 and 2022). GPS of the HEC locations were subsequently collected from Google Maps. The GPS coordinates were later used for preparing a map of HEC in Assam. For the validity of the study, data from the forest department of Assam were compared for cross verification of the findings” Parthankar Choudhury, a co-author of the study who is Professor and Dean, E. P. Odum School of Environmental Science, Assam University, Silchar told EastMojo.
Conflict Hotspots
The study identified 216 villages in 17 districts of Assam that experienced HECs. However, the Udalguri, Goalpara, Sonitpur and Baksa districts always receive attention from the forest department, and conservation and research organizations because of the high frequency of conflict incidents. Improved connectivity and internet accessibility have drawn attention to the places with fewer HECs that were previously overlooked (e.g., HEC areas in Karimganj).
The highest number of villages was reported from Udalguri (28), followed by Goalpara (27), Sonitpur (26), Karbi Anglong (25), Nagaon (22), Baksa (21), Kamrup (13), Golaghat (10), Lakhimpur (8), Tinsukia (7), Sivasagar (6), Jorhat (5), Karimganj (5), Chirang (4), Majuli (4), Marigaon (3) and Dibrugarh (2).
The present study identified HEC-prone areas in Assam, which may be utilized to understand the site specificity of HEC. The study also highlighted that the peak of conflict occurs in October-November; thus, movement along elephant routes at night should be avoided to save lives.
When do conflicts occur
Farmers cultivate this crop in the monsoon which starts ripening in October. Elephants are attracted to paddy, wheat, etc., as readymade foods are available in their surroundings and parallel to food constraints in their habitats. Considering the monthly incidence during the study period, most of the incidents were reported in October (25.38%), followed by November (22.31%), September (10.76%) and December (10.0%). Approximately 78.94% of the HEC incidents occurred in the autumn and winter seasons, i.e., between October and January. Most of the reports highlighted crop and property damage-related raiding incidents (54.55%), followed by human death and injury (32.79%) and death of elephants (12.66%). The majority of elephant deaths (55.56%) occurred during the crop harvesting season.
Choudhury said the significance of the study is that similar methods can be used to assess, address and resolve conflict issues that are caused by other large mammals. “The identified areas should be given priority by the implementing agencies to mitigate HEC in the coming days,” he said.
The study says it is crucial to prioritize training local people and support them with equipment such as acoustic deterrents (like firecrackers or hitting metal objects) and light-based deterrents (such as spotlights) to effectively prevent Human-Elephant Conflict (HEC). Additionally, it is important to monitor the patterns of land use and land cover change in HEC hotspot areas to anticipate possible conflict scenarios and guide future planning.