Human wildlife conflict
Encyclopedia
Human-wildlife conflict refers to the interaction between wild animals
and people and the resultant negative impact on people or their resources, or wild animals or their habitat
. It occurs when wildlife needs overlap with those of human populations, creating costs to residents and wild animals.
In efforts to reduce human-wildlife conflict, WWF
has partnered with a number of organizations to provide solutions around the globe. Their solutions are tailored to the community and species involved. For example, in Mozambique
, communities started to grow more chili
plants after making the discovery that elephant
s don't like spicy foods. This creative and effective method prevents elephants from trampling community farmers' fields as well as protects the species.
Potential solutions include land use planning
, community-based natural resource
management (CBNRM), compensation, payment for environmental services, ecotourism
, wildlife friendly products, or other field solutions.
Wildlife
Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....
and people and the resultant negative impact on people or their resources, or wild animals or their habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
. It occurs when wildlife needs overlap with those of human populations, creating costs to residents and wild animals.
In efforts to reduce human-wildlife conflict, WWF
World Wide Fund for Nature
The World Wide Fund for Nature is an international non-governmental organization working on issues regarding the conservation, research and restoration of the environment, formerly named the World Wildlife Fund, which remains its official name in Canada and the United States...
has partnered with a number of organizations to provide solutions around the globe. Their solutions are tailored to the community and species involved. For example, in Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
, communities started to grow more chili
Chili pepper
Chili pepper is the fruit of plants from the genus Capsicum, members of the nightshade family, Solanaceae. The term in British English and in Australia, New Zealand, India, Malaysia and other Asian countries is just chilli without pepper.Chili peppers originated in the Americas...
plants after making the discovery that elephant
Elephant
Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
s don't like spicy foods. This creative and effective method prevents elephants from trampling community farmers' fields as well as protects the species.
Potential solutions include land use planning
Land use planning
Land-use planning is the term used for a branch of public policy encompassing various disciplines which seek to order and regulate land use in an efficient and ethical way, thus preventing land-use conflicts. Governments use land-use planning to manage the development of land within their...
, community-based natural resource
Natural resource
Natural resources occur naturally within environments that exist relatively undisturbed by mankind, in a natural form. A natural resource is often characterized by amounts of biodiversity and geodiversity existent in various ecosystems....
management (CBNRM), compensation, payment for environmental services, ecotourism
Ecotourism
Ecotourism is a form of tourism visiting fragile, pristine, and usually protected areas, intended as a low impact and often small scale alternative to standard commercial tourism...
, wildlife friendly products, or other field solutions.
Kinds
Human-wildlife conflict could occur in various forms. Some of them are- Crop damage
- Livestock depredation
- Injuries to people
- Loss of human life
- Damage to property
- Injuries to wildlife
- Animal deaths
- Destruction of habitat