MITIGATING HUMAN-WILDLIFE CONFLICT BY RESTORING THE HARMONY BETWEEN HUMAN AND NATURE: A CASE STUDY OF ANAMALAI TIGER RESERVE, VALPARAI, TAMILNADU

Abstract

Human-wildlife conflicts are getting more and more frequent, intense and critical. People from the forest fringes are facing crises due to the continuous loss of lives, crop damage, property damage, livestock damage etc. as part of wildlife attacks. Long-standing conflicts between human and wildlife show that current centralized approaches and unilateral solutions are inadequate to understand and deal with the complex nature of the situation facing by both society and the wildlife. Conflicts can be successfully resolved using the integral approaches of modern techniques with the traditional knowledge of tribal and rural communities who have coexisted with wildlife for many years. The participation of such tribal communities and their traditional knowledge should be ensured throughout the mitigation strategies such as planning stages and their effective execution. Therefore, a conflict resolution approach that encompass decentralized forms of governance and mitigation measures for promoting coexistence between these two actors is needed, along with the formulation of strategies for resolving the existing conflicts between human and wildlife at the grassroots level. Getting people involved in such remedial practices is the only way to improve their reluctant and hostile attitudes toward wildlife and conservation. Thus, it is necessary to improve ties between tribal communities, local farmers, plantation employees, and the government authorities for unified approaches in finding effective solution for the human-wildlife conflicts. Some efforts to reduce human-wildlife conflict initiated by the local people are being practiced in conflict zones. A communityled initiative in the forest of Anamalai Tiger Reserve of Tamil Nadu is one such attempt to resolve the issue. Indigenous and low-cost dealing methods have been used to prevent wildlife invasion and attack which were initiated and practised by local farmers and tribal people. Such decentralized efforts are more efficient than the large-scale mitigation programs by the forest department and other agencies. The broken links of harmonious coexistence between human and nature were being explored to reconnect both of them in Valparai. In this context, a thorough investigation of human-wildlife conflict in the Valparai forest areas of Anamalai Tiger Reserve and the traditional mitigation approaches will improve the conflict mitigation strategies and methods. The purpose of this study is to explore how local communities can work together along with govt. officials and voluntary organizations to develop ideas and strategies for mitigating and resolving conflicts between people and wildlife while maintaining the harmony with the nature.