Villagers mourn the killing of a young boy by a leopard near Kutta in Karnataka’s Kodagu district. , Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
IIn recent years, Karnataka has been grappling with an increase in human-animal conflicts, which has brought to the fore issues of wildlife and forest protection and raised questions about the state’s response. Earlier this month, a 70-year-old man belonging to the Jenu Kuruba community and his 12-year-old grandson were killed in separate tiger attacks on the border of Nagarhole National Park near Kutta in Kodagu district.
According to the Forest Department, during 2020-21, 24,740 cases related to crop damage by wild animals were reported; 3,019 cases of cattle deaths; And 36 people have died in the state. The total compensation awarded in all the cases was ` 21.64 crore. The cases of crop damage by wild animals increased to 31,225 in 2021-22; The number of cattle killed rose to 4,052; Another 40 deaths were reported. The compensation paid is in excess of ₹ 27.4 crore. In the current year, more than ₹20 crore has already been paid as compensation. And once the pending applications are processed, this figure is expected to cross ₹40 crore.
The cost of the conflict, both in terms of deaths and crop damage, is being borne by people living at the edge of the forest and in villages. This means there may be less local support for wildlife conservation. To address this, the authorities have thought of mitigation plans to reduce conflicts. These include breaking down rail fences in villages bordering forests, and relocating elephants and tigers from conflict zones.
Following an increase in man-leopard conflict in south Karnataka, where four human deaths occurred in the course of a few months in T. Narasipura taluk of Mysuru district, the forest department is now working on the idea of creating two or three separate enclosures. or rescue center. Each of these will have the capacity to house 250 leopards that have been tranquilized and captured in conflict zones. Around 130 leopards have been captured from conflict zones in Karnataka between April 2022 and January this year; This figure is only expected to go up.
The study by conservation biologist Sanjay Gubbi and his team suggests that the leopard population in the state is around 2,500. They point out that more than 50% of human-leopard conflicts occur in five districts – Ramanagara, Tumakuru, Mandya, Mysuru and Hassan.
Although mitigation initiatives are essential, some believe they only address the symptoms and not the cause. This is because the increase in conflicts and increase in human deaths are believed to be a direct result of the government’s conservation measures on the one hand and development policies on the other, which are at odds with each other. As a result, the environment becomes smaller.
When the wildlife population was increasing due to conservation measures, the forest cover should have been expanded by creating a buffer zone. Such areas could serve as sinks to absorb increases in animal populations and provide connectivity for animal migration. But the reverse happened in Karnataka. Forests have either shrunk or been disturbed by government sanctioning of infrastructure projects by diverting forest land for non-forestry purposes.
Between 2020-21 and 2021-22, when man-animal conflict reached a new high, more than 450 hectares of forest land was diverted for 39 projects including mining, road construction, irrigation, windmills and railway lines. The total land area under forest cover in 2012-13 was 43,356.47 km² or 22.61% of the state’s land area. In 2021-22 it has reduced to 4,0591.97 sq km or 21.16% of the land area.
Conservationists argue that plantations and the purchase of forest areas adjacent to land can increase and strengthen buffer zones and help reduce conflicts. But instead of protecting the forests, the existing forest land is being diverted for other reasons. The government has also opposed the Union Environment Ministry’s notification on ecologically sensitive areas in the Western Ghats that could help protect the green belt. Last year, it had denotified 6.5 lakh hectares of deemed forest. If such policies, which are harmful to the environment, are not reversed, the mitigation measures to reduce the conflicts will be rendered ineffective and man-animal conflicts will increase in days to come.