Chapter I Introduction

The Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) is a keystone species in India with a estimated population of 23,500 to 27,000 wild elephants ranging over 200,000 km2 (Kemf and Santiapillai, 2005). With more than 35% of the elephants of the country, the northeast region has an important place in the management of elephants in India. In fact, Assam alone accounts for more elephants than Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia or any other country in Asia. The northeast also contributes about 37% of total elephant habitats and 35% of the recorded elephant corridor in the country (Bist, 2005). The state of Assam is known as the key conservation region of Asian elephant (Stracy, 1963; Gee, 1964; LahiriChoudhury, 1980; Santiapillai & Jackson, 1990; Choudhury, 1991, 1997 and 1999; Bist, 2002) with the elephant population of about 5200 as assessed in the year 2005. However, the Asian Elephants (Elephas maximus), became an endangered species which has been listed in schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Animal in 1976, the member nation to the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) listed the Asian elephants an Appendix I species- a status that allows no commercial trade. The Asian elephant has disappeared from its past ranges and are facing extreme crisis primarily because of human interference to its habitat. Habitat destruction, poaching has further pushed the species into the brink of extinction elsewhere across its range. The conflict with human has emerged as one of the major issues that may threaten the very existence of the species recently. The situation has worsened in the last two decades or so after the mass destruction ofPage | 1A herd of elephants in Soala Beel in Agoratoli range of Kaziranga.

natural habitat. In Assam, the elephants are in real dilemmas to survive because of conflict. The current state of human elephant conflict in Assam is on the rise day by day largely because of encroachment of forested area by people, indiscriminate felling of trees and clearing of forest land In the name of development, fragmentation of their habitat due to construction of railway lines, setting up of villages, etc. Golaghat district situated in central Assam is one of the highly affected districts from human-elephant conflict. Large areas are cleared for establishment of tea gardens in Golaghat. Conflict with wild elephants have become a regular cause of concern, damaging standing crops, raiding villages for food, damaging houses and sometimes even taking human lives. The present status of elephants in Golaghat is in complete contrast to its glorious past. From the population of more than 500 (excluding Kaziranga National Park) in 1973 it has declined to about 160-190 at present. Another issue of great concern with regard to Golaghat and its adjoining areas is the loss of primary elephant habitats and subsequent encroachments and alteration of forest land. Out of 1037.94 km2 hectare of forest areas in 1872 (excluding Kaziranga national park) almost 85% are encroached and deforested to date. Therefore the elephants are forced to come out of the jungles and roaming in the forest fringe villages and tea gardens for foods and shelter. This results in gradual increase in human-elephant conflict in those areas. The areas with maximum deforestation are also the ones having maximum human-elephant conflict. So, many cases of death of both human and elephant and damage of crops and household properties by elephants reported from this part every year (Talukdar et al., 2007). Further, Talukdar et al., (2007) mentioned about the significant changes in habitat alteration. He concluded that during 20052006 on the basis of Satellite Imagery path 113, row 53 with IRS 1D, LISS-III, the total remaining area of forest cover is 63.89 km 2 out of total land cover 3587.63 km2. The rate of forest decline is very high and it poses serious threat to the survival of Asian elephant. This study aims to find out the frequently disturbed areas in Golaghat where people and wildlife confrontation occur on a regular basis and have taken a

Page | 2

massive form with each passing day. Again I attempted to look at the peoples perception towards recovering the degraded sites. This study will provide baseline information which will be beneficial for wildlife managers to conserve and protect the species in a proper way.

The area of Golaghat was covered by a considerable amount of forest before the last three decades. But due to excessive clearing of forest area for establishing tea gardens and also for agricultural farmlands, these forested areas have vanished over time. This further accelerated the conflict between the human dwellings near the areas and the animals which enter human settlement in search of food. The study was done mainly upon human elephant confrontations in some areas of Golaghat district so as to find out ways to mitigate this problem. Objectives: The major objectives were: 1. To identify degraded localities and areas of conflict and its causes. 2. To assess the cause of conflict. 3. Assessment of past and present economic impact caused by the conflict on the local people. 4. To assess local people perception towards the wildlife conflicts and ways to mitigate these problems.

Page | 3

Chapter II Review literatures

According to the 2003 IUCN World Park Congress, Human-Wildlife Conflict (HWC) occurs when wildlife requirements overlap with those of human populations, creating costs both to residents and wild animals. HWC has been in existence for as long as humans have existed and wild animals and people have shared the same landscapes and resources. The fossil record shows that the first hominids fell prey to the animals with which they shared their habitats and shelters. For instance, forensic evidence has recently shown that the Taung skull, perhaps the most famous hominid fossil which was discovered in South Africa in 1924, came from a child killed by an eagle two million years ago (Berger and Clarke, 1995; Berger, 2006).

There are four different situations when wild animals can come into conflict with humans: (i) (ii) (iii) Direct threat to human life Destruction of property by wild animals Direct competition for forage between domestic livestock and wild herbivores (iv) Damage of agricultural crops by wild animals.

The humanwildlife conflict comes in the way of conservation programmers as it affects the support of local communities (Lahm 1996; Thou less 1994; Williams et al. 2001). Mega herbivores such as elephants require large quantities of food and space to support their population, which inevitably brings them into conflict with expanding human population. Loss and fragmentation of elephant habitat leads to elephants moving out of the forests and subsequent frequent interactions with humans, which further exacerbates conflict. Traditional movement routes of elephants may be blocked within a short period of time due to deforestation and conversion of forestland to other land uses (Datta-Roy, Ved andPage | 4

William, 165) such as agriculture and infrastructure. Increased proximity to agricultural fields also leads to crop raiding which is the primary reason for HEC in most parts of the elephants habitat in Africa & Asia (Barnes et al. 1995; de Silva 1998; Santiapillai & Widodo 1993; Sukumar & Gadgil 1988; Thouless 1994; Williams et al. 2001). Other causes of HEC are destruction of food stores, human deaths, livestock deaths and competition for water. Its immediate negative effects on people and animals are followed by progressively worse confrontations, which can lead to casualties on both sides and negatively affect levels of wildlife to lerance in local communities. Human-elephant conflict poses a considerable threat to the population of the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) that is already on the brink of extinction due to poaching for ivory, habitat loss and fragmentation. The extensive alteration of elephant habitat by human population is forcing the species to confine themselves into small pockets of land that are connected only by human settlements. Wherever humans live in the vicinity of wildlife habitats, there will be some degree of conflict, often leading due to the death of elephants Approximately 11,000 of the estimated 25,000 to 27,000 wild Asian Elephants of India occur in the North East alone. In 2001- 02, a spate of poisonings shook the conservation world. It is indeed a distressing fact that it took the deaths of at least 22 elephants to draw attention to a problem that is not limited only to the Northeast but widespread across the elephant distribution range. While government, organizations and individuals are on the international battlefield fighting the resumption of the ivory trade, the threat of escalating human-elephant conflict is a reality that is becoming more daunting day-by-day. If there was ever a time to review our conservation strategies and take a resilient stand, the time is now. A precedent has been set, elephants were killed, no person was charged, and encroachment is occurring blatantly with no seeming political will to stop it. This report has shown an area in India where the famed tolerance has eroded changing the elephant from Lord Ganesha to Osama Bin Laden. Unless conflict situations such as this are prevented by quick, pro-active solutions to the problems of those living in proximity to wildlife, the attitude of people will necessarily change. And the losers of such a change would be the wildlife of the area, elephants being a prominent example of this. (Vivek Menon, Nidhi Gureja, Prabal Sarkar and Sunil Subba Kyarong)Page | 5

The Asian Elephant, Elephas maximus, is at high risk for its survival because of large scale ivory poaching, fragmentation and degradation of its habitat. This has been conferred by listing the elephant in Schedule 1 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, endangered in the IUCN Red List and Appendix 1 of the CITES. India is the only country, which has the largest surviving population of elephants. There are at least 21,000-25,000 wild elephants still left in the country. The distribution of wild elephants in India can be described under four regions-northern, northeastern, central and southern India (Sukumar, 1986). The northeastern region houses high biodiversity that has become part of a global biodiversity hotspot. The estimated population of elephants is about 11,000, the largest in the Indian subcontinent (Choudhury 1999). One large population of 3800-5800 elephants ranges along the Himalayan foothills from northern West Bengal, eastward through Assam touching southern Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh and Manas National Park is the key conservation area in this landscape (Sukumar & Santiapillai 1996; Santiapillai & Jackson 1990).( Conservation and Monitoring of Asian elephants through continued involvement and capacity building of local communities around in Chirang Ripu elephant reserve including Manas World Heritage Site, Talukdar, B.K., B.P. Lahkar, N.K. Nath and N. Brahma. 2007 ) The success of conservation efforts on communal land hinges upon the relationship between people and wildlife. Many people in rural areas incur the costs of living with wildlife without receiving any benefit from the relationship. As long as humans and elephants live in proximity and share resources, particularly habitat and water, rights for both users to access these resources have to be protected and managed. Currently, human populations are expanding into what was once traditionally elephant habitat. In turn, there are some regions where elephant populations are also increasing, resulting in competition for limited resources and thus conflicts over resources are on the rise. As a result of an expanding elephant/human interface in Africa and India, many elephants have habituated to elephant deterrent strategies such as drum beating, fire, trenching and even shooting in the air, methods that were traditionally successful for discouraging elephants from entering fields. Elephants often become aggressive towards farmers who try to prevent them from entering fields, leaving the farmersPage | 6

too afraid to chase problem elephants as they had done in the past. Where traditional methods of deterring elephants have failed some countries have initiated such solutions as selective culling, translocation, electrical fencing and other more advanced elephant crop-raiding deterrent measures. In addition, some countries have designed land use policy to give farmers rights to manage wildlife within conservancies, giving them jurisdiction over wildlife on these lands and the revenues generated from activities involving wildlife as a resource. The success of all of these measures depends on complex factors attributed to the socioecological status of elephants and the socio-economic and political human environment unique to each case that will be reviewed in this presentation.( The status of elephant/ human conflict and mitigation programs throughout their range Caitlin OConnell-Rodwell Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305) Conflicts between wildlife and humans, if left unchecked, are likely to increase and threaten the remaining populations of wildlife species unless measures to enhance public support for conservation efforts are undertaken. Education can play an important role in reducing the conflicts if proper communication strategies along with management interventions are adopted. The places where the conflicts are likely to occur such as villages and towns around national parks and wildlife sanctuaries need attention. Regions where there has been a history of human-animal conflict, for instance with leopards in Uttaranchal, or elephants in states like Orissa, West Bengal, and Assam to name a few, will benefit if conservation education programmers combined with effective

communication techniques are designed and implemented.

Page | 7

Chapter III Study area

Study Area: Golaghat district of Assam 3.1. General view: Golaghat 255048N 265835N and 941424E 931911E district to Latitudes to Longitudes

is situated in between

in central Assam (Fig-1). Nambor Reserve Forest, which is partly situated in Golaghat and KarbiAnglong, is the oldest elephant was habitat declared that asMap 1: Study area

Reserve forest in the

year of 1872. There are lots of hot water spring viz. Garampani, Barpung, Fatasil waterfall which are serving as source of drinking water and bathing places for wild elephants. The forest of Golaghat and adjacent district of Karbi-Anglong represents a key landscape for elephant habitats that was represented by seven Reserve Forest, viz. Diphu, Rengma, Doyang, Nambor North, Nambor South, Upper Doigurung and Lower Doigurung covering an area of 308.89 km2. (Excluding Kaziranga National park).

3.2. Climate: The climate of Golaghat is tropical with a hot and humid weather prevailing throughout the summer and monsoon seasons. The total average annual rainfall in this district is 1300 mm (Data source: Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat).Page | 8

3.3. Forest type: Forests are semi evergreen dominated by tall trees and also by grasses like elephant grass and trees like sal, gamhar, elephant apple, Trewia nudiflora , Chukrasua tabularis , Ficus spp. Etc (Talukdar et al, 2007).

3.4. Soil: Basically, the soil of Golaghat is of two types which are: Hill soil: This may further be divided intored sandy soils and red loamy soils. The former is very deep and well drained, brownish to yellowish in color, strongly to moderately acidic with high organic content, while the latter is very deep, dark grayish brown to yellowish red and fine to coarse in structure. Red loamy soils are slightly to moderately acidic and these lack in nitrogen, phosphoric acid, humus and lime. Lateritic soil: These soils are dark and finely texture with heavy loams and deficient in nitrogen, potash, phosphoric acid and lime.

3.5. People: The people of Golaghat are mostly agriculture oriented. Tea, sugarcane and paddy are the chief crops grown in this region. The majority of the people reside in the rural areas. The chief religion is Hinduism while in the tea garden areas the prevalent religion is Christianity. Islam is also seen to be followed in some parts of Golaghat.

Page | 9

ChapterIV Methodology

Initially, a framework has been designed with the discussion with local experts and researchers at Aaranyak, working in the landscape. Questionnaire were designed to extract maximum information on conflict and degraded sited and were executed across the study site at a local scale. Seven sites were selected which are degraded and potentially restorable and each sites were visited twice for interviewing the local inhabitants. Information on human elephant conflict, history of degradation and peoples attitude were collected scientifically. The survey was carried out using a rapid vehicle survey (RVS) using a two wheeler. My team consisted of me and a field assistant who is a resident of Golaghat district itself. We travelled to the respective places and after reaching the desired location we travelled inside on foot. The location and the elevation of the area was recorded using G.P.S. device manufactured by GARMIN. The lat/long of the area was recorded along with the elevation. The survey was done to evaluate the following: Present status of degradation: This included clearing of forest land for agricultural purposes, illegal cutting of timber. The people living near the forest were mostly dependent upon firewood for their cooking activities and for this cutting of trees from inside the forest were done on a regular basis. Threats present to the habitat: Threats here basically deal with the anthropogenic threats created by human activities. They include encroachment inside the forest, hunting of wild animals, smuggling of sand from rivers flowing through the forest, grazing of livestock.

Page | 10

Structural damage The following parameters were considered for data collection a) Type of structure b) Cause of damage c) Nature of damage d) Owner of the structure Human death and injury The following parameters were considered for data collection. a. Name, age, sex and address of the person dead/ injured. b. Date of incident c. Kind of injury (if injured) d. Location where the incident took place e. Cause of such incident Elephant killing and injury In case of any elephant deaths or injuries the following parameters were considered for data collection: a. Place and date of the incident of elephant deaths or injuries b. Number of elephants killed or injured c. Cause of death or injury d. Method of killing or injury

Page | 11

Chapter V

Results

5.1 Surveyed areas: A total of seven areas were selected and thoroughly surveyed for the purpose of investigating the human-elephant conflicts in Golaghat District of Assam (Table.). Study sites were selected based on the base line information collected from the Kuani, Murphuloni and Hurhuria Beats under Golaghat Forest Division, Assam. These seven surveyed sites comes under the Nambor North RF (93.15 Km2), Lower Doigurung RF (13.54 Km2) and Upper Doigurung RF (9.30 km2). The area having greater area is Nambor (Kuani Beat) occupying an area of 199 ha. With a population of 1500people.While Murphuloni beat occupies the least area 20 ha with a population of 250 people. The location of the surveyed sites is being shown in the map of Golaghat in the succeeding page.

Table 5.1: Location, area and human population of surveyed sites under Golaghat District of Assam.Study site Dokhora Pothar Murphuloni No. II Hurhuria Murphuloni beat GPS location Latitude N 262546.2 N 262735.2 N 262639.0 N 262606.7 Longitude E 934756.2 E 934859.1 E 935530.8 E 934948.3 Elevation 91.2m 91.5m 79.4m 93.8m Area* 133.33 ha 66.66 ha 39.00 ha 20.00 ha Population* 600 700 160 250

Page | 12

Nambor (Kuani beat) Baghjan Lower Doigurung

N 262510.1 N 262422.7 N 252512.9

E 934948.3 E 934748.7 E 904920.1

92.5m 109m 97.2m

199.00 ha 39.00 ha 67.00 ha

1500 300 500

Page | 13

Map 2. Locations of surveyed area under Golaghat District, Assam

Page | 14

5.2. Dominant wild animal recorded during the survey in study sites: The following animals are having greater number and as such they are said to be the dominant fauna present in the surveyed areas Table 5.2: Dominant faunal diversity recorded in study sites.Sl. No. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Name Species Elephant Leopard Assamese monkey Fox squirrel Wild boar Rat snake swamp deer Status of Dokhora animal Pothar Frequently seen Rarely seen Frequently seen Frequently seen Rarely seen rarely seen Rarely seen Frequently seen * * * * * Murphuloni No. II * * * * Hurhuria Murphuloni beat * * * * Nambor (Kuani beat) * * * * * Baghjan Lower Doigurung * * * Remarks

* * * -

* * -

Elephant dominant Elephant dominant Elephant dominant Elephant dominant Elephant dominant Elephant dominant Elephant dominant Elephant dominant

Wild animal involved in conflicts with human being: The animal coming with conflict with human frequently is elephant. Apart from the elephant the Assamese monkey accounts for causing disturbances in the form of raiding house within the fringe villages and eat the household food item apart from wreckage insidethe household.

Page | 15

5.3. The anthropogenic threats present to the areas: Anthropogenic threats deal with all the disturbances which are being created due to human interference with Mother Nature. A number of such threats have been detected which accumulates to the rise in human elephant conflict in Golaghat District of Assam. The maximum (6 nos.) threats were recorded in Murphuloni No. II and minimum one threat in Murphuloni beat study site. Livestock grazing is recorded as common threats in all study sites (Table 5.3.) Table 5.3: Anthropogenic threats present Dokhora Pothar Murphuloni No. Hurhuria Murphuloni II beat Nambor (Kuani beat) Baghjan Lower Doigurung

Threat types Encroachment Livestock grazing Sand mining Encroachment by tea labourer Clearing of forest Collection of firewood Habitat destruction Hunting(rare) Total

* * * * 4

* * * * * * 6

* * 2

* 1

* * * * 4

* * * * * 5

* * *3Page | 16

5.4: POTENTIALITY OF THREATS: Threats deal with all the disturbances which are being created due to human interference with Mother Nature. A several kinds threats have been recorded which accumulates to the rise in human elephant conflict in Golaghat District of Assam. Local people of study sites interviewed (40 Nos.) for evaluating status of anthropogenic threats in the area and to know the causes of human-elephant conflicts in the area. Based on the their responses firewood collection was estimated the major anthropogenic threats (24%) followed by livestock grazing (22%), encroachment (15%), encroachment by tea labours for temporary settlement (12%),hunting (10%), sand mining and habitat destruction (9%) each and clearing of forest for agricultural activities recorded a total of 8%.Habitat destruction 9% firewood 24% Clearing of forest 8% Encroachment by tea labourer 12% Hunting 10% Encroachment 15% grazing 22%

Threat percentage

Figure 5.1. Percentage of threats recorded in Golaghat district, Assam .

Page | 17

5.5: Deforestation: A total of seven Reserve Forest (RF) area recorded under the Golaghat Forest Division (GFD), Assam. The list of RF is presented in table 5.3. along with the original forest cover and deforested area. A total of 1037.93 km 2 area was estimated under these seven RFs and out of that 870 (76.61%) area was recorded under deforestation. The maximum (98.29%) forest area was recorded deforested during the year 2007 and minimum (45%) deforestation was in Upper & Lower Doigurung RF (Figure 5.2)(Source: Forest Department, Assam .)

Table 5.4: Area of deforestation in Golaghat Name of the Reserve Forest Original Forest area (areas sq.km) Deforested area(areas in sq.km) Diphu Rengma Doyang 183.63 139.21 246.36 180.50 110.50 230.00 98.29 79.37 93.35 percentage of deforested area

Nambor North Nambor South Upper & Lower Doigurung

154.10 272.40 42.23

80.00 250.00 19.00

51.91 91.77 44.99

300 250 200 150 100 50 0 deforested area percentage of deforestation original forest area()

Figure 5.2. Area of deforestationPage | 18

5.6: Damage of human properties by elephant conflict: It is seen that the area having the maximum area is Murphuloni No. I (200 ha) while Lower Doigurung is having the least area (50 ha). Maximum house damage is seen in Kuani beat followed by Dokhora Pothar. Both Kuani and Dokhora Pothar recorded maximum area of crop damage (33 ha) and the least in Baghjan area. (Source: Forest Department, Golaghat) Table 5.5: Crop and house damage during 2009-2010 Name Total area (ha.) Crop damage (ha.) No. of house

damaged Murphuloni no 2 Dokhora Pothar Hurhuria beat Murphuloni beat Kuani beat Baghjan Lower Doigurung Total 200 106 53 80 146 100 50 735 23 33 10 20 33 4.6 18 141.6 15 35 11 25 75 21 17 199

conflict damage graph300 250 200 200 150 100 106 50 0 33 11 10 53 25 146 20 80 15 23 35 33 21 4.6 100 17 18 50 No. of house damaged Crop damage (in terms of crop land, ha) Total area (ha) 75

Figure 5.3. Conflict damage

Page | 19

5.7 Death of human and elephant from 2009 to 2010 (till April): The death of human is more compared to the death of elephants in Golaghat with the maximum accounted in Hurhuria beat and the maximum number of elephant death is recorded from Murphuloni No. II (2 elephant death)

Table 5.6: Total number of human and elephant death recorded from 2009 to 2010

Name Murphuloni no 2 Dokhora Pothar Hurhuria beat Murphuloni beat Kuani beat Baghjan Lower Doigurung

Elephant death 2 1 _ _ _ _ _

No. of human death 2 _ 3 _ 2 _ _

no. of persons and elephant death3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Elephant death No. of human death 2 2 3

Figure 5.4: Total human and elephant death recorded during 2009-April 2010

Page | 20

5.8 Detail study of the various anthropogenic threats present in the above mentioned study sites: i. Encroachment:

Encroachment was seen almost in all the study sites and it have turned out to be a major to

anthropogenic

threat

the existing forest areas. As Golaghat is having majority of land under the cultivation of tea, the

labourers are fast increasing. This in turn has made land scarce for them to live. These have led to gradual movement of the labourers towards the forest areas. They area gradually clearing forests for making their dwelling places.

ii. Sand mining: This was seen in the site of

Murphuloni no.2. The river Doigurung flowing from

Karbi Anglong district of Assam is being trapped at several locations. The

sand gets trapped in these blocks after which the sand is being extracted from within. This has gradually resulted in mass upliftment of river sand and in turn has adversely affected the river course. Trees are being cut for taking out the sand and the water level of Doigurung have gradually decreased to a alarming level. When asked to a local villager living near the river, he said that each year the amount of fish present in the river has decreased. Earlier, the villagers used to catch a considerable

Page | 21

amount of fish from the river but with each passing year, the rate of fish catch is decreasing iii. Grazing: This is another

problem which is posing a great threat towards the survival of the forest areas. The majority of people living are farmers and as such each person poses a

number of livestock populations. They let their cattle and goats to graze freely near the protected, which have led to gradual loss of fodder for the wild herbivores.

iv.

Firewood

collection:

The

people living nearby are mostly rural and their economic condition is also not strong enough. They depend upon the forest mainly for collecting their firewood. Many

valuable tree species are being cut in the process of firewood

collection.

v.

Habitat destruction: This occurs not for one single reason but due to a number of factors which ranges from sand mining, firewood collection, grazing, forest clearance, etc. conversion of

forest area for setting tea garden is posing as a major threat for habitat destructionPage | 22

vi.

Hunting: Even though hunting is not done very often but the lack of awareness among the people living in the fringe villages have a

tendency of killing wild birds and sometimes even small mammals for consumption. It was found in one village i.e. Dokhora Pothar that every year they celebrate a hunting festival in the Bijuli forest reserve in which the adult male have to hunt any wild animal that comes in his way inside the forest. Deer hunting is common in such case. Once there was a record of villagers killing one adult leopard that came their way inside the forest. This was said during one interview with a resider of Dokhora Pothar

vii.

Agricultural activities: The area of Golaghat is dominated by tea cultivation. Large portions of Golaghat are under tea cultivation and large areas are gradually being cleared for the purpose of establishing tea gardens. This has resulted in decline of habitat for larger mammals specially elephant for which they are coming out of their habitat into human settlement in search of food. This has instigated the

conflicts

between

elephants In some

and human beings.

cases the elephants get killed while in some cases there is death of human beings by the elephants.

Page | 23

Chapter VI Discussion

Golaghat district of Assam been credited to have the first Elephant Reserve of this country named as Nambor elephant reserve established in 1862 (Saikia.2005).This shows the abundance of elephants in Golaghat. But with each passing year, the population of elephants in Golaghat is declining at a faster rate. This is due to higher rate of deforestation and rapid encroachments followed by development activities like road construction, industries, establishment and expansion of the tea gardens. The Diphu, Rengma, Doyang and Nambor South Reserve forest of Golaghat district have been totally encroached which has further instigated the elephant depredation in the district. At present Lower Doigurung, Upper Doigurung and Nambor North forests are the last remaining stronghold of elephant habitat in Golaghat district which are too facing high anthropogenic pressure. The elephant population in Golaghat district has been found declining due to habitat loss, habitat defragmentation, establishment of tea gardens, killing of elephants. In Golaghat and the adjoining areas, about 150 to 165 elephant are surviving in and around Nambor-Doigurung Reserve Forest and Bijuli Reserve Forest as stated by Golaghat forest department. Losses of habitat have resulted in shortage of food for the elephants which in turn have provoked the elephant to move from one place to another in search of food and rest. The development activities, human interference coupled with encroachment has blocked the key corridor of elephant in the district giving rise to intense human elephant conflict which have further instigated the elephants to come out of the jungles and roaming in the forest fringe villages and tea gardens for foods and shelter. This has resulted in gradual increase in human-elephant conflict in these areas. The areas with maximum deforestation are also the ones having maximum human-elephant conflict. So, many cases of death of both human and elephant and damage of crops and household properties by elephants are being reported from these areas each year. The major causes of the ever increasing conflict between human and elephant can be summarised as follows: i. Habitat destruction.Page | 24

ii. iii. iv.

Fragmentation of forest land for developmental activities. Encroachment by villagers. Shortage of food. With each passing year, the incidences of conflict between the elephants and

human are on the rise. I surveyed the villages which are worst affected from the conflicts and asked some of the villagers regarding this burning problem. The situation is very pathetic and it was found that the villagers hardly get time to sleep as the elephants come at any time at night. Even though government initiatives are there but they are not enough to cope with the elephants that come in groups ranging from 4 to around 30 or even more. When asked the villagers themselves about how this problem can be mitigated, they came up with the following solutions: i. Fencing around the village: Villages having high rate of conflict should be provided with wire fencing around the village. This will act as a barrier and help in obstructing the entry of the elephants into the village. ii. Vigilance from forest department: The forest departments located in the highly conflict areas should be more vigilant and they should perform their duty in a sincere and dedicated way. iii. Construction of watch tower: Village boys are willing to stay upon the watch towers, to be constructed near their crop fields, from time to which can help in detection of advancing elephant herds towards the village. iv. Repellants from forest department: It becomes very difficult for the villagers to chase the elephants once they enter the village. Moreover, lack of electricity in the village areas increases the problem. Thus the villagers want torches to be available in time so that they can atleast be aware about the movement of the elephants inside the village. Burning oil torches also help in chasing the elephants as they are afraid of fire.

Page | 25

Chapter VII Conclusion & Recommendation

7.1 Conclusion:The present project work entitled Identifying degradation sites and fostering coexistence with Asian elephants for conservation in Golaghat district, Assam. has been taken up with some definite objectives particularly to identify the degraded areas in Golaghat district of Assam and fostering ways by which the problem can be mitigated to a considerable level. The result of the work is mostly based on field survey and questionnaire survey, where necessary, with local villagers of the affected areas. The present status of elephants in Golaghat is far more worst in comparison to its glorious past. If the population of Asian elephants in Golaghat and its adjoining areas are to be continued to exist for our next generation, habitats must be protected and develop. And one should realize that conservation of Asian elephants and mitigation of man-elephant conflict in this part must not be the work of only the forest department alone. Rather it should be the concern of the people, government agencies, policy makers, researchers, NGOs, and the vital role to be played by the media. Or else the very survival of the Asian Elephant in Golaghat district is at stake. In the end of my project period as felt by me, while staying with the local villagers and experiencing their problem, it can be concluded that at present the people are going through a very hard phase of their life. Some people are found to be very resentful towards the very survival of the elephants which according to them is just a problem for their existence and nothing else for which they need immediate solution. But in the true sense, the problem is not from the elephants which are coming to raid the human settlements, but it is us who are entering the domain of the elephants and that too without their consent.

7.2 Recommendation:

Page | 26

Below are discussed some of the management strategies which can be followed to mitigate the problem to a considerable level: 1) Traditional methods: a) Crop guarding: Guards sleep in watch towers with some means of alerting the community to crop raiding elephants.(Hoare,2001a) b) Noise: beating of drums irritates the elephants to a considerable extent. Whipcracking which imitates gunfire is used in many African and Asian countries.(Hart OConnell,1998; Hoare,1995; Nyshus et al,2000) c) Fire: almost all wild animals avoid fire. In some African and Asian countries, capsicum seeds (Africa) and ghost chili (India, north east) are burnt along with the fire. (Hillman-Smith, de Merode, Nicholas, Buls and Ndey, 1995). The smell of burnt chili is intolerable for the elephants. 2) Killing problem elephant: It is widely used as a quick-fix solution to human elephant conflict management strategy. (Hoare,1995; Hoare,1999a; Taylor,1993;

Taylor,1999) Government approvement in this case is strictly necessary. 3) Translocation: translocations have been carried out and reported widely (LahiriChoudhury, 1993). Translocation not only saves the people being harassed by marauding elephants but it also saves the elephant from being killed. But careful study is necessary regarding where to translocate, when to do so, etc. there are cases of elephants returning to their native place also. One such case happened in India where a male elephant travelled 180 km in three weeks, and was implicated in the death of one person and the injury of two more.(Alastair Nelson, Posy Bidwell and Claudio Sillero-Zubiri) 4) Physical barriers: Mere killing of problem animals seldom provide a lasting solution to the conflict problem, rather denying access to the target food or a refuge that control is often achieved. (Hoare,2001b) a) Un-electric fences: Even though they are not so effective against elephants, they are used in many parts of India. b) Electric fences: They are perceived to be one of the best solutions for human elephant conflict. (De Boer and Ntumi, 2001). Knowledge of the ecology, distribution and movement patterns of the local elephant population is vital for setting up such fences.

Page | 27

c) Buffer crops: Crops like chili, tobacco, sisal, tea, timber are not preferred by elephants. They can be planted around food crops to create a buffer in order to prevent the elephants from coming into the crop field. (Hoare,1992) 5) Compensation schemes: This is one of the ways by which the government can suppress the resentment of people affected by conflicts. (Hoare, 2001a). In this case the government pays in terms of money or in kinds a stipulated amount to the victims. 6) Plantation in degraded areas: The fact that elephants comes out towards human settlement is due to the fact that there is scarcity of food for them inside the forest due to habitat destruction. Thus in order to mitigate the conflict, plantation can be done in the degraded areas so that the elephants can feed upon them. But for this, a thorough knowledge of tree species preferred by the elephants is a must. In north eastern India, some of the tree species elephants are as follows: Trewia nudiflora: Delenia indica: Chukrasia tabularis: Syzyzium cumini: Ficus bengelansis: Oleo europaea L: Citrus grandis: Bhelu Ou-tenga Poma Jamun Bor gos Jalpai Robab tenga locally found which are preferred by

7) Awareness among people: This is the most effective way by which the conflicts can be mitigated to a considerable level. It solely depends upon the people residing in the fringe villages about how they tackle the problem and in what way. Holding meetings in conflict affected areas, discussing on how to cope with such situation, teaching the importance of wildlife on the environment, evil effects of forest destruction, etc can help minimize the problem. But proper knowledge should be bourn in mint regarding what to tell, in what situation.

Page | 28

References

Azika, R.F.W;, Sand Asamoah Boating,B.1995. Timber, Cocoa and, crop raiding elephants; A preliminary study from South Ghana. Pachyderm, 19: 33 38 Balmford, A., Moore, J. L., Brooks, T., Burgess, N., Hansen, L., Williams, P. & Rahbek, (2001) Conservation conflicts across Africa. Science, 291, 2616-2619. Choudhury, A. 1999. Status and conservation of the Asian elephant Elephas maximus. Choudhury, A.U. (1999) Status and conservation of the Asian elephant Elephas maximus in northeastern India. Mammal Review 29: 141-173 Choudhury, L. D.K. 1993. Problems of elephant translocations. Oryx, 27: 53 55 De Bore, W.F. and Ntumi, C.P. 2001 Elephant Crop damage and electric fence construction in the Maputo Elephant Reserve, Mozambique. Pachyderm, 30:57 64 Gureja, N., Menon, V., Sarkar, P., and Kyarong, S.S. 2007. Human-Elephant Conflict in Sonitpur District of Assam. Wildlife Trust of India. Occasional Report No. 6. Pp 1-41. Hart, L.A. and OConnell, C.E. 1998. Human conflict with African and Asian elephants and associated conservation dilemmas. Pp. 14: Workshop on co-operative regional wildlife management in southern Africa. Hillman-Smith, de Merode; E.Nicholas, A. Bulbs and Ndeys. 1995. Factors affecting elephant distribution in Garamba National Park and surrounding reserve, Zaire, with a focus on human elephant conflict, Pachyderm. 19:39 47 Hoare R.E 2001a. A decision support system for managing human elephant conflict situations in Africa. I.U.C.N. African Elephants Specialist Group Report. p.p.1 110 Hoare R.E. 2001b. Management implications of new research on problem elephants. Pachyderm, 30:44 49 Hoare, R. 2001. Management implications on research and problem elephants. Pachyderm. 30: 44 48Page | 29

Hoare, R.E.1995. Options for the control of elephants in conflict with people. Pachyderm, 19:54 63 in northeastern India. Mammal Rev. Vol. 29 (3), 141-173. Lahm, S.A. 1996. A nation wide survey of crop raiding by elephants and other species in Gabon. Pachyderm. 21: 69-77 Nyhus P.J., Taltson, R and Sumianto 2000. Crop raiding elephants and conservation implications at Way Kambas National Park, Sumatra, Indonesia. Oryx. 34: 262274 OConnell-Rodwell, C., Rodwell, T., Rice, M. & Hart, L. (2000) Living with the modern conservation paradigm: can agricultural communities co-exist with elephants? A five-year case study in East Caprivi, Namibia. Biological Conservation, 93, 381391. Saikia A.J.(2005). Jungles, Reserves and Wildlife. History of Forests in Assam. Pp 33-41 Talukdar, B.K., Boruah, J.K. & Sarma, P. (2006) Multi-dimensional mitigation initiatives to human-elephant confl icts in Golaghat district and adjoining areas of Karbi Anglong, Assam, India. In: Proceedings of the International Elephant Conservation and Research Symposium. Copenhagen Zoo. pp 197-204. Talukdar,B.K; B.P.Lahkar,N.K.Nath;Jyoti P.Das;N.Brahma. An assessment of humanelephant conflict in Manas National Park, Assam, India 1(6): 309-316 Taylor, R.D. 1993. Elephant management in Nyaminyami District, Zimbawae: Turning a liability into an asset, Pachyderm,17: 19-29 Taylor, R.D. 1999. A review of problem elephant policies and management policies in southern Africa. IUCN. Pp 1-4. Thouless, C. R. 1994. Conflict between humans and elephants on private land in northern Kenya. Oryx 28: 119-127 Williams, A. C., Johnsingh, A. J. T. & Krausman, P. R. (2001). Elephant human conflict in Rajaji National Park, northwest India. Wildl. Soc. Bull. 29: 10971

Page | 30

Appendix

Questionnaire SurveyDate Division: Name: Caste: 1. Do you know that long ago wild elephants were widely distributed in the forests Of Golaghat: Yes / No 2. If yes, then source of information: Grandparents/parents /Folk songs/stories/others 3. Have seen an elephant: Yes / No. If yes, then which type: Wild / domestic / both? 4. Location of sighted wild elephant: Neighboring forest / outside forests 5. Number of sighted wild elephants: Loner/group (herd) 6. If sighted herd, then composition 7. Have wild elephants damaged either property that is yours or of those you know: Yes/No. If yes then name:Type of damage Time of incident If damaged crops/ grains then which crops/ grains Name of person killed.

Range: Age:

Village: Category: Gen/ST/SC/OBC

8. Cause of conflict: 9. Are there any compensation scheme in relation to damage caused by elephant: Yes/No

YesAmount for crop/grain damage: Amount for house damage: Amount in case of human death: Time for disbursement of compensation.

Page | 31

10. Are you satisfied with present steps undertaken by forest department to reduce conflict: Yes/ No 11. If not then your suggestion: 12. Suggestions to mitigate the conflict: 13. Perception towards restoration process: 14. Preferred tree species:

Page | 32