MONITORING HUMANWILDLIFE CONFLICT
In order to control conflict effectively, we first need to know where and when the conflict is happening.This is important because it tells us the location and the type of conflict that occurs. This can help us to direct our deterrent efforts to where they are most needed. In addition, monitoring can tell us whether our deterrent methods are working or not.
Conflict with wildlife is a very common problem but it can vary greatly from place to place. For example, in one village buffaloes may damage crops every night, while in a neighbouring village a few kilometers away there may be no crop damage at all. Conflict also varies over time: a village may suffer only one crop damage incident in one year, but then suffer twenty or thirty incidents the next year. Therefore, to understand the patterns of conflict we first need to know where, and when, and how much crop damage is occurring.
How do we monitor HWC?
The easiest way to assess conflict would be to ask those farmers affected. But previous studies have shown that such reports may be exaggerated, and therefore not reliable. In addition, each farmer may report different details, so it would not be possible to compare one report with another. Instead, it is better to train a team of reporters to assess the conflict that occurs.
Each time a wild animal causes problems, a trained reporter must visit the area and make a report based upon what he or she finds. The reporter should use data sheets to ensure that the same information is collected each time (see attached data sheet). This will allow us to compare incidents from different villages and see which the worst is.