Incidences of wild animal attacks continue to pour from various parts and according to the government it is due to several reasons which inter alia include degradation of the habitat, depletion of the natural prey base, increase in population of wild animals due to sustained protection efforts, changing crop patterns etc.
According to the Ministry of environment, forest and climate change, it has released species specific guidelines on 21.03.2023 for mitigation of Human -Elephant, -Gaur, -Leopard, – Snake, -Crocodile, -Rhesus Macaque, -Wild Pig, -Bear, -Blue Bull and -Blackbuck Conflict as well as Guidelines for cross cutting issues such as cooperation between the forest and media sector in India; occupational health and safety in the context of human–wildlife conflict mitigation; crowd management in human-wildlife conflict related situations and addressing health emergencies and potential health risks arising out of human-wildlife conflict situations.
While some of the efforts on part of the government are appreciable, there is a also need to step up the fight against wildlife crime, which has a wide-ranging impact on economic, environmental, and social conditions.
The governments, civil society, and individuals must add their voices and take action regarding threats that wild animals and plants face. Besides, people need to contribute to conservation efforts by preventing urbanization, poaching, pollution, and habitat destruction.
Lately, human-wildlife conflict has escalated greatly. From 2006 till the end of 2022, the man-animal conflict claimed 242 lives and 2,940 people have been injured in such incidents.
The main reason behind the conflict is the interference of humans in the wildlife habitats, experts underline. This interaction has been there from time immemorial when the human population was much and the wild land was plenty.
As the human population grows, there has been pressure on wild habitats and spaces where these wild animals used to live. While the Kashmir valley is landlocked, change in land use classification has definitely led to the consequences in the past thirty to forty years.
Prior to human intervention, all wild lands used to be under forests that are known as grazing land, but, now, it has been taken up for agriculture or horticulture use. These horticulture landscapes have either been grown on the fringe of the forests or inside them, experts underline.
While wild animals do not know about the boundary, those living in proximity of forests, have to take precautions.
