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Human Wildlife Conflict in India:A Review of Economic Implication of Loss and Preventive Measures
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In a developing economy like India where majority of human population depends heavily on natural resources, the forestdwellers have co-existed with the wildlife for long. However, the growing human dependency on natural resources and degradation of wildlife habitats, have resulted in a conflicting situation between humans and wildlife, and authorities involved in wildlife management. With significant conservation and economic consequences, human wildlife conflict (HWC) undermines well-being of both the parties and threatens the conservation goals. It impacts the people's food security and livelihood and psychosocial wellbeing. We reviewed articles that deal with monetary loss incurred by involved communities and discuss the effectiveness and the short comings of measures taken to address the issue and prevent the loss, in the Indian scenario. There is a lack of studies dealing with monetary cost associated with HWC and no realistic estimates are available for involved species. Majority of the studies are from protected areas with un-protected forests represented poorly. It is imperative that action plans, which target offsetting economic loss of locals and enhance public participation, are put in-place to meet the integrated conservation and development goals in a landscape where human and wildlife can coexist.
Keywords
Carnivores, Human Wildlife Conflict, Opportunity Cost, Primates, Ungulates.
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