Mitigating the Human-Leopard Conflict Sri Lanka Clark University Sanjiv Fernando, Sri Lanka, Clark University

SUMMARY The goal of the project is to mitigate the human-leopard conflict in the areas surrounding Yala National Park in Sri Lanka through the construction and distribution of secure mesh enclosures that prevent leopard attacks on cattle, thereby protecting the livelihoods of the farmers, thus fostering peaceful coexistence between leopards and cattle herders.

No other fundraising efforts contributed to the project, but the John Keells Group split the cost of the branding boards that were fixed on each of the twelve protective enclosures. These boards contained the logos of the donors: The Davis Projects for Peace Foundation, Clark University, as well as the John Keells Group, who will continue to monitor the project in the future.

PROJECT CHALLENGES Although I am a Sri Lankan, and lived in the country for 12 years, I grew up speaking English at home. Despite having classes with a tutor for a few years, my conversational Sinhala is far from advanced. Consequently, one of my biggest concerns before beginning the project was the language barrier, as all my communication with the cattle herders would be in Sinhala. At first, asking questions during interviews was extremely challenging as I did not know how to phrase certain questions or know the exact translation of a word. However, I was fortunate enough that Gayan Gamage, my Project Assistant, is fluent in Sinhala and speaks English reasonably well. He was able to help me interpret some of the responses provided by the farmers, as well as help clarify some of my questions to the farmers.

In terms of budget constraints, I had funds to donate only 12 enclosures, but there are a larger number of cattle farmers for whom leopard attacks are a problem. As a result, I created a questionnaire and conducted interviews with 22 farmers in order to determine the severity of each individual’s conflict with leopards. I also visited and photographed the sites where each farmer grazed their cattle in order to better assess the environmental conditions. Using data from these interviews, I ultimately selected the 12 farmers who I determined were in greatest need of protective cattle enclosures, based on a combination of factors such as: percentage of herd killed by leopards per year, number of leopards killed, average monthly income, and geographic location. Another difficulty I encountered was getting the farmers to open up to me and provide truthful answers to my questions regarding the number of leopards they had killed, as they were afraid I would report them to the police or the wildlife authorities. However, when I explained my project and what my research was for, and assured them that I would protect their identities, they started to give me honest testimony. It was also helpful to have Gayan with me, as he is a native of that area and the cattle herders know and trust him, and he helped assure them that I would keep their information confidential.

PROJECT IMPACT My project directly benefitted 12 cattle herders and their families by protecting their incomes and livelihoods. It also provided security for their livestock, either cows or buffaloes, from being killed and eaten by leopards. The project also indirectly benefitted numerous leopards that occupy the Buffer Zone around Yala National Park, as it prevents them from being victims of retaliatory killings by cattle herders.

Furthermore, the project also helped local labor employed to work on the construction of the protective enclosures. Mr. P.G.A Lal, the owner and operator of New Priyakala Motors, the company that fabricated the pens, was the main beneficiary, while all his employees will also have benefitted financially. The company would have also acquired the raw materials from other sources, thus providing business and financial benefits for those enterprises as well.

In the long run, the project will have a positive impact on all stakeholders in the safari industry, such as tour operators, safari jeep drivers, and hotels. The protection of leopards ensures that the leopard population within and around Yala National Park remains healthy and stable, allowing wildlife tourism Mitigating the Human-Leopard Conflict Sri Lanka Clark University Sanjiv Fernando, Sri Lanka, Clark University to continue to be successful. The cattle herders who received protective enclosures for their livestock will see benefits in the long-run as over time the size of their herd will increase, subsequently improving their income and quality of life.

I will continue to monitor the success of this project whenever I return home, and the John Keells Group will help me with monitoring during my absence. If the results continue to be positive, there is a bright future for my project. This strategy can be implemented in different parts of the island to continue to mitigate conflict between cattle herders and leopards, with the ultimate goal of fostering peaceful coexistence between people and leopards.

DEFINING PEACE Growing up in Sri Lanka during a Civil War, I came to understand that peace was the absence of conflict. Conflict has traditionally been thought of as something that happens between people, but conflict can occur between humans and their environment. Human lives do not need to be lost for something to be labeled a conflict; a conflict can arise when there is a loss of property, resources, or security. Peace to me means security and safety, not just of an individual, but also of his or her family, property, income, and livelihood.

“Mitigating the Human-Leopard Conflict” contributes to peace in both the short term and the long term. In the short term and medium term, the cattle enclosures will allow for farmers to have secure incomes and protect their livelihoods and families. It will also prevent against the loss of lives for both cattle and leopards. In the long term, my project will promote peaceful coexistence between people leopards. This will come about through a change in attitude: getting people to abandon their view of leopards as a pest and a terror that they should fear, and allowing them to understand that they can coexist alongside this beautiful and important animal.

REFLECTION My project has changed the world by demonstrating that conflict can occur between people and animals, and people and the environment, instead of the traditional definition that conflict exists solely between humans. Furthermore, it has addressed the issue of the human-leopard conflict, provided a working solution to mitigate the conflict, and laid a foundation for people to peacefully coexist with leopards. In a world that is rapidly urbanizing due to the expanding human population, where increasing deforestation will lead to humans continuing to encroach onto wildlife habitat, encounters between people and predators will become more and more common. It is no longer viable to think of humans and animals existing independently, and it is critical to start presenting solutions that allow for them to coexist. My project can serve as an example of how to not only prevent conflict, but also serve as evidence of how to transform a potential conflict situation into an opportunity to foster peaceful coexistence.

This project also served as an avenue for personal growth and reflection. Coming from a middle class family in Colombo, the nations capital, I live in a very different world than the cattle herders with whom I interacted during the course of this project. Despite our differences, I was able to connect with these farmers, and form a relationship on a personal level, with many of my interviews ending in being invited into a farmer’s hut for tea. Establishing this relationship was even more meaningful because I had been worried about being able to connect with the locals due to my lack of fluency in Sinhala. Overall, this was a very humbling and rewarding experience, and as a semi-Third Culture Kid (TCK), this helped me feel more in touch with my roots, and I now feel a stronger connection to my native Sri Lanka.

“In an era where humans and wildlife have increasingly frequent encounters, wildlife conservation has to focus on protecting people and their livelihoods in order to successfully foster peaceful coexistence between both species. I am grateful to have had this opportunity to follow my passion, to lead my first self-designed conservation project, and develop skills to succeed in the future” ~ Sanjiv Fernando Mitigating the Human-Leopard Conflict Sri Lanka Clark University Sanjiv Fernando, Sri Lanka, Clark University

Fig 2a: Leopard skin found after a retaliatory killing by a cattle farmer

Fig 1: Interviewing a cattle farmer to assess the severity of his conflict with leopards. Fig 2b: Leopard skull found after a retaliatory killing

by a cattle farmer

Fig 3: One of the cattle farmers and I in front of his newly acquired protective cattle enclosure, housing some of his buffalo calves. Also depicted is the branding board recognizing the benefactors: The Davis Projects for Peace Organization and Clark University.