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PLATINUM The Journal of Threatened Taxa (JoTT) is dedicated to building evidence for conservaton globally by publishing peer-reviewed artcles OPEN ACCESS online every month at a reasonably rapid rate at www.threatenedtaxa.org. All artcles published in JoTT are registered under Creatve Commons Atributon 4.0 Internatonal License unless otherwise mentoned. JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproducton, and distributon of artcles in any medium by providing adequate credit to the author(s) and the source of publicaton. Journal of Threatened Taxa Building evidence for conservaton globally www.threatenedtaxa.org ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893 (Print) Communication Innovative way of human-elephant competition mitigation Sanjit Kumar Saha 26 August 2020 | Vol. 12 | No. 11 | Pages: 16494–16501 DOI: 10.11609/jot.5886.12.11.16494-16501 For Focus, Scope, Aims, Policies, and Guidelines visit htps://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/about/editorialPolicies#custom-0 For Artcle Submission Guidelines, visit htps://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/about/submissions#onlineSubmissions For Policies against Scientfc Misconduct, visit htps://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/about/editorialPolicies#custom-2 For reprints, contact <[email protected]> The opinions expressed by the authors do not refect the views of the Journal of Threatened Taxa, Wildlife Informaton Liaison Development Society, Zoo Outreach Organizaton, or any of the partners. The journal, the publisher, the host, and the part- Publisher & Host ners are not responsible for the accuracy of the politcal boundaries shown in the maps by the authors. Member Threatened Taxa Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 August 2020 | 12(11): 16494-16501 ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893 (Print) PLATINUM OPEN ACCESS DOI: htps://doi.org/10.11609/jot.5886.12.11.16494-16501 #5886 | Received 27 March 2020 | Final received 19 August 2020 | Finally accepted 20 August 2020 C o m m Innovatve way of human-elephant competton mitgaton u n i Sanjit Kumar Saha c a t West Bengal Forest Service, Government of West Bengal, Directorate of Forests, Jaldapara Wildlife Division, Coochbehar, i West Bengal 736101, India. o n [email protected] Abstract: The negatve interacton between humans and elephants is ofen referred to as confict, however it is also seen as competton. Human-elephant competton (HEC) is a major protecton threat in the fringe villages of the Jaldapara Natonal Park (JPNP) of West Bengal, India. JPNP is facing challenges from the highly populated fringe villages, which exist in elephant corridors. Between 2015 and 2018 there were 12 elephant deaths. During the same period elephants caused 34 human deaths. As per data, most of the elephant interactons occurred in the fringe villages of Madarihat and Jaldapara North Range. Per reports of human deaths, Chekamari and Khairbari villages of Madarihat Range are in the most vulnerable list. Most of the human deaths occurred in the early morning (05.00–06.00 h) and in the evening, when people are going outside for open defecaton (OD). On a pilot basis Chekamari and Khairbari villages of Madarihat Range were selected for a door to door household survey with the objectve to develop an innovatve strategy as a mitgaton measure of HEC. The results of the survey show that both villages are tribal and minority populaton, the socio-economic conditon of the people is very poor, on an average 5–6 members are in each household, the source of drinking water is a community well for most of the households, and 50 households are devoid of toilet facilites so automatcally the members of those households go outside for OD. Out of the total human deaths, 16 occurred in the Madarihat area; out of these 16 cases, six were from the Chekamari and Khairbari villages. For this reason, between April 2019 to September 2019, with available funds 20 toilets with tube-well were built in the 20 neediest households of these two villages. Due to the communicaton with the community, behavioural changes were made and their partcipaton for 100% usage of those toilets was assured. Afer the constructon of the toilets untl now, no human death cases have been reported. Keywords: Behavioural changes, communicaton, mitgaton, open defecaton, toilets. Editor: Heidi Riddle, Riddle’s Elephant and Wildlife Sanctuary, Arkansas, USA. Date of publicaton: 26 August 2020 (online & print) Citaton: Saha, S.K. (2020). Innovatve way of human-elephant competton mitgaton. Journal of Threatened Taxa 12(11): 16494–16501. htps://doi.org/10.11609/ jot.5886.12.11.16494-16501 Copyright: © Saha 2020. Creatve Commons Atributon 4.0 Internatonal License. JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproducton, and distributon of this artcle in any medium by providing adequate credit to the author(s) and the source of publicaton. Funding: West Bengal Compensatory Aforestaton Fund Management and Planning Authority (WB CAMPA), Jaldapara Wildlife Division, Directorate of Forests, Government of West Bengal. Competng interests: The author declares no competng interests. Author details: Sanjit Kumar Saha, WBFS works as Assistant Divisional Forest Ofcer (ADFO) of Jaldapara Wildlife Division, Nilkuthi, Coochbehar, Directorate of Forests, Government of West Bengal. His research interests include human-wildlife coexistence (HWC), compassionate conservaton, joint forest protecton, economic ornithology, science communicaton, ethno botany, ecotoxicology, wildlife protecton and crime control. Acknowledgements: I acknowlede the guidance and facilitaton of Shri Kumar Vimal, IFS, DFO, Jaldapara Wildlife Division during the study and presence of Shri Manish Kumar Yadav, WBFS, AWLW of Jaldapara Natonal Park at the toilet distributon programme to the benefciaries. Besides that, I extend my heartelt thanks to all the feld staf of the Madarihat Range for their contributon at the tme of communicaton process to the community. I acknowlede the range ofcer, Madarihat for his contributon to arrange consecutve meetng with the community people. I recognise the contributon of Shri Debdarshan Roy, ACF, Madarihat for his assistance in monitoring the executon of toilet constructons work. I am thankful to Ms. Rinki Mukherjee for her assistance in checking of draf manuscript. Above all I am extending my sincere thanks to all the community people to make this study successful by assuring the usage of constructed toilets. 16494 J TT human-elephant competton mitgaton Saha INTRODUCTION is increased to INR two lakh (INR 200,000) per person, subject to certfcaton by a doctor from a government The interacton between humans and elephants hospital or dispensary regarding the extent and cause is ofen referred to as confict, however, it is also seen of disability (West Bengal Forest Department 2018). as competton. Human-elephant competton (HEC) Ex-grata payments regarding grievous injury requiring (Davidar 2018) is a negatve interacton between the two hospitalizaton are between INR 12,700 and INR 4,300 species, resultng in crop loss, property damage, and can per person when requiring hospitalizaton for more lead to the loss of life of both humans and elephants. than a week and less than a week, respectvely (West Competton may be direct and indirect. Loss of property, Bengal Forest Department 2018). So, this background crops, and lives is the result of direct competton. In informaton is clear enough to understand that the indirect competton people live in fear of elephants, forest department is adoptng all sorts of strategies to which restricts free movement and day to day actvites mitgate HEC in the forest fringe villages. No mitgaton of people in forest fringe areas. The forest department measures, however, are found to be 100% successful promotes coexistence through diferent means with the in avoiding competton between elephants and help of local joint forest protecton commitees (JFPCs) forest fringe villages. Where a JFPC exists as per the in the forest fringe villages. In southern Bengal, in the government norms, local people receive 40% of the adjacent forest fringe areas of Jhargram, Medinipur, revenue generated from eco-tourism actvity and tmber Rupnarayan, and Kharagpur a special team “Hulla Party” operaton for community infrastructure development drives the elephants from the village towards the forest. from the forest department. This provides a platorm to But in recent tmes there has been a total ban of the usage the department to address elephant conservaton and to of “spike and fre balls, i.e. Hulla” by a recent Supreme tackle HEC. But the problem is massive in villages where Court order. In northern Bengal the concept of Hulla no JFPCs exist and the forest department is unable to Party does not exist, but JFPC members are provided with support community infrastructure work by providing crackers and searchlights from the forest department to JFPC share money and other benefts. This study mainly drive elephants to the forest. So, at present, the forest focused on assessing the problem and adoptng other department in both northern and southern Bengal innovatve strategies to mitgate and tackle HEC in the solely depend on high beam searchlights and crackers to areas of non JFPC villages in elephant corridors, where mitgate the elephant depredaton problem. Apart from the issue of elephant depredaton is signifcant. this direct acton in the feld, the forest department also compensates the loss of crop, property, livestock, and human life which occur from HEC (Davidar 2018), per MATERIALS AND METHODS the order of the Government of West Bengal. A person who is afected by an elephant atack as specifed in Study Area the government order (No. 195-For/11M-95/2011 pt-I Jaldapara Wildlife Division of West Bengal, India dated 30.i.2015), whose crop and/or house is damaged (Figure 1) covers an area of 306.96km² with the natonal by wild animals, and if any domestc animal is injured/ park area of 216.53km². The Chekamari and Khairbari died due to a wild animal atack, is eligible to claim ex- villages of Madarihat Range of Jaldapara Wildlife Division grata compensaton (West Bengal Forest Department (Figure 2) lies between 26.700–26.718N & 89.243– 2015).