Characterizing damages caused by wildlife: Learning from Bardia National Park, Nepal
Kabindra Shahi, Gopal Khanal, Rohit Raj Jha, Aashish Kumar Joshi, Prabin Bhusal, Thakur Silwal
Abstract
Understanding damages caused by wildlife is critical in developing strategies to mitigate human-wildlife conflict. We conducted 135 household surveys and group discussions in three villages around Bardia National Park, Nepal. Of the 222 total wildlife damage incidents in 2017, crop damage was the most frequent conflict (72%) followed by livestock depredation (24%). While elephants (Elephas maximus) and deer (Axis axis) were the main species implicated in crop loss, leopards (Panthera pardus) and tigers (Panthera tigris) were responsible for livestock depredation. Livestock depredation resulted in an average annual monetary loss of US$32.27 ($19.23-$442.30) per household. On average, each household lost 11% of their total annual potential crop production to wildlife damage. Poor households experienced noticeably disproportionate losses. Only 32% of respondents experiencing wildlife damage received compensation from the park. We recommend simplifying the compensation process and focusing on elephant and leopard damages while working to improve mitigation measures.