Conflict between wild boars (Sus scrofa) and farmers: distribution, impacts, and suggestions for management of wild boars in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area

Abstract

Economic losses caused by wild boars (Sus scrofa) continue to increase in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area. We selected 206 farmers in Wuqiaohe Basin as survey respondents using random stratified sampling. The distribution and impacts of wild boars were examined using a questionnaire survey and spatial analysis. The results showed that: (1) The density of farmer settlements is low and most peasants' households are located on the forest edge. Due to large-scale labor migration, a high proportion of farmland (25.85%) has been abandoned and an even higher proportion of farmland (40.48%) has been returned to forest. (2) The probability of wild boar damage to peasant households was 67.96%. Yields of corn and sweet potato decreased by 24.87% and 28.24%, respectively, with a total economic loss of approximately 2,590,100 RMB/yr in the Wuqiaohe basin. Sixty-five percent of the affected cultivated lands were located within approximately 150 m of the forest edges. (3) The wild boar damage coefficient was significantly and negatively correlated with the distance between the peasants' household and the forest edge, the density of the settlements, and the area of cultivated land. The wild boar damage coefficient shows a significant positive correlation with the area of farmland returned to forest. (4) The damage activity caused by wild boars began to occur 72-8 years ago, and the destruction has been more frequently and seriously observed in the last 42-5 years. (5) We make suggestions for wild boar control and management measures including developing a compensation policy. The compensation standard is related to the land area returning from farmland to forests and the actual cultivated land area.