Human-Elephant Conflicts and Villagers' Attitudes and Knowledge in the Xishuangbanna Nature Reserve, China.

Kaiwen Su,Yali Wen,Jie Yang,Yilei Hou,Jie Ren

doi:10.3390/ijerph17238910

Abstract

In this study, we analyzed the accidents associated with the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus Linnaeus) and issues pertaining to compensation in Xishuangbanna Nature Reserve from 2011 to 2018. We conducted interviews and a questionnaire survey with 217 villagers. The results show that: (1) the main Asian elephants damage is crop loss (more than 95% of the total damage), and the villagers suffer economic losses; (2) through the influence of traditional culture and natural education, the majority of local villagers still have a favorable impression of Asian elephants; (3) female respondents, those engaged in agricultural production, those who had experienced crop loss and those who had never seen Asian elephants had more negative attitudes toward Asian elephants; (4) most villagers believe that the Asian elephant population has increased in the past decade; and (5) the villagers are quite passive in the human–elephant conflict, and most of them do not take action. Finally, based on the research results, this paper discusses the causes of human elephant conflict and proposes targeted mitigation measures.

Highlights

Rapid economic and population growth impose huge demands and pressure on wildlife resources and their living environment
This study has examined the following: (1) the current status of the human–elephant conflict in Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve, (2) the attitudes and knowledge of villagers regarding Asian elephants, (3) the causes of human–elephant conflict, and (4) targeted mitigation countermeasures were put forward to provide scientific support for alleviating the human–elephant conflict
The managers of Xishuangbanna Nature Reserve and Xishuangbanna Forestry and Grassland Bureau revealed that the Asian elephant damage in Xishuangbanna Nature Reserve and surrounding villages is mainly the loss of crops, including cash crops

Summary

Introduction

Rapid economic and population growth impose huge demands and pressure on wildlife resources and their living environment. Human–wildlife conflict becomes inevitable when the area for human settlement overlaps with wildlife habitat [1]. Human activities are increasingly affecting every ecosystem on Earth [2]. This leads to a decline in wildlife habitat quality and a decrease in natural food sources available to animals, and aggravates the conflict between humans and wildlife [3,4,5]. Wildlife accidents lead to the deterioration of the relationship between humans and wildlife, and hunting threatens the existence of wild animals [6,7]. Dealing with the relationship between human beings and wildlife and establishing a coexistence mechanism between them are challenging tasks [8,9,10]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion