Study maps Assam’s grim human-elephant conflict
A recent study has highlighted the severe human-elephant conflict in Assam, driven by habitat loss and urban expansion. Over 1,800 incidents from 2000 to 2023 resulted in 1,468 human deaths, marking it as a significant wildlife crisis. The research emphasizes the need for improved forest connectivity and water resource management to mitigate these conflicts.
- ▪The study analyzed 24 years of data on human-elephant conflict in Assam, revealing critical ecological and anthropogenic drivers.
- ▪Goalpara, Sonitpur, and Udalguri were identified as the worst-affected districts, with hundreds of human fatalities linked to elephant encounters.
- ▪The research found that water availability significantly influences conflict intensity, with villages lacking sufficient water resources experiencing more incidents.
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A new study, analysing 24 years of data, has revealed how Assam’s shrinking forests, fragmented animal corridors, and expanding settlements and monoculture plantations — primarily tea — are driving one of the deadliest human-elephant conflicts in India.Athira N.G., Ramesh Kumar Pandey, Kalpana Roy, Ananya Dutta, Dheeraj Mittal, Parag Nigam, Anukul Nath, and Bilal Habib are the authors of the study published in the latest issue of PeerJ, an international journal. They are from the Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and Ghaziabad’s Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research.
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