Incorporating traditional coexistence propensities into management of wildlife habitats in India

摘要

Traditional tolerance of wild animals, which may be harmful to humans, their settlements and livelihood have contributed substantially to India's successful record of conserving some of the larger mammals and their habitats. This attribute is at variance with the developed world, where a number of large mammals have been extirpated through active eradication campaigns. Incorporating intrinsic traditional tolerance has so far, not featured in the country's conservation planning. On a broader level, the UNESCO Man and Biosphere Reserve concept seeks to combine conservation concerns with sustainable use of ecosystems' resources through close cooperation with local communities, taking advantage of traditional knowledge, indigenous products and appropriate land management. However it falls short of incorporating variance among settlements in their propensity to coexist with wildlife and their habitats into reserve design. This paper, thereby, attempts to augment the biosphere concept by proposing a protocol which discriminates settlements on their propensity for coexisting with wildlife and their habitats. A framework for discrimination is suggested using a set of hypothetical parameters which quantify attributes affecting the coexistence propensity of settlements. Based on this discrimination, a scheme for prioritizing settlements for relocation is elaborated. It is also proposed that the prioritization is considered along with a landscape and socio-economical analysis before ultimate relocation decisions are made. [References: 13]