Human resettlement and tiger conservation – Socio-economic assessment of pastoralists reveals a rare conservation opportunity in a human-dominated landscape
Resettlement of people for conservation is a contentious issue, but remains an important policy for conserving species like tigers which require vast, inviolate habitats. Recommendations to resettle communities should ideally be supported with careful evaluation of the needs of wildlife, socio-economic characteristics of dependent communities and their attitudes, and we (Mousumi, Douglas MacMillan and myself) present one such case study. Using a semi-structured questionnaire survey of 158 households across a gradient of tiger occupancy, we found overwhelming preference for resettlement among pastoralist Gujjars and hence an unexpected conservation opportunity to expand inviolate areas for tigers in the western Terai-Arc Landscape.
Conserving large carnivores such as tigers in human-dominated landscapes, where they can potentially inflict considerable costs upon largely impoverished local communities, is particularly challenging. Conserving and recovering the dwindling populations of tigers is contingent upon securing protected areas which serve as undisturbed habitats required for breeding, and maintaining connectivity between such protected reserves through a matrix of forests which are inhabited and utilized by local communities. With heads of governments of all 13 tiger range countries pledging to double tiger numbers by 2022, conservationists and policy makers at the global and national level are debating the best ways to delineate ‘inviolate cores’ and ‘areas of coexistence’ within larger landscapes to achieve these twin objectives, our research provides an objective framework to make such conservation prioritizations.
Resettlement of people for conservation is a contentious issue, but remains an important policy for conserving species like tigers which require vast, inviolate habitats. Recommendations to resettle communities should ideally be supported with careful evaluation of the needs of wildlife, socio-economic characteristics of dependent communities and their attitudes, and we (Mousumi, Douglas MacMillan and myself) present one such case study. Using a semi-structured questionnaire survey of 158 households across a gradient of tiger occupancy, we found overwhelming preference for resettlement among pastoralist Gujjars and hence an unexpected conservation opportunity to expand inviolate areas for tigers in the western Terai-Arc Landscape.
Conserving large carnivores such as tigers in human-dominated landscapes, where they can potentially inflict considerable costs upon largely impoverished local communities, is particularly challenging. Conserving and recovering the dwindling populations of tigers is contingent upon securing protected areas which serve as undisturbed habitats required for breeding, and maintaining connectivity between such protected reserves through a matrix of forests which are inhabited and utilized by local communities. With heads of governments of all 13 tiger range countries pledging to double tiger numbers by 2022, conservationists and policy makers at the global and national level are debating the best ways to delineate ‘inviolate cores’ and ‘areas of coexistence’ within larger landscapes to achieve these twin objectives, our research provides an objective framework to make such conservation prioritizations.
While researchers have assessed socio-economic parameters of communities affected by large carnivores in the past, our research is novel in making such assessment across a gradient of tiger presence to prioritize areas where co-existence needs to be promoted (low tiger occupancy, benefits of coexistence outweigh the costs to the community), or voluntary resettlement is necessary (high tiger occupancy, costs exceed the benefits for the community).
We used semi-structured questionnaires among 158 Gujjar households across the western Terai Arc Landscape, situated in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Specifically, our objectives were to (a) assess the livelihoods of the forest-dwelling pastoralist Gujjars, (b) document the number and nature of livestock losses and identify the correlates of livestock depredation, and finally (c) assess the preferences of Gujjars towards interventions required to improve their well-being.
We used semi-structured questionnaires among 158 Gujjar households across the western Terai Arc Landscape, situated in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Specifically, our objectives were to (a) assess the livelihoods of the forest-dwelling pastoralist Gujjars, (b) document the number and nature of livestock losses and identify the correlates of livestock depredation, and finally (c) assess the preferences of Gujjars towards interventions required to improve their well-being.
We found overwhelming support for resettlement among pastoralist Gujjars and hence an unexpected conservation opportunity to expand inviolate areas for tigers in the western Terai Arc Landscape. The main ‘push factors’ identified were declining forest productivity adversely affecting incomes and lack of access to education and health facilities. Thus, our findings represent a rare instance where excessive extraction of natural resources, recognized to be detrimental for biodiversity, is also the primary driver for resettlement. The desire for resettlement was also re-enforced by losses of livestock to diseases (72.7%) and carnivores (25.1%), which was uncompensated in 89% of the cases, and positive experiences from previously resettled households. Demand for resettlement was uniformly strong regardless of local tiger occupancy, but we suggest that funding for resettlement be prioritized for households in high tiger occupancy areas, given higher livestock depredation and possibilities for conflict.
Given previously documented resistance to resettlement within the community, we were surprised at the overwhelming preference for resettlement outside the forests among the interviewed household. While the respondents aspire to improve their well-being, largely influenced by their positive perception of the condition of previously resettled community members, this also represents a rarely seen conservation opportunity to expand inviolate habitat for tigers in this human-dominated landscape.
Given previously documented resistance to resettlement within the community, we were surprised at the overwhelming preference for resettlement outside the forests among the interviewed household. While the respondents aspire to improve their well-being, largely influenced by their positive perception of the condition of previously resettled community members, this also represents a rarely seen conservation opportunity to expand inviolate habitat for tigers in this human-dominated landscape.