How Climate Change is contributing to a rise in Human-Wildlife Conflict

By Suja Mary James with inputs from Dr Partha Jyoti Das

The human-wildlife conflict (HWC) has always been a cause of concern in both developed and developing nations, but the issues differ depending on the local environment and people’s way of life. 

Distribution of human-wildlife conflicts  based on predation of domestic animals, crop damage, and attacks on humans

Wildlife can pose a direct threat to the safety, livelihoods, and well-being of people. Human-wildlife conflict is defined by the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) Human-Wildlife Conflict & Coexistence Specialist Group as “conflicts that arise when the presence or behavior of wildlife poses an actual or perceived, direct and recurring threat to human interests or needs, resulting in disagreements between groups of people and detrimental effects on people and/or wildlife.” 

Many biological and anthropogenic factors put pressure on landscapes where people and animals coexist, and these factors lead to HWC. Ecological drivers include seasonal changes, natural calamities, and animals’ life cycles, as well as the movement patterns of animals. Anthropogenic drivers, such as habitat loss, changes in land use, livestock management, expansion of agricultural practices, climate change, resource extraction, infrastructure development, and urbanization, increase the potential for HWC. “Each driver of conflict generates multiple pressures, which, in turn, have several negative impacts on biodiversity and human welfare” – WWF led report: A Future for All: The need for human-wildlife coexistence.  

Dr. Partha Jyoti Das, Climate Scientist and in-house expert of CFC said, “There are two main aspects of the rising incidences of conflicts between human beings and wild animals. One is the straying and intrusion of wild animals out of their habitat more into human habitats. The other is the reverse of it, that is human intrusion and encroachment into wild habitats. Actually, the second factor is the primary one that results in the first one. Why are animals coming out more in numbers and more frequently out of the forests?”

“All the ecological and natural drivers will degrade the natural ecosystem and comprise food and water availability but human intervention are ahead of natural factors.  Loss of habitat (tree, grassland, forests, canopy, wetlands) due to human encroachment or impact of other human activities and consequent loss of their food resources. The food base for wild animals can comprise both plants and vegetation for herbivores as well as the prey animals for carnivores. Therefore, food scarcity and loss or degradation of habitat are considered the prime factors driving animals out of their home, the forests, and the micro-habitats within forests. The result is more visibility of animals outside forests and a greater number of encounters with human societies,” he added.

It is very clear that the loss of wildlife habitat is already occurring, and the process of climate change is likely to make it worse. For instance, climate change might make the ongoing problem of droughts and floods worse. According to Dr. Das, “flood and drought can directly change the character of the micro-environment of the forest ecosystems affecting their ecological services”. The location and makeup of the geographical environment are anticipated to change due to climate change, which will force species to migrate to other habitats in order to adapt to the changes. This is likely to drive wildlife into areas that are more densely populated by humans and exacerbate the already present human-wildlife conflict because there aren’t many natural places available for wildlife to relocate. A recent study published in Nature pointed out that “Climate change is a critical yet underappreciated amplifier of human-wildlife conflict”. 

How does climate change trigger conflict?

As climate change progresses, its harmful effects become more pronounced. The ability of animals to adapt to new environmental changes and how that change influences the expression of animal features such as their habitat, timing of events, behaviors, and resources are one of the most significant research issues. In reality, entire ecosystems are being impacted by climate change. Even little changes present extremely difficult problems for wild creatures that have evolved over thousands of years to their habitats, food sources, and water sources.  Not only animals, but human beings are also showing tendencies to change their behavior and locations in response to climate change in ways that increase conflict.

The study published in Nature revealed that the warming world will increase the HWC. They pointed out that- the unavailability of resources (food, water, and habitat) or scarcity, forces animals to relocate to human-dominated areas in search of alternative resources. Several animal species are relocating to higher altitudes or farther north in response to the warming climate. These modifications may bring animals and people into contact, increasing conflict.

In some regions, rising temperatures can cause droughts that deplete water supplies, prompting wildlife to look for other sources which lead to HWC. For instance, the tapirs (Tapirus bairdii) in Mexico and elephants (Loxodonta africana) in Tanzania and Kenya, lead the animals to move into villages due to severe droughts- which resulted in crop damage and retaliatory killings.

In South Sudan, due to the ongoing desertification and frequent drought- herders are forced to move livestock to riverbanks for water and pasture, which resulted in fatal attacks by crocodiles on humans and livestock. It is estimated that the number of attacks by crocodiles is expected to rise over time due to climate change.

A steady increase in air and ocean temperatures due to climate change and El Niño led to the highest number of shark attacks. Bull sharks and tiger sharks, which prefer tropical water, have ventured beyond the confines of Florida’s traditional waters and up the Southeast Coast of the United States to the Carolinas. Due to the warmer climate, the number of people going to water along with suitable conditions obtained due to the warming of oceans attracts more sharks to this location. Attacks were also prevalent in Australia and South Africa, which have beaches comparable to those of the United States in that they range from tropical to temperate and are popular with tourists. 

Climate change alters the migration and hibernation patterns as well as where and how long the seasons last. For example, The “active season” of the black bear has lengthened, which has caused it to seek out “more resources” in places with a high human population, increasing exposure and leading to fatalities. A maritime heat wave altered the blue whales’ migration habits, made them spend more time in areas with lots of ships, and made them more susceptible to collisions. The amount of food available to Atlantic puffins in North America and Europe has decreased as a result of many fish in the North Atlantic Ocean being moved further north in search of cooler weather.

Researchers from the University of Helsinki and Lancaster University identified that behavioral traits of animals such as aggression, activity, boldness, sociability, and exploration of their environment show significant changes due to climate change. For instance, land use changes due to an increase in urbanization increase boldness, and exploration of birds. Also increasing air temperatures changes the phenology of some bird species and might result in higher interspecific competition and accompanying aggression during breeding seasons. Fish aggression has been linked to both warming of water bodies and declination of water levels due to drought.

Human-Wildlife Conflict in India

A country like India is no exemption as the population rate escalates at record speed- which limits the land and resources. Regrettably, as human settlements have expanded to the boundaries of forests, incidents of human-animal conflict have grown since wild animals frequently stray into human colonies as a result of the shrinking forest area. Along with unpredictable heatwaves and torrential rainfall in many parts of India accelerated the HWC due to a lack of food and habitat degradation.

Human-Elephant Conflict

Elephant-human conflicts have been on the rise in India as a result of habitat loss,  and if forested areas are not protected and migration routes are not restored, the conflicts could worsen. Their habitats are being eroded by agriculture and infrastructure. Nearly 40% of elephant reserves are vulnerable, as they are not within protected parks and sanctuaries. 

Asian elephants, or Elephas maximus, can be found in a variety of habitats and feed on a variety of abundant vegetation. Yet, several characteristics, including a diminishing population size, sensitivity to high temperatures, the competition from invasive plant species for their natural food sources, and vulnerability to disease, render them sensitive to a changing environment. Due to their poor dispersal abilities (caused by rising habitat fragmentation), lengthy generation times, modest reproduction rates, and minimal genetic diversity within the species show that Asian elephants have poor adaptation capacities. Recent studies reveal that climate change will cause a redistribution of species directly through temperature and water availability and indirectly through habitat modification. 

The Wildlife Trust of India and the IUCN SSC Asian Elephant Specialist Group estimated that 70-80% of all recorded human deaths caused by elephants across Asia are from India. According to the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), from 2014–15 to 2018–19, 2361 individuals died solely as a result of conflict with elephants. And around 1,578 people died between 2019-20 and 2021-22, with the maximum number of deaths in Odisha (322) followed by Jharkhand (291 cases), West Bengal (240), Assam (229), Chhattisgarh (183), Tamil Nadu (132), Karnataka (69), Kerala (57), Meghalaya (12), Andhra Pradesh (10), Uttar Pradesh (7), Tripura (5), Arunachal Pradesh (1) and Maharashtra (1). The increasing number of conflicts is expected to increase in the future as the natural habitat of elephants is predominately occupied for agriculture and extreme drought, temperature and forage losses create a tendency for frequent HWC. 

Human-Tiger Conflict

Prolonged drought and frequent wildfires -greatly depleted areas of habitat to live in with no food or water readily available.  When tigers and their prey species battle to survive, they frequently leave their natural environment and enter surrounding human communities. The beginning of the human-wildlife conflict occurs as prey animals enter these areas to graze on crops and are followed by tigers. A total of 276 people were killed due to the human-tiger conflict between 2014-15 to 2019-2020 with the maximum number of deaths occurring in Maharashtra followed by Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Uttarakhand.

Drivers of change intensifying due to reasons that can be ascribed to climate change

The HWC is not limited to elephants and tigers but a majority of wild animals seen in the Indian forest show a tendency to move toward human settlements. Dr. Das pointed out that, “More exposure to hot days, associated heat extremes, and lack of rainfall during prolonged dry periods can reduce the atmospheric humidity as well as soil moisture of forest ecosystems. Rain forests are particularly sensitive to changes in the microclimate. Similarly, forest fires attributable to climate change are found to have destroyed forest habitats irreparably in recent times all over the world”.

“For example, the floodplain forest ecosystems in the Brahmaputra Valley in Assam comprise several protected areas viz. wildlife sanctuaries and national parks, which are important habitats for several flagship mammals like the Great Indian One Horned Rhinoceros, Indian Elephant, Royal Bengal Tiger, Indian Leopard, Wild Water Buffalo, Asiatic Black Bear, etc. These animals are critically dependent for food and habitat on the ecosystem properties of the forests that are determined predominantly by interaction with the river systems of the Brahmaputra and its tributaries,” Dr. Das further added. Annual flooding, riverbank erosion, sedimentation on riverbanks, formation of sand bars in the rivers, droughts, and erratic weather conditions have a significant impact on the basic survival and behavior of these animals as well as on other fauna, flora, and forests as a whole.

Solutions

The core reason for HWC is habitat loss and climate change-induced drought, wildfires, floods, etc. Solutions to HWC can be complicated since they are specific to the species and area concerned. But taking defensive and retaliatory measures may eventually lead to the extinction of these species but a thorough understanding of the observed impacts and future risks of climate change is necessary and measurement should be taken accordingly. Effective management techniques need to identify and implement in order to protect communities,  reduce conflicts, and also help to build trust in conservation, and avoid retaliation against wildlife.