A study on the human- wildlife conflict in Ampara district

Abstract

Global population growth drives widespread deforestation as people clear natural forests for expanding settlements. This forces wild animals to encroach on human habitats in search of food, water, and other necessities Human Wildlife Conflict (HWC) rises, notably in Ampara district, due to habitat loss. This study aimed to understand the basis of the HWC in the Ampara district. Six Divisional Secretarial Divisions (DSD) belonging to the Ampara district, were selected based on the largest population and amount of cultivated land. Where sample number was derived using Morgan table. A total of 120 farmers were recruited for data collection with 20 randomly selected farmers each from one DSD. According to results, peacocks (30.8%), wild elephants (28%) and monkeys (26.3%) did the most damage to the farmlands. They have damaged paddy cultivation (21.8%), green gram cultivation (17%), cowpea cultivation (14.3%) maize (9.1%) and banana (7.9%). However, it was confirmed that compensation money will not be received for those crop damages. Moreover, there is great frustration among the farmers regarding the intervention of the related institutions to drive away the wild animals. Although various methods are used to repel wild animals, the success of those methods is very low. Certain methods cause harm to human and animals. A lot of physical property has also been damaged. The main reasons for wild animals to come to farmlands and villages are proximity to forest, increased wild animals’ population and availability of food from home gardens.