Understanding the social drivers of conservation problems around the globe
It’s clear that impactful and long-lasting conservation wins only take place when social conditions support them.
There are many historical examples of well-intentioned ecological interventions that were undermined by a lack of understanding of the thoughts, feelings and behaviours of the people living within vulnerable landscapes and alongside endangered animals.
Conservation measures that do not consider the complex economic, political pressures experienced by communities, and their cultural attitudes and histories, are less likely to succeed in the long term, yet this remains a relatively under-explored aspect of conservation science.
Our research seeks to incorporate these important strands into our conservation work, and to provide a more holistic model for future conservation practices.
Case study: the Multilevel Map
The Problem:
Endangered elephants are internationally recognised as a charismatic conservation species. But to the people living alongside them, often in rural districts that face economic challenges, they can pose a very real threat to livelihoods and human life, as they can destroy crops and homes.
Understanding public perceptions of elephants is crucial to identifying regions at risk of retaliatory killings, and preventing them.
The Solution:
Until now, it has been difficult to quickly cross-check elephant movements with human habitations, and harder still to gauge how people are likely to respond to an encounter with one of these wild giants.
Senior Conservation Scientist Dr Jacqui Morrison and her team are producing a multidimensional map of Wayanad district in the state of Kerala, India. This map, based on data collected by the team using ecological and human-based data, identifies hotspots where elephants and humans are likely to cross paths.
This map adds another layer of vital data which accounts for people’s attitudes toward elephants based on in depth community surveys. Currently, mitigation efforts for human-elephant conflicts focus on regions where interactions are most likely to take place. Although useful, this can lead to a misallocation of resources.
For instance, although a community may experience more encounters between people and elephants, underlying attitudes towards elephants may be positive, therefore crop raiding might be tolerated more readily. On the other hand, a community that may not often encounter elephants may have negative perceptions, resulting in retaliatory killings following a crop raiding event.
By adding the dimension of human tolerance, this map will allow conservationists on the ground to respond dynamically to potential human-elephant conflicts, carrying out tailored practical interventions that are appropriate in a range of scenarios, including crop protection measures, and community engagement.
This project combines well-established data-gathering methods with new data analysis techniques to protect elephant and human lives through targeted conservation action. Once established in Kerala, this mapping framework could be extended to other regions and species.