Empowering community, planning ahead to avoid human-wildlife conflict
Supported by:
Our project, supported by Community Conservation Inc., aims to address the conservation challenges faced by the Trijuga forest, an important wildlife habitat located on the border of Udayapur and Saptari districts in the southeast region of Nepal.
The Trijuga forest, covering an area of 430 sq. km, is a semi-isolated forest patch within the Churia region. Despite its significance as an important wildlife habitat outside of protected areas, this forest has received little conservation attention, which poses a threat to its conservation importance.
The region is home to various threatened wildlife species, including the Asiatic elephant, sloth bear, common leopard, gaur, and Chinese pangolin. However, the forest is surrounded by extensive agricultural lands and human settlements, leading to frequent conflicts between local communities and wildlife. Crop raiding by elephants, wild boars, and rhesus macaques, livestock depredation by common leopards, and human-wildlife conflicts are major issues in the Trijuga forest periphery.
To address these challenges, our project focuses on
- Promoting sustainable use and management of forest resources while considering wildlife ecology and implementing conflict mitigation measures.
- Generating baseline information on wildlife diversity, ecology, and conflict scenarios through community-assisted camera trapping, we aim to enhance the understanding of Trijuga forest’s wildlife.
- Building the capacity of local community forest user groups. We will provide training and resources to six community forest user groups in wildlife monitoring and research techniques.
Our project will empower the local stakeholders to actively participate in wildlife conservation efforts and contribute to the development of appropriate wildlife-friendly forest management practices.
Through our camera trap survey, we will collect valuable data on wildlife species present in the Trijuga forest. These survey results will be disseminated among the local communities, forest user groups, and relevant stakeholders. By sharing reliable scientific information, we aim to increase awareness and promote the adoption of improved wildlife-friendly forest management practices.
Our project hopes to promote harmonious coexistence between local communities and the rich wildlife that calls this forest their home.
