Crop depredation by wild herbivores at western boundatry of Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR), Chandrapur, Maharashtra, India

Abstract

Crop-raiding, herbivores, wildlife, conservation, agriculture, nilgai Crop raiding by wild herbivores close to an area of protected wildlife is a serious problem that can potentially undermine conservation efforts. However, there is a lack of development of appropriate methods to estimate and monitor damage caused by wild herbivores and as a result the severity of the problem remains under-appreciated in most parts. 6 different approaches were employed to estimate the extent of and patterns in crop damage by wild herbivores along the western boundary of Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve. The different approaches highlight different aspects of the problem but converge on an estimated damage of over 50% for the fields adjacent to the forest cover gradually reducing in intensity with distance. It was found that the visual damage assessment method currently employed by the government for paying compensation to farmers was uncorrelated to and grossly underestimated actual damage in terms of deficit in the yield at harvest. A theoretical model was developed to optimize farmers' strategies when faced with the threat of crop depredation as well as herbivores' strategies to optimize their foraging. The model gives a number of novel insights into the problem and suggests which mitigation measures are likely to be effective and which ones not. Nilgai was found to display a different set of behaviours while foraging in the forest versus on agricultural lands. Triggered by the empirical findings and the theoretical models, a novel community operated system for recording damage realistically and compensating the farmers is suggested. The system is based on principles of behavioural economics and ensures that honesty in reporting is the only stable behavioural strategy for the farmers.