Human-wildlife conflict in Asia: implications for orangutan conservation

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1 Human-wildlife conflict in Asia: implications for orangutan conservation Elizabeth Linda Yuliani THINKING beyond the canopy

2 Asia s forests Forests: 17.8% of land area Natural: Tropical rainforests Moist forests Peat forests Temperate/boreal forests Planted

3 Asia s forests million of people living in or near forest reserves in Asia (Lynch and Talbot, 1995) Home to high biodiversity including charismatic megafauna

4 Human-wildlife conflict in Asia Increasing conflict Involves protected and non-protected species In protected and non-protected areas, in various ecosystems 7/24/2013 4

5 Some examples 7/24/2013 5

6 Tigers Area occupied by Asian tigers: declining 41% between mid 1990s-mid 2000s Increasing attacks: In Sundarban, West Bengal, India: 30% increase over the past decade In Sumatra, Indonesia: 57 people were killed between Source: Wild Tiger Conservation. Save The Tiger Fund. Retrieved

7 Tigers Declining tigers population: In India: 40,000 a century ago, 3,642 in 2002, 1,411 in 2008 Sumatran tiger: approx. 400 (early 1990s), 250 ( ); at least 51 tigers per year were killed from (76% for trade, 15% human-tiger conflict (Shepherd and Magnus 2004). Bali tiger P. t. balica and the Javan tiger P.t. sondaica have become extinct in the last 50 years Dave Salmoni in Linkie, M., Wibisono, H.T., Martyr, D.J. & Sunarto, S Panthera tigris ssp. sumatrae. In: IUCN IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version < Downloaded on 10 January MoF, National strategy and action plan on tiger conservation.

8 Asian elephants Human elephant conflict in Northeast India: > 1,150 humans and 370 elephants have died between 1980 and 2003 (Choudhury 2003). Reports of people injured and killed caused by elephant attacks in Sumatra (scattered data) Declining elephant population: Asian: at least 50% over the last three generations (60 75 years) Sumatran: at least 80% Entire elephant population in Riau and Lampung have disappeared; nine populations in Lampung have lost since mid 1980s Source of map: Dr. Raman Sukumar in Murdoch (2008)

9 Orangutans Out of the populations extant in 1900: 7% of the Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) 14% of the Sumatran orangutan (P. abelii) population survived the 20th century (Rijksen and Meijaard, 1999) Wich et al. (2008): Sumatran orangutan in the wild: 6,624 Bornean orangutan: P. pygmaeus subsp. pygmaeus 3,000 4,500 P. pygmaeus subsp. wurmbii at least 34,975 P. pygmaeus subsp. morio 15,800 (4,800 in East Kalimantan, Indonesia, and 11,000 in Sabah, Malaysia) Map: Caldecott, J. and Miles, L. (Eds.) World Atlas of Great Apes and Their Conservation, UNEP and WCMC

10 Human-orangutan conflict Attack to human <<< tigers and elephants. 2 local people injured (Sebulu - March 2000, Central Kal - Jan 2010) + local tour guides attacked after being too closed + unreported cases. Meijaard et al. (2011): Between 750 and 1790 orangutan were killed in 2010 and between 1970 and 3100 in 2004 High rate of conflict and killings: area with high deforestation rates and rapid plantation development especially in the part once an area of very high orangutan densities but very little natural forest habitat remains Reported reasons for orangutan killings: food (54%) self-defence (14%) don t know (11%) pest of crops (10%) other reasons (combined 11%) 7/24/

11 Inter-connected driving factors of HWC Competition over space and resources: human population growth + Landuse conversion -> habitat loss, degradation, fragmentation Large scale development projects inside and around PAs (e.g. monoculture plantations, road, mining, settlement) Market opportunity and demand -> illegal trade Stochastic events (e.g. fire) Considered pests. One palm oil company paying Rp. 150,000 (around $17) for every orangutan pest killed (Buckland, 2005) Often involve human-human conflict Abundance and distribution of wild prey (for carnivores) and dietary plants (for herbivores and omnivores) Increasing livestock populations Increasing wildlife population as a result of conservation program Climate change (Madden 2004, Moeliono et al. forthcoming, Rijksen and Meijaard 1999) 7/24/

12 Programs to mitigate and prevent HWC, e.g.: Policies National strategy and action plans Natural and artificial barriers Guarding Patrolling Compensation/incentives/ economic activities Wildlife translocation 7/24/

13 But: HWC keeps increasing, protected species population and their habitat keep declining All the good things stopped when project ended WHY?? WHAT ARE THE GAPS? 7/24/

14 The gaps: B.A.U!!!! BAU processes -> BAU solutions. Repeating the same mistakes, e.g.: Social science, methods and approaches have not been sufficiently understood and involved in community development and social-related studies Imbalanced views and reports of local people s roles, perceptions, values, culture and tradition (e.g. threat or supporter) -> misleading solutions Compensation/incentive schemes leading to inequity and human-human conflict Global local linkages: one-size fits all Failure to involve key actors beyond conservation Learning processes rarely apply learning theories and tools 7/24/

15 The gaps (continued.) Aerial photo taken by Greenpeace and WALHI, February 2009 Decision makers priority: short-term economic return, not conservation. Protected species outside PAs: government conservation agency do not have authority over land-use policies Local stakeholders lack of capacity to deal with conflict, or to prevent conflict. Training for forest rangers and government conservation staff: mostly command-control leading to conflict, rather than building collaboration and communication. Pro-conservation turned into opposition. 7/24/

16 The questions of orangutan conservation High rate of conflict, killings and trade found in deforested area and plantations: is poverty the key driver? Understanding the characteristics and the key drivers of human-orangutan conflict -> what s next? 7/24/

17 Recommendations Prioritize conservation goals, revival of traditional norms, pride of natural heritage, education and awareness raising programs. Conservation activities should NOT be driven by economic motivation. Economic benefits will follow as part of ecosystem functions delivered from conservation. BAU??? Come on. Go out from your comfort zone, and be creative, be innovative!!! 7/24/

18 Thank you 7/24/