Can India move from conflict to coexistence with wildlife?

Can we, humans, coexist with wildlife? At least in India, the answer may oscillate between ‘yay’ and ‘nay’.

Let’s analyse this. The number of human deaths caused by tiger attacks in India is 51 (2020), 59 (2021), 111 (2022), 86 (2023), and 74 (2024). Maharashtra has recorded the highest number of human losses over the last five years, followed by Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Similarly, an increasing number of human losses have been recorded due to elephant attacks in India. The loss of lives due to attacks by elephants in India is 595 (2020), 479 (2021), 561 (2022), 605 (2023) and 629 (2024), with the highest losses in Odisha, followed by Jharkhand and West Bengal. In a localised conflict, saltwater crocodiles killed 11 people in the last two years in the Kendrapara district, Odisha. Once rare, human-wildlife conflict has grown significantly in India.        

From conflict to coexistence, India has sought community support in its 71st edition of Wildlife Week (October 2-8) celebrations nationwide under the theme of ‘Human-Wildlife Coexistence’. From a tiger-focused conservation strategy in the early phase of India’s conservation story, which always got the lion’s share of the national wildlife conservation budget, to a critical and endangered species-focused conservation initiative under the present administration, it is obvious that the government has left no stone unturned to propagate a greener and sustainable India. Of 22 species identified for the species recovery programme in 2025, the Union government has provided financial assistance for nine species to states and Union territories. However, the competition for space, resources, and survival situates people and animals constantly at odds, leading to increasing negative encounters.  

What is the status of human-wildlife coexistence in the world? In a seminal survey of 70 countries by the World Bank on ‘Human-Wildlife Conflict: Global Policy and Perception Insights’, it is revealed that human-wildlife conflict is considered a major and serious concern, especially in low-income countries around the world. While the world population has tripled in the last 75 years, total agricultural land has increased to 4,800 million hectares (mha), more than one-third of the global land area, as per the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). Since 2001, the world’s total cropland area has grown by about 80 mha. With rapid land use change in terms of urbanisation, infrastructure development, and agricultural expansion to satisfy human needs and greed, human encroachment has severely degraded and fragmented natural wildlife habitat.

Despite 17.6 per cent of land and inland waters and 8.4 per cent of ocean and coastal areas of the world being globally declared as ‘protected’ and ‘conserved’ areas as per the World Protected Areas Database, the increasing challenges of human-wildlife conflicts are unmanageable. Also, climate change, according to the Centre for Ecosystem Sentinels at the University of Washington, exacerbates increasing human-wildlife conflicts on land and in the ocean. In fact, changes in temperature and rainfall are the major causes of human-wildlife conflict in more than 80 per cent of the case studies in Asia and Africa. Notably, all human lives lost due to crocodile attacks in Kendrapara district are during the wet season. Wild animals usually cause severe damage to lives and livelihoods of smallholder, subsistence farmers, pastoralists, and gatherers of minor forest produce. In other words, there is a direct link between poverty and human-animal conflicts.

Worsening matters

Does India’s age-old ethos of a ‘symbiotic’ relationship with wildlife help in protecting both wildlife and humans? Is it not that our respect for nature and its components usually remains restricted to mere speeches, seminars, and sermons for special ‘Days’ or ‘Weeks’? When there is an occasion for the environment, the thumb rule is to speak eloquently and eulogise nature. 

The story of human-animal conflict in India is as devastating as it is in other low-income countries. There are varied degrees and forms of human-animal conflict in our country. There are crop raids by ungulates, wild boar and elephants, killings and injuries to livestock and humans by elephants, crocodiles, tigers and other wild animals, both inside and outside the large swathe of protected areas.  At present, India has a network of 987 Protected Areas (106 National Parks, 564 Wildlife Sanctuaries, 99 Conservation Reserves and 218 Community Reserves). Besides, monkey menace in most urban and semi-urban areas is becoming the largest low-intensity conflict between humans and wild animals, something that is less reported in mainstream media.

India, being one of the mega-diverse countries globally, hosts nearly 7-8 per cent of the world’s recorded species, and represents four of the 34 globally identified biodiversity hotspots. So far, over 91,200 species of animals and 45,500 species of plants have been recorded. Yet, the developmental spree has definitely taken a toll on nature and natural surroundings in India. Despite the eloquence of the country’s executive, legislature and judiciary on nature and natural protection, the three organs of government are prioritising developmental projects over wildlife conservation.

Consider projects like Char Dham or the Great Nicobar Island Development Project, which would definitely have a transformational effect on the environment, especially wildlife. Outside protected areas, unregulated and unwise land use change is the single biggest reason for the exponential cases of human-wildlife conflict.  On the other hand, in the last five years, the government has processed 8,731 proposals and approved the diversion of close to 100,000 hectares of forest land for non-forest activities under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980. The number of proposals recommended inside wildlife sanctuaries and national parks is 881, of which 421 were recommended in a year. While total cropped area has increased from 201.18 mha to 219.16 mha in 2022, total arable land has marginally decreased from 180.62 mha in 2018-19 to 180.11 mha in 2021-22. However, it is the land use change in terms of infrastructure development and urbanisation that has increased exponentially in the last decade, which directly contributes to human-wildlife conflict.       

Conflict to coexistence

The Wildlife Week underscores and highlights the commitment to conserving the unique wildlife and fragile ecosystems through inclusive approaches. It must not be confined to only Wildlife Week celebrations. India, being the party to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), implements Target 4 that specifically seeks to effectively manage human-wildlife interactions to minimise conflict for coexistence. During the 7th National Board for Wildlife Meeting on March 3, Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggested several measures, including specific species-focused interventions, a centre for excellence in extending timely support to all states and Union territories through remote sensing, geospatial mapping and AI and encouragement of tourism to reduce the pressure on wildlife and so on, in addressing human-wildlife conflict.      

Despite the present Union government’s timely interventions and scaling up conservation and management efforts with technological innovations, human-wildlife conflicts are becoming more frequent, serious and widespread. We must understand that if there is little room to roam, the clash between animals and humans is evident. Empowering forest officials with modern techniques and equipment, making communities the prime stakeholder during the design and implementation of a human-wildlife mitigation plan or strategy, identification of probable conflict zones at the earliest and continuous interactions with potential affected people and compensating them for their alternative livelihoods would definitely reduce the friction between humans and wildlife. Behavioural changes among us towards wildlife and their spaces would help us to minimise our deadly encounters with wildlife. Besides, the land use change must be aligned with what world-renowned urban resilient philosopher, Joe Ravetz, calls as Collective Human Artificial Intelligence (CHAI) for wiser-future cities.

India can reduce human-wildlife conflict. The famous Jungle Book is the story of India that inspires the world that a symbiotic relationship between humans and wildlife is possible. 

Avilash Roul is an International Advisor on Climate Change Risks and Transboundary Rivers

Views expressed are the author’s own and don’t necessarily reflect those of Down To Earth