WILDLIFE CORRIDOR PLANNING USING GPS COLLARS AND FORESTRY DATA: PREVENTING HUMAN-ANIMAL CONFLICTS

Abstract

 Human wildlife conflict develops into one of the most serious conservation issues due to an increase in habitat fragmentation and human-generated stressors.  The multi-year study proposing integrating GPS collar-based monitoring with forestry-based remote sensing data and spatial modelling based on GIS proposes a first-rate, data-integrating platform of building wildlife corridors.  High resolution habitat suitability models were built based on real time tracking of elephants and leopards through GPS collars and NDVI and canopy cover indices.  We have made wildlife corridors that are safe to people and environmentally friendly by using these models as well as the conflict zone mapping using the human settlement and land use layer.  The findings demonstrate that well-designed corridors can reduce the conflict incidence of up to 43 percent in sites where incidence is high, and connect habitats by greater than 60 percent.  The comments and the field tests of the people within the area ensured the results were ecologically acceptable and satisfactory.  A further enhancement of the corridor proposed models was done using least-cart path analysis, forming corridor blueprints that can be utilized repeatedly by the conservation managers.  This combined research approach provides us with a model that can be repeatedly applied in minimizing conflict between individuals and animals and at the same time entice them to co-exist.  Our research indicates the significance of application of spatial analytics and participatory input in ecological planning. Such instruments can be used to safeguard biodiversity and maintain functional ecosystems in places where people inhabit.