Human-wildlife conflict in the roof of the world: Understanding
multidimensional perspectives through a systematic review.
Abstract
Aim: Wildlife and their interaction human or human-wildlife conflict,
though reported throughout human prehistory, its severity and complexity
have increased in recent years. The Hindu Kush Himalaya region, rich and
biodiversity and known as roof of the world have gained recognition for
many conservation success but also with increasing trends of
human-wildlife conflict. But, they are sparsely documented and the
severity of its impacts are not known for the region. Hence, we present
a systematic review on human-wildlife conflict from the roof of the
world. Methods: We followed the systematic literature review (SLR)
approach of qualitative content analysis, using Search, Appraisal,
Synthesis, and Analysis (SALSA) framework and also used VOSViewer for
spatial and network analysis.. Results: Our results based on 240
peer-reviewed articles till 2019 showed 57% increase of publications in
the last decades but with disproportionate geographical and thematic
focus. About 82% of the research reported cases are from protected area
with large carnivores and mega-herbivores as major causes of the
conflict. About 53% of the studies were questionnaire-based household
and the results highlight habitat disturbance through land cover change,
urbanization, and human population increase as major drivers of
human-wildlife conflict. Traditional management techniques like guarding
and fencing along with improvement in plans and policies have been
reported. Our analysis of 681 keywords revealed prominent focus on
‘human-wildlife conflict’, ‘Nepal’, ‘Bhutan’, ‘Snow Leopard’ and
‘Leopard’ indicating the issue are linked with these species and
countries. The involvement of 640 authors from 36 countries indicates
increasing interest and Nepal and India are playing key role from the
region. Main conclusions: There is spatial variation in research with
limited regional and transboundary focus. Attention is needed on
understanding the pattern of interactions including meso animals along
with improved management interventions through integrated and
transboundary cooperation for tackling the issue.