Volume: 46 Issue: 3
Human-elephant conflict: Role of medicinal and aromatic plants in mitigating HEC and ensuring livelihood sustainability
Year: 2024, Page: 102-114, Doi: https://doi.org/10.62029/jmaps.v46i3.yogendra
Received: Sept. 17, 2024 Accepted: Nov. 27, 2024 Published: Feb. 10, 2025
Human-wildlife conflict has emerged as a global conservation issue. Large swaths of forest and biodiversity are under threat from human development operations that convert natural habitats into profitable agricultural landscapes and plantations. Elephants are also losing their habitats and corridors (traditional migratory routes) due to increased human populations, agricultural development, and infrastructure construction like roads, canals, and fences that split their habitats. Consequently, elephants come into contact with humans, which escalates human-elephant conflict (HEC). This often destroys crops and property and occasionally causes human and livestock fatalities. Elephants may be killed in retaliation as a result of these negative interactions. Hence, comprehending the dynamics of conflict patterns, their origins, and the reactions of involved parties becomes imperative in managing human-elephant conflict. Promoting the cultivation of crops that are less alluring to elephants while remaining economically feasible for local farmers has the potential to facilitate a shift in land use and income generation within areas where humans and elephants co-exist. Medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) rich in secondary plant compounds have shown promise as crops less affected by elephants. Cultivating suitable MAPs, particularly in and around elephant habitats, has the potential to provide a stable income for the farmers. Besides, MAPs are generally resistant to biotic and abiotic stress conditions and are well adapted to climate change. Therefore, such crops could be economically important options in reducing crop damage caused by elephants, mitigating human-elephant conflict and ensuring livelihood sustainability.
Keywords: Aromatic plants, Elephant, Human-elephant conflict, Livelihood sustainability, Corridor, Medicinal plants, HEC.
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© CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, CSIR-CIMAP), Lucknow, India
Yogendra, N. D., Kumara, R. R., Prakash, T. A., Keerthi, P. E., Kumar, D., & Pragadheesh, V. S. (2024). Human-elephant conflict: Role of medicinal and aromatic plants in mitigating HEC and ensuring livelihood sustainability. Journal of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, 46(3), 102-114. https://doi.org/10.62029/jmaps.v46i3.yogendra
