There has been an increase in the number of man-animal conflicts in kashmir from the last two decades causing general panic in the society. The main encounters occur between humans living in colonies bordering wildlife sanctuaries and animals living in these sanctuaries like leopards, black bears, and brown bears. Of late the frequent sightings of non-native species like saw-scaled Russel’s viper in urban areas of Ganderbal and Kupwara has led to panic in many circles.
From 2006 to March 2024, 264 people were killed and 3,164 were injured in encounters with wild animals. In 2023-2024, there were 4,947 reported cases of wildlife conflict, resulting in 12 deaths and 83 injuries. The north division of Kashmir has been the most affected, with 2,873 cases and 8 fatalities in 2023-2024. Kupwara, Baramulla, and Bandipora in the north, along with Anantnag and Kulgam in the south, are the most conflict-prone areas.
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The main causes of this conflict are the human encroachment of areas that are essentially forest land or the buffer zone between forests and civilian areas. The availability of food in urban or suburban areas is another reason as this alters the natural instinctive food habits of the animals. Climate change has resulted in reduced forest cover, which has reduced the natural resources for wild animals. Of all these reasons, the increasing population is the most critical reason for the increasing occurrence of man-animal conflict. Our Kashmir valley is expanding horizontally rather than vertically. However, the fact that the entire Kashmir valley falls in the earthquake prone zone is the main reason why the municipality does not encourage high-rise colonies. So the only option people are left with is to encroach upon the forests. Recently, the government’s resolve to build townships around Srinagar can be one effective strategy to curb this horizontal expansion.
The response of the Department of Wildlife Protection has established 22 rescue control rooms around Kashmir to manage the conflict. However, there are parallel estimates being floated that the Wildlife Department is not adequately staffed to handle the crisis. The Department of Wildlife needs to increase their staff, gadgetry and surveillance to minimise fatalities arising out of these conflicts. The government must consider the prospect of vertical expansion and start practically implementing it as soon as possible.
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