Managing Human-Leopard Conflicts in Pauri Garhwal, Uttaranchal, India using Geographical Information System and Remote Sensing

Geographical Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing have played a vital role in conservation and management of the natural resources and in enhancing our understanding of human-wildlife conflicts. Recently, there has been increase in man-animal conflicts in different parts of the country due to habitat degradation and human encroachments in forest areas. The Wildlife Institute of India has initiated a study to assess the level of ongoing human-leopard conflict in Pauri Garhwal District of Uttaranchal in relation to landscape characteristics. Remote sensing and GIS have been used to estimate the severity of human-leopard conflicts in relation to vegetation categories. The IRS LISS III satellite data was used to prepare thematic map using hybrid classification method. Broad vegetation classes like Oak, Pine, Sal and Scrub were delineated. Spatial database in GIS domain comprising digital elevation model and settlements were also developed at 1:50,000 scale. To study the conflict zones a spatial grid of 2 km x 2 km was generated. In each cell of the grid, conflict level and associated landscape characteristics were recorded. Area was categorized into different conflict categories such as low, medium, high and no conflict areas. It was found that high and medium conflict zones have higher scrub cover (>48%) and the grids have higher adjacency of forest and habitat/agriculture. The conflicts were highest in areas having more or less equal percentage of forest and habitation/agriculture. In no conflict zones, the grids have forest and habitation/agriculture ratio of almost 70:30. Primary and secondary data also suggest that frequency of leopard visits were high in scrub habitat. The study has given a better understanding of wildlife management and conservation issues in the area which would help mitigating planning of human-leopard conflicts. Also the utility of Remote Sensing and GIS technology in wildlife conservation planning has been demonstrated. Index Terms – Conflict, GIS, Human, Leopard, Remote Sensing, Uttaranchal, Wildlife. ——————————  ——————————