The human dimension of Asian Elephant (Elephas Maximus) conservation in Southeast Bangladesh

The ‘human dimension’ must be at the forefront when crafting effective management plans for large mammals in heavily-populated countries such as Bangladesh. There, Asian elephants have been declared critically endangered with only 210–330elephants remaining in highly fragmented pockets of forest, mainly in the southeast part of the country where I based my study. I used a structured questionnaire to explore conflict between the animals and humans; in particular,I investigated how patterns of land use are altering the availability of forage for the animals.The questionnaire was delivered through face-to-face interviews with 171 respondents across 109 villages in and near elephant habitat in southeast Bangladesh. Crop raiding, damage to houses, fruit gardens, and seedlings and other important human values were identified as proximate causes of the human-elephant conflict, occurring throughout the year resulting in at least 18 elephants and 50 humans being killed during 2013-2015. Retaliation methods currently adopted by farmers to deter incursions are traditional and may escalate aggressive interactions. Despite an increasing frequency of incursions, approximately73% of people surveyed favoured elephant conservation, at least in principle. My second objective in this thesis was to improve our appreciation of how the remaining elephant habitat has been altered as a consequence of human activities. For this work, I collected and analyzed Landsat images from the years 1989-2015,and conducted a ground inventory of the elephant habitat. My study indicates≈ 36% of elephant habitat has been lost in the past 26 years from this region. The average canopy cover of the patches I sampled was 31%, at the lower threshold of forest cover suggested to support elephants. Within these patches, forage stocking quantity and quality are likely very poor. Moreover, the existing vegetation communities are currently dominated by non-native species, hampering the growth of native forage. However, dung surveys suggest that elephants are using habitats with vegetation that provides more trees and cover. Effective elephant conservation strategies in Bangladesh will need to incorporate human awareness and attitudes as well as the restoration of habitat to be successful.To achieve this, sufficient funding as well as dedication is required.