March 19, 2007	Monday	Safar 29, 1428

BESIDES significant and beneficial role of wildlife in ecosystem, its harms cannot be ignored when it comes in interaction with human beings especially farmers in the scenario of resource sharing or their over use. Agriculture, being the backbone of farmer communities as a major means of subsistence in rural areas, happens to be in conflict with wildlife species that cause problems by affecting crop yield and consequently reducing its economic output.

This is observed mostly due to proximity and expansion of agricultural fields to the core zones of wild animals, where in search of food they happen to enter the fields and cause heavy losses to the standing crops. These animals, which cause problems to farmers by damaging their crops, are considered problem animals.

A variety of vertebrates like rodents, wild boars, porcupines, monkeys, and birds are perceived as potential threat. All animals are beneficial in one form or the other that are chained up in the prey and predation relation. The natural mechanism of population control of all kinds of animals maintains the natural balance intact. Disturbance in this chain causes some animals grow as pest or problematic while some grow endangered and extinct in due course of time. Among many of the instances, increase in rats’ population in fields is the repercussion of decrease in its predators like birds and snakes.

Crop damage by vertebrates like birds and animals is also a major issue for local farmers who might suffer more due to less land holding. In many areas crop raiding is most frequent that causes conflict between wildlife and farmers. due to which many

Moreover, expansion in human population need more cultivated land and expansion of agriculture into the wildlife habitat that result in greater interface between wildlife and people. The world population is expected to grow 50 per cent in the next 50 years from six billion in 2000 to over nine billion in 2050, which would mean to have more agricultural land and crop production to meet food requirements. This would cause habitat fragmentation of wildlife habitat and wildlife would resort to crop raiding.

The wildlife damage to crops varies from place to place depending upon the type of geographical area. In high altitude areas mostly people grow rice in addition to other supplementary crops, while in low land areas people largely grow maize, millet, potatoes, wheat, mustard, barely etc., where different wildlife have been observed raiding crops occasionally.

Wild animals exert significant influences on food production systems, which may be positive or negative. Positive influences include the role of wild animals in seed dispersal, pollination and bio-control as well as use of wild animal droppings as fertilisers. Many species of birds and mammals such as herbivores and omnivores are known to spread fruit trees by their feeding action. Some wild animal species including both vertebrate and invertebrate cause destruction to food and cash crops both during crop development and post-harvest storage.

Rodents are the most important pests that inflict heavy losses to farmers. Out of the 1,700 species of rodents, about 15 per cent are important pest species. Rodent pest significantly damage crops before and after harvest with an estimated 20 per cent of the world’s food supply consumed or contaminated each year. Rats render 15 per cent to 50 per cent an annual loss of food production in different countries depending upon the locality.

Crops damaged by rodents include rice, sorghum, tuber crops, grasslands, vegetables, nuts and sugarcane. Rodent damage is not limited to field crops as considerable damage is also caused to stored products. After harvest the crop attains its highest value, taking into account all harvest costs, processing, packaging, storage and distribution prior to consumption. The actual losses caused by rats vary by crop, variety, year, geographical location, pest species involved, length and method of storage and climate.

Mice, rats, and other rodents threaten food production and act as reservoirs for disease throughout the world.

According to a study, in Asia alone, rice that is lost every year to rodents could feed about 200 million people. In Pakistan rodent pest like Bandicoot damages 20 per cent to 40 per cent cereal crops. Damage to crops in Africa and South America is equally dramatic. Rodent control often comes too late, or is inefficient, or is considered too expensive.

Rodents damage is more as application of rodents control is often not rendered timely when the bulk of damage is done, that otherwise require huge financial input to eradicate the problem. In Pakistan rats that cause more than 50 per cent crop loss largely affect groundnuts, being an important cash crop in barani areas.

A wide range of other mammalian species like monkeys is a threat to crops. Due to extensive conversion of habitat of monkeys for agriculture and urbanisation besides trapping has caused monkeys to come in conflict with the farmers and local people by raiding crops causing crop damage. One common reason and understanding of the monkeys as problem animal is due to its more exposure to human beings (tourists in hilly areas by feeding them, open garbage disposal near houses and buildings), which has caused them more aggressive and daring than other animals. They are the most successful crop raiders because of their intelligence, adaptability and wide range of food.

Porcupines being nocturnal in nature have broad feet and hands with long claws that are used for burrowing. The main food source for the porcupine is vegetable material of all kinds, including fruits, grains, and roots thus leading to a large scale loss of agriculture. In addition, the species can be extremely destructive to gardens and landscaping, as they burrow through or consume the resources in these areas.

Wild boars are often encountered to raid standing crops in many areas of Pakistan, where the habitat is of scrub and busy type that provide a congenial habitat to the wild boars. They are found from marshes to mountain ranges and would eat anything from grain to carrion. These omnivorous beasts also eat nuts, green plants and cause damage to crops and fences. They consume grains and stalk of the staple food like maize, rice and wheat. It is a serious threat to the ground nuts grown in Punjab, NWFP and Sindh.

Leopards are also a potential threat to livestock of the farmers, who often graze the animals in leopards’ habitat where depredation of the livestock takes place, that result in increase in the conflict between wildlife and people due to resource sharing.

The conflict between farmers and wildlife that assumes a magnitude with the passage of time can best be addressed by adopting either chemical application strategies or bio-control measures.

However, extensive application of pesticides or lethal measures would help eradicate the target species with immediate output, but that would be at the cost of harm to natural equilibrium and other beneficial entities.

Moreover, integrated biological control measures would not only help resolve the problem slowly and steadily but the input cost is also reduced and natural equilibrium in resources is maintained.

Comparatively, application of chemicals would return only 13 times benefit of cost while bio-control measures would give 32 times benefits of the cost incurred. The conflict with the problem wildlife can be mitigated and their damage control must focus on economic, ecological and sociological principles. The chief goal should be alleviation of the damage rather than destruction of the wildlife.