Elephants Also Like Coffee: Trends and Drivers of Human–Elephant Conflicts in Coffee Agroforestry Landscapes of Kodagu, Western Ghats, India
Résumé
Kodagu district produces 2% of the world’s
coffee, in complex, multistoried agroforestry systems. The
forests of the district harbour a large population of the
Asian elephant (Elephas maximus). The combined effects
of high elephant density and major landscape changes due
to the expansion of coffee cultivation are the cause of
human–elephant conflicts (HEC). Mitigation strategies,
including electric fences and compensation schemes
implemented by the Forest Department have met with
limited success. Building on previous studies in the area,
we assessed current spatial and temporal trends of conflict,
analysed local stakeholders’ perceptions and identified
factors driving elephants into the estates. Our study, initiated
in May 2007, shows that the intensity of HEC has
increased over the last 10 years, exhibiting new seasonal
patterns. Conflict maps and the lack of correlation between
physical features of the coffee plantations and elephant
visits suggest elephants move along corridors between the
eastern and western forests of the district, opportunistically
foraging when crossing the plantations. Dung analyses
indicate elephants have selectively included ripe coffee
berries in their diet. This is, to our knowledge, the first
report of wild elephants feeding on coffee berries. If this
new behaviour spreads through the population, it will
compound an already severe conflict situation. The
behavioural plasticity, the multiplicity of stakeholders
involved, the difficulty in defining the problem and the
limits of technical solutions already proposed suggest that
HEC in Kodagu has the ingredients of a ‘‘wicked’’ problem
whose resolution will require more shared understanding
and problem solving work amongst the stakeholders.