Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/17148
Title: | The economic cost of wild mammalian carnivores to farmers in the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan | Contributor(s): | Sangay, Tiger (author); Vernes, Karl A (author) | Publication Date: | 2014 | Handle Link: | https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/17148 | Abstract: | Livestock predation by large carnivores prompted the Bhutanese government to initiate a scheme (the 'Tiger Conservation Fund') to compensate agro-pastoralists losing livestock to attack by tigers ('Panthera tigris'), leopards (P. pardus'), snow leopards ('P. uncia') and Himalayan black bears ('Ursus thibetanus') over a three-year period (2003-2005). In this paper we report on the economic impact of predation to farmers during that period, and how losses were compensated. US$ 138,454 in compensation was paid to 1233 farmers for 1692 livestock kills. On average, compensation covered 35.5% of the market value of predated livestock. Compensated farmers lost on average 1.3 head of livestock in the year they received compensation, a loss equivalent to 39% of annual average household income. Losses were highly skewed; some farmers lost the equivalent of many years of income, and some remote northern regions of the country were heavily impacted. A majority of the compensation (63%) was paid for leopard attacks, so a strategy to reduce livestock losses throughout Bhutan should focus on leopards as the principal livestock predator. Compensation schemes are an important mechanism for large carnivore conservation in the Himalayas, and we advocate for a scheme in Bhutan that is long-lasting and sustainable. | Publication Type: | Journal Article | Source of Publication: | Proceedings of the Bhutan Ecological Society, 1(1), p. 98-111 | Publisher: | Bhutan Ecological Society | Place of Publication: | Bhutan | ISSN: | 2410-7913 2410-3861 |
Fields of Research (FoR) 2008: | 050211 Wildlife and Habitat Management 079999 Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences not elsewhere classified 050202 Conservation and Biodiversity |
Fields of Research (FoR) 2020: | 300307 Environmental studies in animal production 309999 Other agricultural, veterinary and food sciences not elsewhere classified 410401 Conservation and biodiversity |
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2008: | 960899 Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity of Environments not elsewhere classified | Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2020: | 189999 Other environmental management not elsewhere classified | Peer Reviewed: | Yes | HERDC Category Description: | C1 Refereed Article in a Scholarly Journal | Publisher/associated links: | http://www.bhutanecologicalsociety.org.bt/documents/2014/Sangay%20and%20Vernes%202014_Economic%20cost%20of%20carnivores.pdf |
---|---|
Appears in Collections: | Journal Article |
Files in This Item:
File | Description | Size | Format |
---|
Page view(s)
1,026
checked on Mar 7, 2023
Download(s)
10
checked on Mar 7, 2023
Items in Research UNE are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.