Cost of Human-Elephant Conflict
Attributes
Medium: Animals, Plants and/or Others
Country: Thailand
Analytical Framework(s): Economic Analysis
Study Date: 2009
Publication Date: 2011
Major Result(s)
| Resource/Environmental Good | THB, per household per year (2009) |
THB, per household per year (2014)1 |
USD, per household per year (2014)2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Human-Elephant Conflict cost borne by households (crop loss, mitigation costs, and opportunity cost of time spent guarding crops) | 48,374.00 | 55,367.43 | 1,682.21 |
About the Inflation Adjustment: Prices in Thailand (THB) changed by 14.46% from 2009 to 2014 (aggregated from annual CPI data), so the study values were multiplied by 1.14 to express them in 2014 prices. The study values could be expressed in any desired year (for example, to 2026) by following the same inflation calculation and being sensitive to directional (forward/backward) aggregations using your own CPI/inflation data.
Study Note: The objective of this study is to conduct a cost-benefit analysis (CBA) and costeffectiveness analysis (CEA) of human-elephant conflict mitigation options. The options considered were: 1) habitat improvement and female elephant contraception; 2) habitat improvement, female elephant contraception and land-use change; and 3) habitat improvement, female elephant contraception and the use of electric fences. A household survey was conducted in six villages to examine villagers' attitudes towards HEC, the extent of the HEC damage caused, and mitigation measures used to deal with HEC.
Study Details
Summary: The elephants in Thailand are Asian elephants (Elephasmaximus) and they are of cultural importance to Thai society. However, the total population of elephants in Thailand has been declining, except in some protected areas (e.g. KhaoAng Rue Nai [KARN] Wildlife Sanctuary) where local predators are extinct. Some of these sanctuaries have limited food and water sources for elephants, which leads to elephants venturing outside the sanctuaries into villages, resulting in human-elephant conflict (HEC). HEC causes damage to crops and property, human and elephant loss of life, and psychological stress. The household survey showed that the average HEC cost borne by households (crop loss, mitigation costs, and opportunity cost of time spent guarding crops) is THB 48,374 per household per year or USD 1,612 per household per year, which accounts for 26% of annual household income. Policy option 3, involving habitat improvement, female elephant contraception and the use of electric fences, shows the highest net present values (NPV) and is also the most cost-effective option. In the long run, however, experts suggest that relocation should be considered as an option for KARN, given its limited capacity to accommodate the growing elephant population.
Site Characteristics: The KhaoAng Rue Nai Wildlife Sanctuary (KARN) is one of seven protected areas in Thailand that harbor more than 100 elephants. There are no natural predators to the elephants, such as tigers, in KARN and this is an important contributing factor to the increase in the elephant population. Wanghongsa et al. (2006) reported that the wild elephant population was estimated at 136 in 2000, an acceleration of 9.83% per annum. KARN covers an area of 1,079 km 2 of lowland rainforests across five provinces (Chachoengsao, Chonburi, Rayong, Chanthaburi, and Sakaew provinces) in the East of Thailand. In 2007, the estimated elephant population in KARN was approximately 217 and the crude density was 0.2 elephant per km.
Comments: There is little information available on the cost of damage due to HEC in Thailand. However, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in Thailand conducted a survey in Kang Kra Jan National Park (KARN) from 1995 to 2003 and found that HEC events occurred approximately 29 times a month and that agricultural damage cost roughly 3.3 million THB (USD 110,000) a year.