An Assessment of Crop Depredationand Human Harassment Bythewildanimalsin Shivapuri National Park (A Case Study of SanglaVillageDevelopment Committee)

Abstract

Shivapuri National Park is located on the northern fringes of Kathmandu Valley. It isthe only national park in proximity to the capital. It is situated 12 km north ofdowntownKathmandu. It covers as average of 144 sq. km that touched almost 23VDCs of Kathmandu, Nuwakot and Sindhupalchowk districts. The park providesimportant habitat for many of Nepal's protected species. It is home to 177 species ofbirds, 102 species of butterflies and 21 species ofmammals. There are 2122 species offlora 16 of them are endemic floweringplants. The study was conducted in Sangla VDC of Kathmandu district, located to thewestern side of Shivapuri National Park. The questionnaire survey was done in 117householdsof six wards toestimate theamount and annual monetary value ofcroplost due to wild animals, to identify the most destructive wild animal, to documentproblems, need and views of local people in connection with natural resourcesmanagement, including wildlife and to recommend possible measures to alleviateproblems.Simple random sampling methodwas conducted to assess crop depredationby wild animals for one year from October 2005 to October 2006. The study showed the total crop damage by wild animals to be 23235.50 Kg. The losspercentage of maize was found to be the highest with respect to the expectedproduction. The estimated economic loss of crops is Rs. 6,28,138of which 26.14% tomaize, 23.51% to millet, 15.07% to paddy and 12.57% to wheat. The reportedeconomic loss was Rs. 5368.70 per household on an average. TheWildBoar(Sus scrofa)was found to be themajor destructive wild animalfollowed by porcupines, birds and other animals. Crop damage was the most seriousproblem in the study area. Only 4.22% of the human harassment problem wasreported. It was found that the traditional preventive measures including machan, fireand various types of scaring deviceswere partially successful to chase wild animals. Based on thefindings of this study, some measurements are proposed to resolve theproblem and to formulate the future plans by recognizing the most destructive wildanimal anditspreferredcrop.