Quantifying drivers of human-elephant conflict in an arid savanna ecosystem

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The rapid expansion of agriculture and human settlement across the African continent has reduced andfragmented natural elephant habitat, resulting in remaining populations being forced into closer contactwith people. Greater overlap in space use and competition for resources has proved a catalyst for intensehuman-elephant conflict (HEC), which is further exacerbated by climate change and presents a majorthreat to biodiversity conservation and human wellbeing (Shaffer et al. 2019, Front. Ecol. Evol.).Implementing effective strategies for coexistence between elephants and humans requires acomprehensive understanding of the ecological and social components of HEC but these have commonlybeen studied in isolation.Here, we will use a social-ecological framework by integrating datasets from both disciplines to address achallenging conservation issue (Collins et al. 2011 Front. Ecol. Environ.). This project will explore the driversof HEC on the western boundary of the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park (MPNP), which has the highestreported HEC numbers in Botswana. Existing data on elephant distribution and crop raiding will be used inconjunction with behavioural data from motion-activated cameras, remote sensing, and surveys exploringcommunity resource-use and attitudes to elephants. Four key objectives will be addressed:1. Determine how elephant distribution and activity is influenced by ecological and geographicalvariables (e.g. habitat type, topography, agriculture and settlements).2. Quantify the influence of habitat fragmentation on HEC events using historical records and remotesensing data.3. Explore the spatiotemporal patterns of agricultural activity, and the perceptions of localcommunities with regard to elephants and HEC.4. Use a social-ecological framework to identify landscape drivers of conflict and employ individualbased modelling to predict the effects of changing land-use and climate on HEC.The outputs will support stakeholders in reducing HEC and improving human welfare through thedevelopment of effective mitigation strategies and designation of wildlife corridors