With human-bear conflicts on the rise in parts of the country, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has directed initiation of studies on four bear species to draw up comprehensive conservation plans and identify measures to minimise such conflicts.
As of now, the ministry has a conservation plan only for the sloth bear. The proposed exercise will bring the Himalayan black bear, Himalayan brown bear and sun bear under the expanded conservation framework.
The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) has been entrusted with the task of undertaking scientific studies, including on the impact of climate change on the hibernation patterns of bears and the factors driving their increasing presence in human-dominated landscapes. The move comes amid a rise in human-bear encounters, particularly in Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir. In Uttarakhand, human-black bear conflict has reportedly resulted in around 117 injuries and eight fatalities annually. In Jammu and Kashmir, black bear encounters are estimated to cause 20-30 deaths and 300-400 injuries every year, particularly in orchard areas adjoining forests.
Officials and experts have attributed the rising conflicts to several factors, including urban expansion, poor waste management, pilgrimage activities and increasing human presence around forest areas. Climate change is also being examined as a possible factor. Experts have suggested that changing climatic conditions could be altering the hibernation patterns of bears, potentially increasing the duration and frequency of their interactions with humans. In the Himalayan region, climate-induced changes are also believed to be pushing Himalayan black bears towards lower elevations in search of food and suitable habitat.
The ministry’s academic and research division, NIRANTAR, has been tasked with compiling, reviewing and consolidating available scientific studies and research on the four species to support the preparation of the conservation plans. The MoEFCC has also directed the additional director general (project tiger) and member secretary of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) to share data on sloth bear occupancy collected during five cycles of the All India Tiger Estimation. The data is expected to strengthen research on sloth bear distribution and population trends.
