Mitigating Human-Elephant Conflict
A strong conservation presence around the Nouabalé-Ndoki base camp of Bomassa and agreements with the local communities to manage hunting and protect endangered species has resulted in a steady increase in the frequency of elephant visitation to the village from 1998 until the present day. In attempting to implement a sustainable solution to the problem of elephant crop damage in particular, a system of 'experimental fields' was established in 2000 in order to develop cost-effective methods for reducing and preventing elephant crop damage.
In the first three phases the basic defense consisted of fencing with audio deterrents in the form of empty tin cans strung up at intervals. The third phase introduced two important new aspects; firstly, heavy wire cable surrounding the fields was smeared with a mixture of grease and hot chili pepper, and secondly, the fields were divided into plots that were assigned to individual families. These families were responsible for tending the plots, maintaining field defenses, and in turn reaping the rewards of successfully harvested crops.
The proportion of successfully harvested manioc increased with each phase, each phase with tougher and more durable defenses. Furthermore, the third phase proved economically more viable than previous phases, with expenses limited to the cost of materials. However, despite encouraging progress, these results did not ultimately solve the human-elephant conflict problem and innovative and sustainable solutions still need to be developed.