MoAL invests in chain-link fencing to combat rising instances of human-wildlife conflict
DORJI GYELTSHEN
Thimphu
In a move to address the escalating issue of human-wildlife conflict (HWC) , the government has allocated a substantial budget of Nu 5.1 billion to install chain-link fencing across the country.
This project is a part the 13th Five Year Plan, which aims to protect valuable crops and also to minimize the ongoing human-wildlife conflicts, safeguarding livelihoods from the wild animals such as tigers, leopards, wild cats, elephants, wild boars and jackals, and also to avoid people from harming the wild animals.
The project will cover 205 gewogs and 20 dzongkhags, with 24,000 acres of paddy fields, 12,000 acres of maize fields, and 9000 acres of potato fields.
An official with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock said, “The primary objective of implementing chain-link fencing for agriculture is to lessen crop damage caused by wild animals, reduce necessity for labor-intensive crop guarding and enhance crop production by safeguarding against the damage”.
The chain-link initiative supports agricultural and livestock development goals by reducing wildlife-related crop damage from about 30%, ensuring food security, and improving rural livelihoods. “It will help prevent crop land from being left fellow, and promotes efficient land use with increased production,” the official added.
The government has allocated Nu 667.5 million for chain-link fencing in the fiscal year 2024-2025, with an additional amount of Nu 2.8 billion earmarked for the protection of other valuable crops.
HWC has been persistent problem for the farmers in the country. With already insufficient arable lands in the country, the destruction caused by the wild life animals are becoming a significantly expensive for the farmers. This not only impacts the farmers’ income but also poses a threat to human safety. To mitigate these challenges, the government has prioritized chain-link fencing as a viable and effective solution.
The chain-link fencing is expected to protect the crops, reduce human-wildlife conflicts, and enhance agricultural productivity.
The sturdy and durable nature of the chain-link fencing provides robust protection against wild animals. By creating physical barriers, it minimizes human and wild-life encounters, significantly reducing the risk of life lost, injuries and property damages. With increased protection from the wildlife, farmers can focus on agricultural activities, to boost yields and improved the standard of living.
“The ministry is using standard specifications for chain-link materials, for instance chain-link mesh, which complies with the Bhutan Standards Bureau’s requirement of 280 GSM, which is much higher quality than the normal fencing materials ensuring enhanced durability and lower maintenance requirement. The chain-link scheme will be transferred to the beneficiary communities, who will take up responsibility for its maintenance and ownership”, added the official.
He said the chain-link fencing has no direct impact on wildlife habitats as it is designed solely to protect farmland. However, he added that further studies necessary to assess the biological impacts of large-scale fencing, including potential charges in animal behavior and spatial spill-over effects.
Farmers across the country have expressed mixed views on the use of chain-link fencing to protect their crops from wildlife. Some farmers view chain-link fencing as a valuable solution to mitigate HWC, citing its effectiveness in deterring wild animals and enabling them to reclaim land that was previously left fallow due to wildlife depredation. They also appreciate the reduced need for constant vigilance and the protection of domestic animals.
However, other farmers have raised concerned about the cost of chain-link fencing and its potential impact on wild-life movement and migration patterns.
Dawa Tamang, a businessman and a commercial farmer from Chaskar village, Sershong Geog under Sarpang Dzongkhag said that he stopped using the electric chain fencing because the animals get used to with the electric shock which is resistible and they destroy the crops, mainly paddy and other cash crops.
Some farmers also prefer electric fencing, citing its lower cost and effectiveness in deterring wildlife encroachment.
Another farmer Rabten from the same geog said, “I heard that our geog administration has submitted the plan to execute building chain-link fencing which is not available in our geog currently, but I look forward to getting a lot of benefits from safeguarding my hard earned crops from wild animals such as monkeys, deer, elephant and wild boars”.
Yonten Jamtsho, Director of Department of Agriculture under the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, said the government’s commitment to support farmers remains strong with a significant investment in chain-link fencing to addressing human-wildlife conflicts. He said ensuring the well-being of the citizens of a country where agriculture is the primary source of income for the people living far-flung and rural areas is vital.
The chain-link fencing schemes are identified based on the criteria such as HWC severity, command area, number of beneficiary households, priority crops, and opportunities to review fallow land for cultivation. This approach ensures that resources are directed to areas requiring urgent intervention, maximizing their impact and contributing effectively to national food security.
However, the maintenance of the electric fencing are often delayed or ignored due to lack of human resources and negligence of the farmers. Most farmers have stopped using the facility because the maintenance is also expensive for many of the farmers as they need to hire people to clear unwanted weeds, prevent rusting of the iron fences and rotting of the wooden posts.
The farmers are of view that wild animals have now accustomed themselves to the electric shock making it less effective to protect the crops. Wild animals such as monkeys can easily jump over the fence and destroy the corps.
Farmers said monkeys remain one of the most destructive wild animals and there are no possible solutions to it than simply throwing stones at the monkeys, which is quite a tiring and ineffective task, as the monkeys come back in larger numbers to steal and destroy the important cash crops.
Dzongkhags like Samtse and other southern foothill villages has stopped using the electric fencing because of its ineffectiveness to stop monkeys and large wild animals such as elephants, wild beast, and bears.
However, there have been some positive reports about using the chain-link fencing from the areas without the presence of monkeys.
As the implementation of this initiative progresses, it is anticipated that Bhutan will witness a reduction in human-wildlife conflict and a positive impact on agriculture productivity.
