Harnessing Geospatial Technology for Human Elephant Conflict Hotspots: Insights from e-Parihara data from Karnataka Forest Department. Conference Proceedings 

Human-elephant conflict (HEC) is a multifaceted issue in many parts of the world due to its catastrophic impacts. Hence, it is critical to address this issue with an integrated approach. We analyzed an unprecedented geolocated database of 1.31 lakh HEC incidents in Karnataka from 2019 to 2023, sourced from e-parihara (an Android application-based system for sanctioning compensation for man animal conflict cases) by the Karnataka Forest Department (KFD). This study highlights critical information on HEC and its annual trends, damage types, and compensation over space and time. A significant increase was noted in the number of raids and monetary value during 2019–2023 with 59.6 to 413.6 million Rupees respectively. Results reveal that 98.5% of the compensation was attributed to 12 districts. Furthermore, we identified incident and vulnerability hotspots at the village level in the state. A total of 2,529 conflict villages were detected wherein, 100 villages were categorized under very high-risk class based on the degree of incidents and total compensation paid. Vulnerability hotspot villages were found based on past incidents' spatial and temporal magnitude. About 557 villages were classified as Hotspots-I, 850 villages as Hotspots-II, emerging hotspots (277), sporadic hotspots (525), and cold spots (320). The increasing human footprint, habitat loss, forest fragmentation, spread of invasive alien plant species (IAPS) and mono-plantations within protected areas (PAs), and confinement of wildlife to limited PAs, have escalated the magnitude of HEC. The generated village level hotspots database can be utilized for conflict mitigation and strategic planning, aiding in appropriate habitat management.