3 Orgs Address Human Animal Conflict Sustainably
All of us appreciate wildlife, animals and sustainable practices here, right? Without a doubt! So, naturally, we want to respect and not sully animals’ land and wildlife. In our modern times, humans and wildlife tend to come into conflict more often, which causes the following: Destruction of crops, buildings and land; Death of animals.
Thankfully, there are organizations dedicated to curbing human animal conflict.
The Center for Rural Empowerment & the Environment
CREE recently curbed a people vs. hippo conflict in Kenya.
According to CREE:
“The wetlands of Dunga on the shores of Lake Victoria, Kenya have fantastic touristic potential. Yet these lands are also rife with conflicts from some of the very animals that make the area so unique. Animals such as the hippopotamus compete with human settlement and often raid and destroy crops, leading to local retaliation. However, solutions to this conflict are beginning, springing up from locally conceived ideas executed in often surprising and creative ways. One of these methods is the use of ‘Eco-San’, or ecologically-sanitary toilets, which enrich existing agricultural lands through soil fertilization of crops from human waste. This helps negate the need for further colonization of swamplands, while at the same time decreasing direct human-animal conflicts with hippos on newly-converted lands.”
Nifty, huh? You can read more about that specific hippo story here. Also: CREE has multiple programs with similar goals in Asia, Latin America, etc.
The Humane Society
The Humane Society is working nationally to help resolve domestic human wildlife disputes. The organization has a web page filled with information about different kinds of human animal conflict resolution tactics. The articles listed concern everything from black bear problems to chipmunk invasions.
Manatee Alarm System
Remember all those “Save the Manatee” programs that existed a few years back? Well, all that accumulated support has paid-off a tad. There’s now a technology that helps manatees maneuver around boats.
“Years ago, when Dr. Edmund Gerstein tested out a higher frequency sound, he saw manatees react quickly. After 20 years of research, he and his wife Laura are now testing out a manatee alarm system that alerts the mammals when boats are coming toward them. When a boat approaches, the buoy holding the alarm sounds, and manatees have a chance to react. There’s a 100% success rate with the testing so far, showing that manatees clear out well before the boat gets to them thanks to the warning system.”
Want to read about other things that sustain our environment and help wildlife in the process? Check these two articles:
Wanna Save Orangutans? Eat Like Them
Food as Activism: Can What We Eat (or Don’t Eat) Really Change the World?
image:wwarby
