Context:

• Human-wildlife conflict (HWC) is not merely a conservation issue but a broader socio-ecological challenge driven by changing land use, livelihood pressures, and habitat disruption.
• As human activities increasingly transform natural ecosystems, encounters between people and wildlife are becoming more frequent and severe across the world.
• In India, such conflicts lead to hundreds of human deaths in elephant encounters and significant livestock losses due to predators.
• Similar trends in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America highlight how habitat fragmentation, agricultural expansion, and dense human settlements overlapping with biodiversity hotspots make such conflicts increasingly unavoidable.

Human-Wildlife Conflict as a Sign of Ecological Imbalance

• Severe human-wildlife conflicts are concentrated in South and Southeast Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa.
• Countries such as India, Brazil, Indonesia, Kenya, and Tanzania face repeated conflicts involving elephants, big cats, and other large mammals.
• Habitat destruction through deforestation, road construction, and agricultural expansion disrupts wildlife movement corridors and natural habitats, forcing animals into human-dominated landscapes.
• Animal actions such as crop raiding, livestock predation, or scavenging near settlements are not necessarily aggressive behaviour but adaptive responses to shrinking habitats, declining prey, and ecological pressures.
• Examples of Ecological Stress
  • Elephants enter farms when migration routes are blocked.
  • Predators attack livestock when natural prey becomes scarce.
  • Monkeys and wild boars exploit easily available food near forest boundaries.
  • These behaviours reflect ecological imbalance rather than abnormal animal conduct.
• Global Strategies for Coexistence
  • Several countries have adopted proactive coexistence models:
    • Botswana and Namibia use community-based wildlife management with local economic incentives.
    • Costa Rica integrates ecological corridors into national planning.
    • Finland combines wildlife monitoring with rapid compensation systems.
• Common Features of Successful Models
  • Effective human-wildlife conflict management generally relies on:
    • strong community participation,
    • reliable economic compensation, and
    • ecological data-driven planning.
  • These approaches treat conflict as a shared management challenge rather than simply a law-and-order issue.

Human-Wildlife Conflict in India: Key Challenges and Solutions

• India has adopted several measures to address human-wildlife conflict, including compensation schemes, technological interventions such as solar fencing and early-warning systems, and legal protections for wildlife conservation.
• Despite these efforts, challenges remain in:
  • timely compensation payments,
  • broader coverage for affected communities,
  • easier access for marginalised groups, and
  • better coordination in deploying technological solutions.
• Need for Adaptive Policy Frameworks
  • India’s wildlife laws have contributed significantly to conservation, but changing land-use patterns and growing human-wildlife interaction require more flexible, locally responsive governance approaches.
  • Proposals such as fertility control for wild elephants have limited practical relevance in India, where elephant populations move across large, fragmented landscapes. Technical interventions alone cannot address the root causes.
  • Sustainable solutions should focus on:
    • habitat restoration,
    • improving ecological connectivity, and
    • community-based conflict mitigation strategies.
  • Experiences from Bhutan and Nepal show that community-managed forests, coordinated grazing, predator-proof livestock enclosures, and stable conservation funding can effectively reduce conflict.

Way Forward in Human-Wildlife Conflict Management

• Impact of Climate Change - Climate change is expected to intensify human-wildlife conflict by altering food, water, and habitat availability, forcing both wildlife and human communities to adapt under increasing stress.
• Need for a Balanced Approach - Wildlife should not be viewed merely as a threat, nor should human livelihoods be ignored in the pursuit of conservation. A balanced coexistence-based approach is essential.
• Key Policy Measures - Effective conflict management requires:
  • securing wildlife corridors,
  • better land-use planning,
  • stronger and faster compensation systems, and
  • active community participation in conservation efforts.
• Role of Education and Awareness - Public awareness and education can help build greater tolerance, improve understanding of wildlife behaviour, and encourage community cooperation in conflict mitigation.
• Conflict as a Structural Outcome - Human-wildlife conflict is not an isolated anomaly but a predictable result of changing land use, habitat disruption, and resource pressures.

Goal: Sustainable Coexistence

• The objective should not be to eliminate conflict entirely, but to manage it through scientifically informed, socially equitable, and ecologically sustainable strategies that protect both people and wildlife.

Why in the News?

• A government-commissioned study submitted to the Union Ministry of Rural Development has found that the Centre’s old age pension under the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) has lost nearly 45% of its real value since 2012 due to inflation.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• About NSAP (Introduction, Features, Structure)
• News Summary (Key Highlights of the Report, Challenges, etc.)

Introduction

• A recent government-commissioned evaluation has highlighted the growing inadequacy of social security pensions provided under the NSAP.
• According to the study submitted to the Union Ministry of Rural Development, the Centre’s contribution of Rs 200-500 per month toward pensions for elderly persons, widows, and persons with disabilities has remained unchanged since 2012, resulting in a sharp erosion of its real value due to inflation.
• The report estimates that inflation has reduced the purchasing power of these pensions by nearly 45%, raising concerns about the effectiveness of India’s social assistance framework in supporting vulnerable populations.
• The study has recommended introducing an inflation-linked National Floor Pension to ensure minimum financial security across states.

About the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP)

• The NSAP is a centrally sponsored social welfare scheme launched in 1995 to provide financial support to vulnerable sections of society living below the poverty line.
• The scheme operates under the Ministry of Rural Development and currently includes five sub-schemes:

• Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS)
• Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme (IGNWPS)
• Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme (IGNDPS)
• National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS)
• Annapurna Scheme

• The programme aims to ensure social protection and basic income support for elderly persons, widows, disabled individuals, and economically vulnerable families.

Existing Pension Structure Under NSAP

• The pension amounts under NSAP were last revised in 2012. At present, the Centre provides:
  • Under IGNOAPS:
    • Rs 200 per month for senior citizens aged 60-79 years
    • Rs 500 per month for beneficiaries aged 80 years and above
  • Under IGNWPS:
    • Rs 300 per month for widows aged 40-79 years
    • Rs 500 per month for widows aged 80 years and above
  • Under IGNDPS:

• Rs 300 per month for persons with disabilities aged 18–79 years
• Rs 500 per month for persons aged 80 years and above

• Additionally, under the National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS), a one-time assistance of Rs 20,000 is provided to families upon the death of the primary breadwinner.
• Currently, the old age pension scheme reportedly covers more than 221 lakh beneficiaries, while over 67 lakh widows and around 8.8 lakh persons with disabilities receive support under the respective schemes.

News Summary

• The evaluation report titled “Impact Assessment and Evaluation of the National Social Assistance Program (NSAP)” observed that the pension amounts have not kept pace with rising inflation and consumption expenditure.
• According to the study:

• India’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased from 100 in 2012 to 191 in 2024
• This reflects a cumulative inflation rise of nearly 91%
• A pension of Rs 200 in 2012 would need to increase to around Rs 382 to maintain the same purchasing power. Similarly, Rs 500 should have increased to nearly Rs 955.
• The report further noted that the real value of the pension has effectively declined by nearly 45% due to average annual inflation of around 5% between 2010 and 2024.
• Adjusted to current CPI levels, the Rs 200 pension would now need to be approximately Rs 353 merely to preserve its earlier purchasing power.

Recommendations of the Study

• To address the declining value of social security pensions, the report recommended the introduction of a National Floor Pension (NFP), similar to the National Floor Level Minimum Wage framework.
• The proposed NFP would:

• Ensure a minimum pension level is uniform across all states
• Be linked to the Consumer Price Index (CPI)
• Automatically adjust with inflation
• Include annual revisions based on cost-of-living changes

• The report also recommended that states should provide transparent and uniform top-ups over the central contribution to reduce regional disparities in pension benefits.

Performance of States Providing Higher Pension Top-Ups

• The study highlighted that states offering higher pension contributions in addition to the Centre’s share demonstrated better social outcomes.
• States such as Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Haryana were found to have improved income stability and overall well-being among beneficiaries due to larger state-level pension top-ups.
• This suggests that stronger state support can significantly improve the effectiveness of social assistance programmes and reduce financial vulnerability among the elderly and disadvantaged groups.

Challenges in India’s Social Security Pension System

• Inadequate Pension Amounts: The current pension amounts are insufficient to meet rising living costs, healthcare expenses, and food inflation.
• Absence of Inflation Indexation: Unlike many welfare systems globally, NSAP pensions are not automatically revised according to inflation.
• Interstate Variations: Different states provide varying levels of top-ups, resulting in unequal social protection across India.
• Rising Elderly Population: India’s ageing population is increasing rapidly, creating greater demand for social security and income support systems.