Factors driving human–elephant conflict: statistical assessment of vulnerability and implications for wildlife conflict management in Sri Lanka

Human–elephant conflict (HEC) is a serious social–ecological problem in Sri Lanka’s elephant range regions, as between 200 and 400 elephants have been killed annually over the last years, and more than 1200 people have died from the consequences of elephant encounters within a decade. Crop foraging causes economic damage to farming households. The study aims to understand factors driving vulnerability to HEC among the population. Employing a cross-communal multi-item large-N field survey (N = 651), authors were able to describe living conditions and perceptions of Sri Lankan villagers affected by HEC. By running a multiple regression analysis with correlated variables, the study is able to correlate independent variables to vulnerability, namely socio-economic conditions, environmental change and land-use, and awareness. Furthermore, a vulnerability map has been created, identifying Puttalam, Anuradhapura, Kurunegala, Matale, and Polonnaruwa districts as conflict hotspots. Private electric fences as a widespread protection measure were found to have unintended negative side-effects to non-protected households. The findings suggest the urgent need to upscale public policies mitigating the consequences of HEC on affected populations by reducing overall vulnerability to environmental hazards, including human–wildlife conflict.