Community-Driven Early Warning Platform for Human-Wildlife Conflict Zones

Objective: To develop a low-cost, real-time alert and reporting system for rural communities vulnerable to human-wildlife conflict near forest edges.

Human-wildlife conflict is a persistent issue affecting farmers and villagers living adjacent to forests in India, leading to crop losses, injuries, and sometimes fatalities. This problem disproportionately impacts marginalized communities, undermining livelihoods and safety. Addressing this challenge directly supports SDG 15 (Life on Land) by promoting coexistence and biodiversity conservation.

The proposed solution is a mobile-first, multilingual early-warning and incident reporting platform, leveraging simple sensors, crowdsourced reports, and open geospatial data to predict and disseminate real-time alerts about wildlife movement near human settlements.

The system will feature: a lightweight mobile/web interface for community reporting; low-cost sensor integration (e.g., motion sensors, camera traps); automated geofencing using ISRO Bhuvan and OpenStreetMap layers; a backend for risk scoring and predictive analytics; and SMS/IVR alerts for non-smartphone users. The prototype will be field-tested with stakeholder feedback loops.

Measurable impact includes reduction in human-wildlife incidents and improved response time, tracked via reports and community feedback. The platform can scale to other regions, integrate with forest department protocols, and support participatory conservation efforts.