Many animals are slaughtered for revenge. Elephants are killed as they walk through the fields for food and destroy the crop. So, farmer finds an elephant to be an irritating five-ton garden pest. Similarly a tiger is killed if it turns out to be a man-eater. The best way to alleviate human-wildlife conflicts is to give people a reason to keep the local wildlife alive and healthy. For instance, eco-tourism development puts money directly back into the local communities. Rather than a burden, the elephants become an important part of the local economy.
Thus, the underlying causes of biodiversity loss are poverty, macroeconomic policies, international trade factors, policy failures, poor environmental law enforcement, unsustainable development projects and lack of local control over resources.
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