Why develop a curriculum on human-wildlife conflict mitigation for the agriculture and veterinary sector participants?

Local communities are at the direct helm of HWC. Therefore, there is a need to involve local community members/village elders of panchayats through a participatory approach and develop a community-based emergency response system from within an affected village/ward.

Training programmes and workshops conducted for panchayats and members of community-level Primary Response Teams focus on reducing accidental encounters, enhancing the competencies of Community PRT members and reducing their vulnerability to human-wildlife conflict and zoonotic diseases by raising awareness.

The training programmes and courses based on this curriculum are intended to create a cadre of community members supporting in the planning, development and implementation of effective and wildlife-friendly HWC mitigation measures.

The curriculum is designed for Community PRTs. Moreover, the curriculum is also suitable for training programmes on HWC mitigation and One Health for panchayat members, members of other community-based institutions, women groups and youth.

Training Approach and Methodology

The curriculum is modularised, with modules being delivered using different training methods over required time periods. The modularised structure provides flexibility to adapt the contents, methods and durations of different topics on the basis of the training needs of the participants. Learning outcomes have been formulated for different groups of participants, and so the modules can be used in any combination and over different durations, for specific purposes and to fit specific training schedules.

A unique feature of the curriculum is that it focuses on HWC using the "thematic triangle" of driver-prevention– damage reduction.

There are some common modules for all key stakeholders. These cover common issues and the basics of HWC. Specialized modules have been developed to deepen the understanding and skills of different training groups in their respective fields.

The curriculum uses a mix of conceptual and hands-on training sessions, in almost equal proportions, to facilitate the application of conceptual knowledge and skills to field conditions and the appreciation and understanding of the issue of HWC in a larger development context by the participants.

The Trainer’s Toolkit

The Trainer's Toolkit is useful for faculty members and experts of training institutes of the forest, agricultural and rural departments and Panchayati Raj Institutions, as well as community-based training institutions and NGOs, who are facilitating workshops/training sessions on HWC mitigation and/or One Health for the panchayats, community-level Primary Response Teams and other community-based institutions. This kit contains all the modules, a training handbook, and a trainer's guide.

The Trainer's Kit contains the following:

Trainer’s Guide: A Participatory approach to planning and implementing trainings on Human-Wildlife Conflict Mitigation in India (2023)

This trainer’s Guide facilitates the trainers and faculty members of trainings institutions of forest-wildlife, agriculture-veterinary, public health, media, rural development and Panchayati Raj and other relevant sector in planning, implementing and updating the trainings on holistic approach to HWC mitigation effectively through enhanced learning of the participants.

The Trainer’s Guide contains notes that provide the details on the competency framework, competencies-based training curriculum for key actors and stakeholders, provides sample training plans to implement the curriculum, and a detailed section to facilitate use of participatory training methods.

The guide also serves as a compendium of selected participatory training methods, which are innovative, have been tested for their effectiveness, and are easy to be applied. The training methods can be customised to suit the learning objectives, audience, time availability, resource availability and other factors. It is also possible to include new case studies, relevant reading material or training activities as they become available. This guide provides general notes on planning, implementing and evaluating participatory trainings on ‘holistic approach to HWC mitigation in India’, and ‘Taking a One Health Approach to HWC Mitigation in India’ and specific tools for target-group-specific trainings for participants from, agriculture, media, community-institutions and field response teams. To access the Trainer’s Guide, Click here

Content modules, or Training Resource Material contain modules that will facilitate both trainers and participants in receiving background information on the training topics, apart from a field manual that will specifically be used by front-line staff.

To access the Training Resource Material, Click here

Participant’s Handbook: Reducing the Vulnerability to Human-Wildlife Conflict, taking a Holistic and Harmonious co-existence Approach for Panchayats and Community Primary Response Teams

To facilitate the participant’s learning during and after the training, a handbook is designed to help them capture anything that is of any significance or value to them and may help in enhancing their understanding of the HWC Mitigation and One Health concept, in general, and its application in the field, in particular. To access the Participant Handbook, click here