indigenous, or non-Western culture invari-
ably tolerates wildlife. Even those that do
have limits to their tolerance for economic
and personal loss. Some cultures maintain
beliefs about the management of nature
and its resources that may be incompatible
with today’s shrinking resource base. Thus,
“traditional conservation beliefs...are not
ready made prescriptions for today’s
world.”^6 However, it is a mistake to assume
that the presence or absence of active tradi-
tional conservation strategies
equates with the presence or
absence of cultural tolerance.
It is also a mistake to design
every conservation strategy
on the assumption that cul-
tural beliefs involve a separa-
tion or antipathy between
people and wildlife. In fact,
some situations will offer
opportunities to tap into cul-
tural values that support con-
servation.
Stories and other cultural
creations often serve as cul-
tural “teaching aids,”
embodying religious and cul-
tural lessons about the rules,
beliefs, practices and values
of a community. Many such
stories teach respect for and a strong rela-
tionship with nature. Religious systems
incorporate associations with animals that
build respect for wildlife. The values such
stories and systems impart may encourage
tolerance to wildlife interaction.
For instance, the Hindu epic, Ramayana,
teaches in a colorful and dramatic way why
people should respect monkeys, as they are
proven faithful servants of the gods and an
ally to the people. Thus a taboo that was
established against hunting of monkeys still
exists in many areas in Southeast Asia
today^7. Similarly, in Buddhist tradition, tem-
ples are often filled with artistic replicas of
tigers, rhinos, elephants and other wildlife
species promoting the belief that wildlife
have a sacred function in reflecting the uni-
fied world of people, animals and gods. In
another example, Hindu farmers may find
spiritual consolation for material losses due
to elephants’ incursions into fields through
their belief in the elephant-headed god
Ganesh, a friendly, beloved god who has
the power to impart or do away with suc-
cess, eliminate or set up obstacles, satisfy
or disregard wishes, and is considered the
god of literacy.^8
Elephants in Asia: material costs and
spiritual benefits
One of the most formidable instigators of
human-wildlife conflict in Asia and Africa,
elephants cause hundreds of deaths each
year and untold economic losses to crops
and property in their raids. Understandably,
retaliation against these animals is increas-
ing where damages add up and little is
done by governments whose laws prohibit
people from acting in self-defense, yet fail
to offer alternative means to effectively mit-
igate and prevent human-elephant conflict.
History, cculture aand cconservation
Figure 1.In the floodplain of Waza Logone elephant herds (some-
times composed of hundreds of animals) are known to devastate
croplands and take human lives in their migration patterns. The local
residents have hardly any means to defend themselves, as the law
forbids them to harm the elephants in any way. (Courtesy Grazia
Borrini-Feyerabend)
