Research Projects

The study aims to develop conservation strategies to mitigate human-wildlife conflict in Hoollongapar Gibbon Wildlife sanctuary (HGWs), Assam, by understanding the impact of land use on hoolock gibbon movement patterns. The study will use GIs, behavioural sampling, and ethnographic methods to document the impact of land use change on biodiversity, understand tree poaching techniques and activities employed by the poaching industry, and document gibbon movement patterns and human-gibbon interactions. The research will use proximate sensing and remote sensing techniques to construct human-land relationships and classify land into regions based on intensity levels of human activities. Hidden cameras will be used to quantify tree poaching activities in the forest, and an ethnographic study will be conducted using direction observation and interview methods to understand the socioeconomic relationship between the forest mafia and villagers and woodcutters. snowball sampling will be used to locate poaching sites and trace ties between woodcutters and villagers. Behavioral data collection will be done using focal animal and opportunistic sampling methods, and animal behavior will be documented using HanDBase software. The results will help design effective conservation strategies to mitigate human-wildlife conflict.