Assessing the attitude of local communities toward human-brown bear conflicts in Fars province and effective solutions to mitigate conflict

Effective management of human-wildlife conflicts requires an understanding of risk perception, peoples’ responses to conflicts, as well as the impact of socio-economic and cultural factors on people's attitudes. We designed a questionnaire form to investigate the effect of each factor on human-brown bear conflicts in the areas with a high risk of conflict in Kamfiruz (Marvdasht county, Fars), during the peak conflict period (July to September), and evaluate the contribution of the effective strategies in mitigating conflicts. We used logistic regression to evaluate the factors affecting people's attitudes and also network analysis to survey the role of each factor in human-bear conflict and the importance of effective strategies in reducing conflict. The results showed that, according to the respondent's point of view, habitat loss and scarcity of natural prey, persecuting brown bears, and lack of sufficient knowledge about the species have the most centrality in the network. Also, among the suggested solutions by the respondent's, visual or auditory deterrents, trained dogs, compensation payments, insuring, and increasing natural prey’s population had the most centrality in the network, respectively. The results of the logistic regression showed that people who feel more eager when they see or think about bears have a more positive attitude toward the species. Also, people who like brown bears have a more positive attitude towards them. On the other hand, people who have a higher level of conflict with the species have a negative attitude towards it. According to the results, considering factors influencing natives' attitudes and engaging people in collaborative conservation programs have an important role in identifying effective and applicable solutions to mitigate human-brown bear conflicts.