Human-brown bear conflict in the southernmost part of its distribution in Iran (Roshan Kooh no-hunting area, Fars Province)

In Iran, brown bears are in a wider range of conflicts with people than other carnivores. However, understanding the factors leading to conflict is a conservation priority, which helps prevent and reduce the damages. The aim of this research is to investigate the factors affecting brown bear conflicts as well as strategies used by local people to reduce the damage caused by this species in the Roshan Kooh no-hunting area, Fars Province. We used Daniel method for sampling by considering the size of households living in rural areas, and 200 questionnaires about the factors affecting brown bear attacks and the strategies used by local people for reducing damages were designed and local people were interviewed in 2019. For this purpose, social network analysis method was used. The results showed that from the perspective of the local communities, drought, brown bear stimulation and lack of fencing around orchards and beehives have the most centrality among the factors affecting brown bear conflicts with human. Among the solutions used by local people, the level of public trust before and after using educating children and inexperienced people, fencing around the orchards or beehives, and using herding dogs, is higher than other methods. The significant results of this research are the reduction of the centrality with the help from the Department of Environment (DoE) after use, which shows the low trust of local people after referring to the DoE. With the determination of the central role of education for children and inexperienced people, it is suggested that education to local communities is considered as a top of the management programs of the DoE.