Modeling on the assessment of habitat suitability and conflicting nature nexus of human-elephant-environment at the Alipurduar district in India

Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) are a flagship species in the regional ecosystem and their existence is increasingly threatened by habitat modification. Such circumstance caused Human-Elephant Conflict (HEC) notably in the Alipurduar district of India. This study aims to identify suitable elephant habitats essential for planning effective elephant conservation. The study employed the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) technique and used the resistance surface habitat suitability model in ArcGIS 10.8v software to identify suitable habitats of elephants in the Alipurduar district of India. The findings show 24.01 km² as very high, 110.92 km² as high, and 776.04 km² as moderately suitable habitats for elephants out of a total district area of 3383 km². In related with it, the study reveals that moderate and low suitability zones have the highest human and elephant deaths due to HEC. The suitable habitats of elephants are predominantly identified in the northern and central part of the district, overlapping with the elephant’s corridors, protected areas (PAs) of Buxa Tiger Reserve and Jaldapara National Park. However, the surrounding area of these PAs, with increasing settlements and high anthropogenic pressure, was identified as very low suitable for elephants. The correlation matrix uses for the grid-wise values of each selected parameters with habitat suitability magnitude to show the relation between them. The study further identified that forest cover, forest core, grassland, and water bodies were positively associated with suitable habitats for elephants, whereas variables such as settlements and agricultural lands were negatively associated. We recommend the management focus on the connectivity between these PAs that may be helpful for elephant conservation.