Geospatial modeling to assess elephant habitat suitability and corridors in northern Chhattisgarh, India

We used remote sensing data and geospatial modeling techniques to assess the elephant habitat suitability and dispersal corridor in northern parts of Chhattisgarh, Central India. This region is frequently visited by elephants from the neighboring states of Orissa and Jharkhand in search of better habitat and often enter human habitations and agricultural fields resulting in conflicts with humans. Satellite images and ground information were used for land use/ land cover mapping and identification of conflict zones. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to assign weights to the three factors, viz., type of vegetation cover, proximity to water body and proximity to human habitation. Based on the analysis a corridor for elephant movement and migration has been identified which could be notified and managed by the state government in order to minimize human - elephant conflicts in the region.