Effectiveness of intervention methods against crop‐raiding elephants

The raiding of crops by elephants is one of the major components of human‐elephant conflict, causing loss of livelihood and retaliation against elephants. To mitigate this conflict, various intervention methods are in use by farmers across Africa and Asia; yet there have been few rigorous assessments of their effectiveness. We provide an assessment of the efficacy of interventions in use by communities in Assam from a 3‐year survey dataset using Generalized Linear Mixed Modeling. We found spotlights, chili fences, and electric fences to be highly effective at preventing crop damage by elephants when used in isolation, but when used in combination with noise their efficacy was compromised. Our study highlights the importance of evaluating intervention methods to determine their effectiveness. We propose the use of fences and spotlights be promoted in Assam, in conjunction with long‐term habitat protection and restoration strategies.