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Peaceful solution proposed
The Cabinet Paper dealing with the human-elephant conflict is open till next Saturday for the public to send their views and proposals on the drafted policy. This policy was drawn up in the wake of increased man-beast conflicts and continuous contraction of the habitat available to elephants. According to the Wild Life Department, currently there are 4,000 elephants while 1766 elephants have been killed during the period 1990-2004, compared to 678 human deaths in the same period. The conflict is mostly in the North Western Province, where 666 elephants have been killed, followed by the Mahaweli Ganga basin area, which covers Trincomalee and Polonnaruwa districts and part of Ampara and Batticaloa districts, with 502 cases of elephant deaths. “The conflict occurs mainly when elephants are prevented from reaching food and water. Development activities have caused much damage to protected areas of elephants. If elephants are deprived of food, they reach areas populated by people and destroy whatever is in their way,” a Wild Life Department officer said. The new draft policy has recommendations on protecting elephants. It includes establishment of elephant conservation reserves and managed elephants reserves, minimizing potential conflict and promoting community based ecotourism centred on the elephant. Meanwhile, another proposal of the Environment Ministry approved by the Cabinet recommends that obstinate elephants which destroy people and property should be captured and kept in a reserve and not trans-located to another area. |
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