Finding answers to human-elephant conflict

Shrinking forests, habitat fragmentation, spread of invasive plant species are aggravating the problem.

The Karnataka Forest Department had organised an international conference on World Elephant Day on August 12 to find solutions to address the conflict with humans. Post independence, forest lands in India were diverted for expanding agriculture to meet growing food needs and also for development projects, infrastructure, mining and industries.

Though the diversion has slowed down after the promulgation of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, it steadily continues, causing degradation and fragmentation of forests and elephant habitats. The Forest Rights Act, 2006 accelerated this pace as communities cleared tree growth to grab land and claim rights. In both scenarios, whether the rights were granted or rejected, the communities continue to occupy forest lands they cleared.

Heavily used linear infrastructure, degradation and fragmentation of habitats, loss of corridors connecting forest patches, repeated forest fires causing enormous growth of invasive species like lantana and eupatorium, expansion of agriculture leading to shrinking periphery of the forests and conflicting cropping patterns on the edge are the main reasons for increased human-elephant conflicts.

There have been 3,829 human and 528 elephant deaths in the country in last five years. Elephants have died due to targeted poisoning, gunshots and electrocution. The 528 elephant deaths include 50 cases of poaching and do not include natural deaths. Karnataka has been reporting an average of 20 unnatural elephant and 40 human deaths each year.

A week ahead of the conference, the Karnataka Forest Department invited researchers for online interaction on research findings in the areas of addressing the conflict, leveraging technology, collaboration in community participation, protocols to deal with wild elephants and communication with stake holders. Some of the key takeaways that emerged in the interaction are that the elephants’ behaviour inside forests and also while straying outside has changed considerably, use of drone and artificial intelligence have been employed to identify hundreds of elephants in protected areas and assess their weight to know drug doses if they are involved in conflict and are to be immobilised. The media’s role is also found essential for education and awareness among the communities.

The loss of human life and those of elephants in conflicts has been there for centuries. Human death in India has increased from 120 in 1991 to more than 600 annually in recent years. With growing awareness, forest departments have come to the forefront to deal with it. Several measures have been adopted to contain elephants within the forests and reserves. Experts have expressed in the conference that elephants can no longer be contained within the reserves. We must learn to coexist.

Even elephants have adopted to living in bigger herds when they share the landscape with humans. Sri Lankan representatives too presented the grim scenario as nearly 400 people are killed there annually. They also rely on electric fencing, but the issue is complex and they find elephants on both sides of the fence.

Governments have provided funds and barriers have been erected to prevent straying. Elephant-proof trenches and solar-powered fences were the initial measures taken up. Many forest patches had both barriers, yet elephants strayed out. The ineffectiveness of the barriers is attributed to poor maintenance in some patches, the damage caused by the section of community in some others and even elephant herds smashing them to move out. Foresters thereafter employed innovative technologies and erected barriers with RCC structures across the streams and also in places where soil was loose and unstable.

Periodic removal of weeds underneath solar powered fences as well as clearing debris (earth and wood) from inside elephant-proof trenches were also taken up. Electric powered fences only gave mild shocks and are only a physiological barrier. Keeping the young ones in the front, the herd is seen pushing a medium sized tree over the fence and making it dysfunctional. Similarly, the herd is seen filling up deep trenches with earth and making elephant-proof trenches also ineffective.

There are groups in villages with multiple interests; some fill up trenches to make way inside forests for livestock grazing, collection of fruits and wood. In high-conflict zones, the forest department also erected very expensive rail barricades on the periphery, but those have also in some patches been damaged by elephants and people. Karnataka has erected nearly 350 km of rail barricades, and that has been by and large most effective so far.

Elephant deaths in train accidents are becoming increasingly common. Several states like West Bengal, Assam, Odisha, Uttarakhand, etc., have monitored movement of elephants near rail tracks and coordinated with railways to bring down the speed/halt the train. The straying of elephants near rail tracks is irregular. Staff tend to become complacent and accidents occur.

Uttarakhand has erected masonry walls on both sides of the rail line through elephant habitats leading to fragmentation and elephants straying out in some other corners. Ex-professor of Indian Institute of Science Sukumar in his keynote address at the conference presented how fragmentation can aggravate the conflict when 1,000 elephants in Assam became homeless in 1990-91 as tree growth was cleared in 2,000 sq km forest land during the Bodo agitation. Fragmentation increases the interface resulting in rise in level of conflict. He also added that climate-change induced migration is common in elephants as in human beings. We need to continuously research the subject.

In African countries, the elephants are shot down as they move out of reserves. However, the practice cannot be adopted in India and Sri Lanka owing to our religious and cultural background. Some of the important recommendations for India are to provide for central funding for rail barricades, purchase of private lands to re-establish corridors, replace invasive species by native ones, step up research works and prohibit distilleries on the edge of the forests.

The only solution that may work is the restoration of lost forests, corridors and habitats.

(The writer is retired principal chief conservator of forests, Karnataka)