The Majestic Elephant and the Human-Elephant conflict

By Dulithi Jagoda

The Sri Lankan elephant has always been an integral part of our history. They were considered a symbol of pride and were particularly treasured for their strength and intelligence. To this day they are believed to be of high cultural and religious significance to Sri Lankans.

The close association between elephants and the inhabitants of Sri Lanka dates back to the stone age. Proof of this lies in the few fossil bones fragments of elephants found in the caves occupied by the Stone Age man. Also, ancient rock paintings of elephants have been discovered dating back to the prehistoric era of Sri Lanka.

Scattered throughout various other historic literature such as the Mahavamsa, we find evidence of the vital role Sri Lankan elephants have played throughout our history, from being the official mode of transport of ancient kings to being a high demand export used as an animal of war in foreign nations like India and Egypt. The protection of the elephant was held so highly that no elephant could be captured, killed or maimed without the king’s permission, and those found guilty were sometimes punished by death.

However, from once being a country that valued and coexisted with the elephant, Sri Lanka in 2020, earned the dubious ranking as the country in which the largest number of elephants are killed as a result of the ever-persistent Human-Elephant conflict.

The Human-Elephant conflict is one of the biggest environmental and socio-economic crises of rural Sri Lanka. Annually, elephants are said cause over $10 million in crop and property damage and as retaliation the farmers kill the elephants. Each year, an average of 272 elephants and 85 humans are lost as a result of this growing crisis.

The foremost reason for the human-elephant conflict in Sri Lanka is the gradual loss of elephant habitat. An elephant needs around 5km2 in order to maintain a natural balance between it and its habitat. According to this, the current population of 3,500 elephants require around 17500 km2 (27%) of Sri Lanka’s total land area. However, the protected areas in Sri Lanka covers only 8,200 km2 of the land area (12.5%). This indicates that the current number of forest reserves are not enough ensure the long-term coexistence of these beings with humans.

Demonstrating the extent of habitat loss in Sri Lanka, the National Adaptation Plan for Climate Change Impacts in Sri Lanka (2016-2025) presents that in just over a century, Sri Lanka’s forest cover has reduced to a third of what it used to be. This is also verified by statistics of the Forest Department of Sri Lanka, showing that the forest cover which amounted to 44% in 1956 has come down to just 29% in 2010 and that encroachments and shifting cultivation combined with population growth are some of the main drivers of deforestation.

Even the effects of climate change such as erratic and intense rainfall and prolonged droughts contribute to the Human-Elephant conflict by making existing elephant habitats uninhabitable for herds of wild elephants.

Further, unplanned and erratic development plans contribute significantly to the conflict, the best example of this being the Mattala airport where elephants are continuously found to be grazing at its corridors. Even the roadways such as the Mannar-Wilpattu road, were built in ways that hinder the route through which elephants traditionally migrate which can further contribute to habitat loss. Such developments can further threaten this decreasing species, identified as ‘Endangered’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List as assessed on 30 June 2008.

As a result of this loss, elephants are displaced into resource-poor habitats and out of their usual home ranges, and end up migrating into human settlements, where they begin crop-raiding for survival. Consequently, they adapt to traditional elephant deterrent techniques like crop-guarding, fire, simple barriers, firecrackers and decoy food. Villagers then resort to increasingly inhumane acts like shooting elephants, pouring battery/nitric acid on them or inserting locally made explosives like “Hakka Patas” into vegetables, to which elephant calves fall prey into. 47 such cases have occurred in 2016.

Even though the civil war ended decades ago, land mines continue to be a threat to these animals, especially in areas around Silavathura and Mannar. Additionally, the number of elephants killed in collisions with trains is continually on the rise. The main reasons for such disasters are the technological deficiency of trains to foresee elephants from a distance and slow down or stop allowing enough time for the elephants to cross.

Additionally, livestock and domesticated animals in areas encroached by humans can easily transmit diseases to elephants, who are known to have low immunity. Moreover, the increased breeding of cattle and buffaloes that graze on all ground-level grass in the vicinity can cause food shortages for elephants, who are only adapted to eating tall grass above ground level. Water shortages that occur during drought periods that are common in the Eastern and Northern areas of the county, lead to an increase in the frequency of crop-raiding by elephants. Ad hoc development activities executed with disregard to elephant ranging habits have worsened the situation.

It is our responsibility as humans to find solutions to this issue. Sustainable solutions are needed urgently, and it can only be reached through the willingness of everyone to contribute to the solution. It is important to consider the perspectives of both the elephants as well as the humans that are involved in the conflict.

First and foremost, when it comes to finding solutions, we need to develop a consistent national policy surrounding the protection of not just elephants but our entire wildlife. Once such policy is implemented, allow for it to be constantly reviewed and adjusted in line with information provided by current research and statistics. Development activities planned and conducted on a landscape level should be strictly regulated.

Buffer crops, like chilies, that are unpalatable to elephants in areas margined by the forest or wildlife areas should be encouraged, as they act as a barrier to elephants destroying crops, buffer crops also have the added advantage to the farmers because of the potential surplus production and allows for extra cash to be earned.

Coexistence between the most affected communities of this crisis and elephants should be promoted and this can be done through community-based eco-tourism and cottage industries. For example, elephant dung can be used as an eco-friendly alternative in the paper industry. This could be used as a major driver of the rural economy.

As the foregoing discussion elaborates, while there is a long tradition of Sri Lankans coexisting with elephants, such coexistence and conservation efforts will be sustainable in the long term only if they’re tied to the welfare of the people who share a landscape with elephants and steps are taken to alleviate the brunt they bear. Therefore, authorities must explore systematic approaches to manage the human-elephant conflict and implement globally proven practices. Time is running out; it is our duty to act now or we may be forced to see the dreadful day the Sri Lankan elephant goes extinct.

References:

https://groundviews.org/2020/09/14/human-elephant-conflict-in-sri-lanka-undoing-thousands-of-years-coexistence/

https://www.ceylonexpeditions.com/sri-lanka-human-elephant-conflict

file:///C:/Users/DELL/Downloads/WP133.pdf

https://news.mongabay.com/2020/07/problem-pachyderms-geofencing-helps-reduce-sri-lankas-human-elephant-conflict/

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10531-004-0216-z

https://elephantconservation.org/human-elephant-conflict-sri-lanka/#:~:text=Human%2Delephant%20conflict%20is%20one,crises%20of%20rural%20Sri%20Lanka.&text=On%20average%20225%20elephants%20have,their%20own%20villages%20and%20fields.

https://economynext.com/sri-lanka-ranks-as-the-country-which-killed-the-largest-number-of-elephants-in-the-world-copa-76792/

https://thediplomat.com/2020/10/fighting-deforestation-in-sri-lanka/