Human-Elephant Conflict: Officials mull relocating elephants that encroach on villages

The Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha (Retd) chaired a meeting at the Defence Ministry, to review the ongoing measures to mitigate the escalating human-elephant conflict.

The discussion placed special emphasis on addressing the damage caused by wild elephants to agricultural lands and the livelihoods of communities across the island.

Among other key topics deliberated were the relocation of elephants that have encroached on villages to designated protected reserves and the installation of advanced elephant fencing integrated with real-time monitoring systems, and the implementation of community awareness programmes aimed at fostering sustainable human-elephant coexistence, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement.

The need to initiate the formulation of a sustainable action plan was also emphasized during the meeting, said the Ministry.

Representatives of the tri-services, Police, Civil Security Department, senior officials of the Ministries of Agriculture, Environment and Public Administration, Mahaweli Authority, Central Environment Authority, Department of Wildlife Conservation, and connected agencies, as well as conservation experts and scholars, were present at the discussion, the Defence Ministry added further.