The Ministry of Wildlife and Forest Resources Conservation says that human-elephant conflicts have increased within the past three years.
The ministry points out that a total of 1,110 elephants and 376 people have died due to human-elephant conflicts in the years 2019, 2020 and 2021 alone.
In 2019, there were 407 elephant deaths and 122 human deaths, 328 elephant deaths and 112 human deaths in 2020, and 375 elephant deaths and 142 human deaths in 2021, it said.
The Ministry of Wildlife and Forest Resources Conservation stated that in the first 04 months of this year alone, 47 elephant deaths and 34 human deaths have been reported due to human-elephant conflicts.
The figures were revealed during a discussion held on the human-elephant conflict at the Lunugamwehera Wildlife Office, chaired by Minister Mahinda Amaraweera.
The Ministry Wildlife and Forest Resources Conservation said that there is human-elephant conflict in 131 divisional secretarial areas of 19 districts of the island and as one step to end this problem, it was decided to erect and complete within next year the electricity fence in all the districts that need it.
