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| Saturday, 19 June 2004 |
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by Florence Wickramage The Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWLC) will conduct an islandwide Elephant Survey to find a lasting solution to the so far unresolved problem of the Human-Elephant conflict, DWLC Director General Dayananda Kariyawasam told the Daily News yesterday. The comprehensive survey will cover areas such as the total elephant population, their carrying capacity, the ratio of the young and old, the sex ratio and elephant movements. The survey will focus on unprotected areas where the human-elephant conflict is at its worst specially in the districts of Anuradhapura, Puttalam and Kurunegala. No Elephant survey has been done since 1993. The scheduled Survey to be conducted in August and September this year will provide information for the Department to formulate a policy for the mitigation of the human-elephant conflict. Most of the human and elephant deaths in recent years had been recorded in the Mahaweli region, Kariyawasam said. A workshop was held recently at Negombo which was attended by representatives of SAARC countries where elephant populations are found. A decision was reached at this meeting that the assistance of International Expert on Elephant Surveys Richard Barnes should be obtained for the Sri Lankan Elephant Survey. The survey according to international standards would be conducted in areas where elephant populations are found and will be based at the Yala National Park and the Wilpattu National Park.Kariyawasam said that the Human-Elephant Conflict Sri Lanka has assumed national proportions. Around three elephants per week and five human lives per year fall prey to the conflict. Since temporary remedial measures such as the erection of electric fences, fire crackers etc. have not been able to contribute much to resolve the conflict, the Department hopes that the scheduled survey would contribute towards reaching a permanent solution to the conflict which will enhance long-term conservation and the preservation of the Elephant population in the country. |
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