No room for elephants

Chamikara WEERASINGHE

Environment and Natural Resources Minister Champika Ranawaka yesterday announced that they have taken a great responsibility to conserve wild elephants in Sri Lanka.

The population of wild elephants has increased in remaining forests and National Parks and there is not enough space for their movement. And there are growing concerns over the escalation of human-elephant conflict, the Minister pointed out.

536 people have been killed due to the human-elephant conflict in the past decade during which some 1,369 elephants have also been killed.

The elephant population has increased from an estimated 4,000 elephants in 2001 to more than 6,000 elephants in 2009, while their habitat has decreased due to increase in lands used for agriculture and unplanned development activities, the Minister said. He was speaking at a press conference at the Central Environment Authority, Battaramulla. Director General Wildlife Conservation Department Ananda Wijesuriya was also present.

He said the Ministry is taking action to turn the human-elephant conflict to what will be 'human-elephant co-existence'.