Avoiding Human-elephant Conflicts
Mapping of elephant routes necessary: Experts
A comprehensive mapping of routes and corridors of elephants is essential to carry out development works in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) averting human-elephant conflicts in elephant ranges, said experts. “Elephants follow specific corridors in their movement. As the government has been carrying out development works in the CHT, human-elephant conflict is on the rise,” Prof M Anwarul Islam, the chief executive of Wildteam, told the news agency.
“If the mapping is carried out we will be able to know about the ecological requirements of elephants and their home ranges. Then a proper conservation plan can be prepared to protect them,” Prof Anwarul said.
Dr Tapan Kumar Dey, a forest conservator, said human-elephant conflict is a common phenomenon in hilly areas, but if the elephant corridors could be chalked out, human-elephant conflict and crop damage will be reduced in those areas and elephants will be able to easily move from one place to another through their corridors.
He said there are a number of unidentified elephant corridors in the country. “A mapping is needed to identify the elephant corridors to avert human-elephant conflicts,” he added.
Mohammad Abdul Motaleb, an official at International Union for Conservation of Nature Bangladesh, told the news agency that the government has already undertaken an initiative to set up a rail line from Dulahazra to Gundum, aiming to ensure rail connectivity with eastern Asian countries.
“But there are a number of elephant corridors in Dulahazra-Gundum (Cox’s Bazar) area. If the mapping of elephant corridors is not sorted out before the rail tracks are set up, the elephants will lose their corridors, triggering human-elephant conflicts in the region,” he said.
Motaleb said there should be overpasses in the rail tracks from Dulahazra to Gundum so that the elephant can peacefully move through their corridors.
In Bangladesh, most elephants are found in the Chittagong Hill Tracts but some can also be found in Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar Forest Divisions and Mymensingh and Sylhet areas.
Due to fragmentation of habitats, elephant ranges in Bangladesh have become small patches occupied by only a single or few small herds. Some corridors have been totally abandoned due to degradation of forest cover, extension of human settlements, intensification of agricultural practice, unsustainable slush and burn practice, unplanned road construction and establishment of monoculture forests.
Motaleb said conflicts between humans and elephants have become a major concern for conservationists during the last two decades.
Bangladesh is a small country of about 14.8 million hectares of land of which 2.53 million hectares (17.49 percent) is under forest cover. This includes 0.27 million hectares of homestead forests and 2.26 million hectares of state-owned forest reserves and protected areas, he said.
“As a result, elephants and farmers, along with poor people, have become incompatible neighbours in many parts of the elephant ranges in Bangladesh,” he said.
Motaleb said elephants and humans cannot live together without conflicts in a place where agriculture is the dominant form of land use. So, human-elephant conflict takes a brutal form and sometimes the situation turns dire leading to deaths of elephants and humans.
He said the IUCN Bangladesh has already initiated a project, “Status Survey and Development of Elephant Action Plan for Bangladesh”, aiming to conduct an elephant survey, formulating an action plan in elephant conservation and mapping the elephant corridors.
Under the current initiative, the mapping will be carried out for all the elephant ranges of Bangladesh but Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar, Bandarban and Khagrachhari districts will be emphasised.
The specific objectives of the initiative include identifying the present status (population and distribution) of Asian elephants in Bangladesh, preparing maps of Asian elephant habitats, routes, corridors and human-elephant conflict areas, identifying location, causes and frequency of human-elephant conflict and preparing a long-term action plan for the conservation of Asian elephant.
After the two-year project, initiated in June 2013, is completed, the government can conduct development works in the elephant ranges (CHT region) following the maps of elephant corridors which will help avert human-elephant conflict, said Motaleb.
Meanwhile, Indian Border Security Force sent a proposal on elephant corridors to the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs. The proposed “elephant corridors” aimed at reducing human-animal conflict along Indo-Bangladesh border in Meghalaya are awaiting clearance and sanction from the ministry.
The BSF proposed five such corridors, all in the Garo Hills region, in collaboration with the state’s forest department which kept track of elephant movements to and from Bangladesh from Balpakram National Park in South Garo Hills district, Meghalaya Frontier BSF Inspector General Sudesh Kumar recently told reporters in Meghalaya.
-With UNB/The Daily Star input
