A key tourist attraction and a symbol of island culture, the elephant is given a lot of significance in Sri Lanka. However, Sri Lanka is ranked for having one of the highest casualty rates for elephants. With approximately 400 elephants dying annually, conservation seems far-fetched in the current context.
12 August marks the annual World Elephant Day. Conceived in 2011 by the Elephant Reintroduction Foundation in Thailand and inaugurated in 2012, World Elephant Day is a day set apart to shine a spotlight on the urgent plight of Asian and African elephants. With this in mind, Brunch glanced through the elephant situation in Sri Lanka. To get a better idea of the concerns surrounding elephant conservation, we spoke to a few experts in the field; Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) former Director General Dr. Sumith Pilapitiya, DWC Director – Operations Ranjan Marasinghe, and Environmental Foundation Ltd. (EFL) Wildlife Scientist Manori Gunawardena.
Dr. Pilapitiya shared that 2019 was the worst year on record for elephants in Sri Lanka, noting that 407 elephants had been killed within the year, and, on average, 85% of these deaths were a result of human-elephant conflict (HEC). The death toll, however, dropped to 318 in 2020. Addressing these numbers, Dr. Pilapitiya told Brunch that this drop was not due to any measures taken to reduce HEC, it was simply due to the minimised interactions between humans and elephants due to the Covid lockdowns.
How is it looking for elephants this year?
So far in 2021, it is reported that we have been losing about one elephant each day, with 219 elephant deaths reported between 1 January and 11 August 2021. Simply put, that is 219 elephants lost in 223 days. We asked each of our experts for their views behind this high casualty rate, and how it relates to HEC.
Dr. Pilapitiya shared that Sri Lanka has the highest density of elephants among the 13 Asian elephant range states and Sri Lanka has a very high human population density as well. People are encroaching into elephant habitats in the guise of development and settlement expansion, which increases interaction between humans and elephants. And it is a known fact that our interactions with elephants are quite confrontational.
Marasinghe of the DWC added that this continued sharing of living space by humans and elephants has heightened the problem and the conflict evolved with new and improved strategies from both parties, making it extremely difficult to combat the situation. “A few years ago the main cause of casualties were electrocution and gunshots. However, now, the most prevalent form of violence currently has been identified to be the ‘hakka patas’ (small improvised explosive devices which consist of gunpowder, stones, lead, and iron shaped into a ball). Although there are laws in place to penalise those who are involved in killing elephants, with methods such as ‘hakka patas’, the effects cannot be identified until it is too late, and the perpetrators cannot be identified. With this problem it is impossible to set a time frame to strategise an approach, as it is complicated,” he added.
He further stated that, as identified by the DWC, the best solution to this problem is to separate humans and elephants forced to share living space. To achieve this they have identified several strategies to be implemented such as elephant fences, which may be electrical in the nighttime. However, the DWC has identified that both elephants and humans have evolved and that strategies are in need of improvement to effectively combat the situation. For example, six-foot walls used to be effective a few years back, however, now bull elephants would just jump over them.
The current strategies in place
Marasinghe told us that the department together with the defence forces are currently working on elephant repellers such as drones and various repelling sounds to repel elephants from agricultural sites. Another new strategy that is in the works are concrete barriers (usually in pyramid shapes) that are aimed to repel herds. However, bull elephants have been known to jump over them. Trenches are also being tried out, especially in areas with heavy rainfall. Marasinghe noted that the same strategies cannot be implemented in all areas of the country, as the nature of the agricultural practices and the elephant behaviour may vary from area to area and that this process requires a great deal of research, observation, and patience, he added.
Brunch asked Marasinghe if the elephant density of Sri Lanka has been affected by these casualties, to which he said: “The elephant population in Sri Lanka has been fluctuating since the 17th Century. According to research done in the 17th Century, the island has 10,000 elephants and research shows that this dropped to 5,000 in 1810 and in 1948, the population was 2,000; it dropped to a further 1,500 in 1951 and 900 or 800 in 1957. Then research shows a small inclination up to 2,200 in 1973 which further increased to 6,000 in 1987, and then 4,400 in the year 2000. Finally, the national census conducted by the DWC in 2011 recorded 5,874 elephants within the island. There is no census done after this to determine the actual density right now, however the BBC has reported Sri Lanka to have a density of about 7,000 elephants. While the annual death rate is in the 100s, we see a lot of elephant cubs, which makes us believe that there is a balance in the density. However, these results are inconclusive due to the lack of facts in this regard.”
Is it working?
Commenting on the current strategies in place to mitigate HEC, Dr. Pilapitiya shared that the problem is that the conceptual model used in HEC mitigation in Sri Lanka is wrong from a factual point of view, adding that the conceptual model used in Sri Lanka for HEC mitigation is based on a master plan prepared in 1949, and this model proposes to restrict elephants to DWC protected areas.
While the authorities have tried driving elephants into DWC protected areas and erecting electric fences to contain them within those areas for the last 70 years, this has proven to be ineffective. Elephant distribution data collected by the Centre for Conservation and Research (CCR), based on surveys conducted throughout Sri Lanka, show that 44% of the land area outside DWC protected areas (PAs) have elephants, with humans and elephants sharing the same landscape. Therefore, there obviously is a flaw in the conceptual model we have incorporated, he said.
How best can we move forward?
The best way to improve elephant conservation and HEC mitigation in Sri Lanka, according to Dr. Pilapitiya, is to manage elephants within the landscape shared by elephants and humans. Electric fences are still the most effective barrier as long as they are located in the right place. For this, existing electric fences (most of which are located on the boundary of DWC PAs) have to be relocated to the ecological boundary or the boundary between forests and developments.
“We must understand that an electric fence should not be used as a boundary marker. It is to keep humans and elephants separate, that is why the existing fences should be relocated to a boundary that elephants relate to, which is when there is a change in the ecology and not human-made administrative boundaries,” Dr. Pilapitiya explained, adding: “Secondly, protect what needs to be protected. Electric fences are not to protect elephants but to protect people from elephants. If so, shouldn’t the fences be located in such a way to protect people?
“Therefore, fences should be erected to surround villages and to surround agriculture and should be maintained by the community. There are over 70 such community-based village electric fences and around 40 seasonal agricultural fences currently operating successfully in the North Western, North Central, Eastern, and Southern Provinces. A majority have been constructed by the Centre for Conservation and Research (CCR) and have been operating successfully for over 10 years in some areas.
“The DWC as well as a WB (World Bank)-supported project called ESCAMP (Ecosystem Conservation and Management Project) is also trying to support some community-based fences. The success of these fences are that they are constructed and maintained by the communities. But for this, communities have to be consulted and the CCR model works with the communities to build ownership within the community for the community-based fence. However, if the Government constructs the fence and hands it over to the community, the present experience is that it fails, as the community expects the Government to maintain the fence. So we should learn from past lessons and implement models that have proven to be successful.”
An abandoned action plan?
When asked about the fund allocations and further plans on elephant conservation on a national level, Manori Gunawardena of EFL told Brunch that the Sri Lankan Government has allocated approximately Rs. 3 billion for elephant conservation. However, the efficient spending of these funds is the problem.
Agreeing with Dr. Pilapitiya, Gunawardena added that we are still lacking a clear plan to seek a solution to this problem, saying: “In early 2020, the President appointed a committee with public authorities and scientists including myself and several others such as Dr. Prithiviraj Fernando (who chaired the committee) to develop a National HEC Mitigation Action Plan to come up with a clear solution for elephant conservation. Following conclusive research and analysis of data, we submitted this action plan in December 2020. However, there has been no action taken to implement it.
“This action plan is based on science and statistics and is meant to address the issue at a village level and a national level. Sri Lanka, as of 2019, was recorded to have the highest casualty rate for elephants, so we have to address it at this level. Coming up with band-aid solutions will not fix this issue. It is fixable if it is addressed with a systematic approach and I hope the authorities realise that and address this issue in the manner in which it should be.”
