Human Elephant Conflict

Human–elephant conflict (HEC) is a severe and much-debated issue in Sri Lanka.It has become more intense over the last decade, compromising both the health of the local elephant population and the wellbeing of rural people, with on average more than two hundred animals killed and seventy to eighty human casualties annually.

Also The Sri Lankan elephant is listed as an endangered taxon according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature as well as this problem effect for whole srilankan farmers.

Recognizing that one of the biggest threats to elephants in Sri Lanka is conflict with humans, often through crop raiding, and that human settlements are increasingly encroaching further into elephant habitat, the initiative has worked with rural communities to develop a range of innovative mitigation measures.

• improved fencing strategy that allows the highest possible freedom of elephant movement, while also guaranteeing the highest possible security of local people and their farms.One of the most effective tools averting human-elephant conflict is to fence out crop raiding elephants by installing solar powered electric fences either along elephant or human ecological boundaries.
• the high-tech methods such as high-efficiency hanging fence that cannot be destroyed by elephants, a collar system that provides special signals, and the use of drone technology has been discussed recently at a meeting held between the State Ministry of Skills Development, Vocational Education, Research, and Innovation and the State Ministry of Wildlife and Forest Conservation.
• Other techniques include management of the elephant population through deeper understanding of behaviour using radio telemetry and GPS tracking, which is very expensive but highly effective, and the low cost alternative that has been developed by the University of Moratuwa in cooperation with Sri Lanka Wildlife Conservation Society