Project Orange Elephant: Background

Background of Project Orange Elephant

Elephants have been a proud symbol of Sri Lankans since ancient times. They hold a very important place as a cultural and religious element. From elephants living in the Sri Lankan forests, the ones walking in the peraheras to those who live in the Pinnawala Elephant Sanctuary have been a major tourist attraction.

There is no other species in the wild that has maintained such close contact with humans as the Asian elephant, but the long-running human-elephant conflict has put the Sri Lankan elephant population under serious threat. Although the National Policy for the Conservation and Management of Wild Elephants in Sri Lanka put the total number of elephants at 4,000 in 2006, this number is declining day by day.

The human-elephant conflict is arguably the largest environmental and socio-economic crisis in rural Sri Lanka. Elephant crops tend to be encroached upon due to loss of habitat and resources and the impact is largely felt in the high agricultural and low-income areas of Sri Lanka. According to the annual performance report of the Department of Wildlife Conservation released in 2016, it is reported that elephants cause more than ten million dollars in crop and property damage annually. In response, farmers kill elephants. As a result of this bloody struggle for survival by both humans and elephants, 225 farmers have been killed annually by farmers since 2008, and elephants have killed about 60-80 farmers annually.

The spread and impact of the human-elephant conflict

Among the factors contributing to the creation and exacerbation of the human-elephant conflict are deforestation, increasing population, rural poverty, urbanization, loss of habitat for elephants caused by the agro-based economy, and habitat fragmentation.

Sri Lanka Territorial Protection Areas (PAs) have been established with the aim of conserving the rich genetic diversity of Sri Lanka. Conservation and management of elephant population falls under the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) and the Department of Wildlife Conservation in Sri Lanka. The area controlled by these institutions covers more than 28% of the total land area of Sri Lanka. But the above problems are further complicated by the lack of expertise in ecosystems among policymakers and the problems of protected area (PA) management.

The recent increase in elephant-human conflict

The Special Conservation Center of Sri Lanka (SCC) reports that the number of elephant attacks has increased significantly since 1998. Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa districts in the North Central and Eastern Provinces recorded the highest number of deaths due to elephant attacks in 2016, while the highest number of property damages due to elephant attacks in the same year were reported in the Eastern and North-Western Provinces. Several reasons for this are described below.

• Establishment of elephant settlements and surrounding human settlements

Elephant deaths have gained more attention due to social and political factors such as the resettlement of designated protected areas (PAs) such as Wilpattu IDPs in the post-war period.

According to the State Land Development Ordinance, the Padaviya Sanctuary in the North Central Province has been given homes in the surrounding areas, which has been able to attract more settlements and as a result, there has been a huge increase in human-elephant interaction in the area.

As elephants are displaced from their usual habitat by human settlements, they begin to rely on crop raids for survival. As a result, villagers adopt traditional elephant control methods such as fire, simple barriers, and decoction diets to protect crops. Then the villagers can be seen turning to more and more inhumane acts. Elephant calves are controlled by shooting them (52 cases in 2016), pouring battery acid/ nitric acid, or putting locally made explosives on vegetables.

In addition, increasing the number of cattle and buffaloes grazing on all the surrounding grasslands can cause food shortages for elephants. Ignoring the habits of the elephant range has further complicated the situation with unplanned and temporary development activities.

In the absence of a comprehensive waste management policy in Sri Lanka, wildlife littering has led to elephants consuming polythene in search of food, as well as diseases from exposure to pollutants such as those reported in the Dambulla and Digampathana areas. Similarly, feeding elephants along the roads like Buttala-Kataragama road help the elephants become accustomed to the taste of food that they do not consume naturally and adapt to their bodies. As a result, elephants begin to come to the villages in search of similar food, and sadly, continuing to eat such food poses a risk to their health (e.g. offering by pilgrims to and from the Kataragama Devalaya)

• Lack of resources caused by climate change

Climate change, such as irregular and heavy rainfall and prolonged drought, also contribute to human-elephant conflicts. When there is a shortage of water and food, elephants expand their range of foraging for food and water and move out of their natural habitat towards human habitats. According to the seasonal classifications, the highest number of elephant attacks are reported in April, May and October which increases the frequency of crop raids.

It is against this backdrop that the Orange Elephant project emerges with a positive and long-term vision of addressing the broader social change brought about by the escalating human-elephant conflict. 

Stay tuned for the latest information on the Orange Elephant project of the Colombo Mid City Rotaract Club, which is set against the backdrop of the human-elephant conflict, but goes beyond that and focuses on a number of related issues.