News

So-called experts blind to what is exacerbating human-elephant conflict

Published

3 years ago

2023/08/5

A wild elephant being prepared for translocation after encroaching into human settlements. Image courtesy of the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC).

By Rathindra Kuruwita

Given that abusive land use patterns are the main reason for human-elephant conflict, one of the best ways to address this issue is the establishment of the National Land Commission, as stipulated by the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, environmentalist Sajeewa Chamikara told The Island.

The establishment of the Commission will minimize the ability of the governments to misuse land to benefit their political and business allies, at the expense of public welfare and the environment, he said.

“There is a lot of talk about full implementation of the 13A. However, no one talks about the Land Commission because this will be politically inconvenient,” he said.

Addendum II of the 9th schedule of the 13th Amendment states that a National Land Commission must be established. One of the main tasks of the National Land Commission is the preparation of a National Land Policy. However, the National Land Commission has not been established yet, although the 13th Amendment was passed in 1987, he said.

“The law states that the government must establish a National Land Commission, that it must prepare a National Land Policy and that representatives from all provinces must be represented in this Commission. The Commission needs a secretariat that has the technical capacity to analyze the social, economic and physical aspects of land use. The law also states that the National Land Policy must be based on science and not on political or ethnic factors. The Commission must look at soil, weather, rainfall, soil erosion, forest cover, environmental and economic factors and come up with general principles on land use. The Provincial Councils must implement their policies, based on the National Land Policy,” he said.

None of the governments have been interested in implementing this because it can prevent land grabbing and deforestation to the benefit of the rich and powerful, he said.

Chamikara said that even the biggest proponents of 13A ignore this provision because almost everyone is tied to big business.He pointed out that there are several bad land use practices that are intensifying the human-elephant conflict.

One of the main reasons for increasing the human-elephant conflict is that the elephants are running out of food, inside the forests, due to human activities, the environmentalist said.

He said that in Hambantota a large number of cattle are let loose in Lunugamvehera, Udawalawa, Madura Oya and Gal Oya national parks due to the influence of parliamentarians. The cows eat plants that are usually consumed by elephants, and other wild animals, and this has resulted in elephants entering human settlements in search of fodder.

“Some people, who live close to the forests, expand their farmlands and build new houses, after cutting down trees. In the past few decades, several invasive plant species, too, have spread into forests, replacing plants that were consumed by animals. Moreover, forests are increasingly getting fragmented, and the government has no plans to control these developments. All these compel elephants to enter villages,” he said commenting on the increased human- elephant conflict in Hambantota.

Chamikara said that the attempts to regrow forests with trees that only have value as timber, i.e., teak, also contribute to the human-elephant conflict because these trees do not provide food for animals. Another factor that attracts elephants to these villages is the establishment of garbage dumps. Elephants and other animals who have been starved are attracted to these garbage dumps.

“The Cabinet paper, titled ‘Taking action to prevent elephants from being attracted to garbage dumps,‘ which was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers, on 30 May, 2017, stated that there are 54 such garbage dumps that are attracting elephants. These sites are located in the dry and intermediate zones of Sri Lanka,” he said.

In addition, some people, who live in the dry and intermediate zones, set fire to forests during the dry season (July/September). This is another reason for elephants to come into villages. The recent forest fire that destroyed over 2,000 palmyrah trees in Kilinochchi can be one such fire, he said.

“There are a large number of forests, where elephants live, that come under the purview of the Mahaweli Authority and the Forest Conservation Department. However, when electric fences are established,the above-mentioned forests are ignored often and only forests that come under the Wildlife Conservation Department are fenced. Moreover, some of these fences are erected, obstructing the paths elephants use to reach tanks during the dry season. In recent years, a number of human settlements have been established, covering the above-mentioned paths,” he said.

In recent times, companies and powerful businessmen, who run large scale commercial agricultural projects and other development projects, have started erecting electric fences without considering how these would affect the human-elephant conflict, Chamikara said. These leave villages, and the farms of small scale farmers, more exposed to elephants.

“Most of the electric fences are substandard, are not properly maintained, and bio barriers have not been established along the fences. These make these fences ineffective,” he said.

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Related Topics:establishment Government Madura Oya National Land Commission

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Maldivian President plants a sapling to mark 60 years of Sri Lanka–Maldives Diplomatic Relations

Published

2 hours ago

2026/05/4

Priyan

President of the Maldives, Dr Mohamed Muizzu, who is on a State Visit to Sri Lanka at the invitation of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, planted a sapling this afternoon (04) at Viharamahadevi Park in Colombo to commemorate 60 years of diplomatic relations between Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

Upon arrival at the Viharamahadevi Park in Colombo, President Dr Mohamed Muizzu was warmly received by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. Children lined both sides of the pathway holding the national flags of the two countries and paid tribute to the visiting Maldivian President.

Among those present at the occasion were Deputy Speaker Rizvi Salih, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, Vijitha Herath and the Mayor of Colombo, Vraie Cally Balthazaar, along with several other dignitaries.

[President’s Media Division (PMD)]

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Published

2 hours ago

2026/05/4

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Following the bilateral meeting between President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu of the Maldives, who is currently on a State visit to Sri Lanka, official-level bilateral discussions between the delegations of the two countries were held this morning (04) at the Presidential Secretariat.

The discussions commenced after the formal welcome ceremony accorded to President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu earlier this morning within the Presidential Secretariat premises.

Extending a warm welcome to the Maldivian President, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake expressed his appreciation for accepting the invitation to visit Sri Lanka.

President Dissanayake noted that President Muizzu’s visit, taking place as the two nations mark 61 years of diplomatic relations, reflects the strong partnership, mutual trust and longstanding friendship between Sri Lanka and the Maldives. The President further expressed confidence that the visit would mark a new phase in bilateral relations.

The two leaders engaged in extensive discussions on ways to further expand and diversify multifaceted cooperation, including economic, cultural and social ties, in a manner that delivers mutual benefits to the people of both countries.

Key areas of focus included tourism promotion, educational cooperation, youth and sports development, challenges faced by both nations in the fisheries sector within the Indian Ocean region, education and vocational training, as well as defence training and broader security cooperation.

Representing the Government of Sri Lanka were Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, Vijitha Herath, Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning, Anil Jayantha Fernando, Minister of Science and Technology, Krishantha Abeysena; Deputy Speaker Rizvie Salih, Secretary to the President, Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha (Retired), Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (covering Europe, North America, East Asia and Oceania, Southeast Asia and Central Asia, South Asia, the Middle East and Legal Affairs) M. R. K. Lenagala, Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to the Maldives, Mohamed Rizvi Hassan and Director (South Asia and SAARC) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, Mahesha Jayawardena.

The Maldivian delegation included Minister of Foreign Affairs Iruthisham Adam, Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Mohamed Saeed, Minister of Fisheries, Agriculture and Marine Resources, Ahmed Shiyam, Minister of Homeland Security and Technology, Ali Ihusaan, Chief of Staff to the President, Abdulla Fayaz, Principal Secretary to the President on Foreign Relations, Mohamed Naseer; Chief Government Spokesperson, Mohamed Hussain Shareef, High Commissioner of the Maldives to Sri Lanka,Masood Imad; Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Chief of Protocol , Mohamed Shahudy, Deputy Minister at the President’s Office, Mr Mohamed Hassaan and Minister Counsellor at the Maldives High Commission in Sri Lanka, Mr. Ismail Mamdhooh.

[President’s Media Division (PMD)]

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Maldives and Sri Lanka exchange seven MOUs

Published

3 hours ago

2026/05/4

Priyan

Seven Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs), signed across several sectors between the Maldives and Sri Lanka, were formally exchanged this morning (04) at the Presidential Secretariat in the presence of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu of the Maldives.

Marking a new chapter in Maldives–Sri Lanka relations, the MoUs cover cooperation in the fields of health, sports, tourism, education and defence.

Accordingly:

1. MoU on Tourism Cooperation between the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and the Republic of Maldives was exchanged by Maldives Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ms Iruthisham Adam and Sri Lanka’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, Vijitha Herath.

2. MoU on Archiving Cooperation between the Department of National Archives of Sri Lanka and the National Archives of the Maldives was exchanged by Maldives Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ms Iruthisham Adam and Sri Lanka’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, Vijitha Herath.

3. MoU on Training and Professional Development of Teachers and School Leaders between the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Skills Development of the Maldives and the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education of Sri Lanka was exchanged by Maldives Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ms Iruthisham Adam and Sri Lanka’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, Vijitha Herath.

4. MoU on Sports and Youth Development Cooperation between the Republic of Maldives and the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka was exchanged by Maldives Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ms Iruthisham Adam and Sri Lanka’s Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Sunil Kumara Gamage.

5. MoU on Defence Cooperation between the National Counter Terrorism Centre of the Maldives and the Ministry of Defence of Sri Lanka was exchanged by the Maldives High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Masood Imad, and the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha (Retired).

6. MoU between the Ministry of Defence and National Service of the Maldives and General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University of Sri Lanka was exchanged by the Maldives High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Masood Imad and the Vice Chancellor of General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University, Rear Admiral Dammika Kumara.

7. MoU on Academic Cooperation between the University of Colombo of Sri Lanka and the Ministry of Health, Family and Welfare of the Maldives was exchanged by Maldives High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Masood Imad and the Vice Chancellor of the University of Colombo, Professor Indika Mahesh Karunathilake.

The state visit of President Dr Mohamed Muizzu, undertaken at the invitation of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, aims to further strengthen economic, cultural and social ties between the two countries, while enhancing their multifaceted partnership.

Cabinet Ministers, government officials and members of the Maldivian delegation, representing both Sri Lanka and the Maldives, were present at the occasion.

[President’s Media Division]