News
Human-elephant conflict: Throwing money at problem is of little use, says expert
By Rathindra Kuruwita
The government annually spent Rs. 100 million on ‘elephant thunder,’ a firecracker used to chase away elephants, well known elephant expert Dr. Prithiviraj Fernando said.
It was in addition to significant sums spent on minimising human-elephant conflict through schemes such as translocating problematic jumbos, elephant drives and electric fences, Dr. Fernando said.
“Farmers spend a lot of money and time, protecting their crops and store the harvest in their homes. Then elephants raid villages and damage their homes. It is during such attacks that humans are killed. 120 deaths of humans due to wild jumbo attacks were reported in 2019.”
Dr. Fernando said the wild elephants too were adversely affected by the conflict with humans and each year hundreds of elephants were killed in the most barbaric ways.
“Things that we do to minimise the human-elephant conflict like translocation, elephant drives and fences have not improved the situation although colossal sums are spent annually,”
Dr. Fernando added that for over 70 years, Sri Lankan officials had been following the recommendations of a committee appointed in the 1940s as regards how elephants should live in a particular area.
“However, the members of the committee noted that they were making those recommendations without data and further research should be done, but until recently officials had been blindly following the committee recommendations without doing the research,” he said.
Research showed that humans lived in 82% of the country and that elephants lived in 62%. Both lived side by side in 44% of the country. Thus, it was impossible to confine the elephants to areas devoid of humans, he said.
“Our approach has been very confrontational. Elephants are strong and intelligent creatures. If we are aggressive towards them, they will reciprocate. For example, whether an elephant would attack a human or not depends on its previous experience with humans,” he said.
Dr. Fernando added that electric fencing worked, but it was a tool whose effectiveness depended on the way it was used. “60 to 70% of electric fencing is either on Department of Wildlife or forest Conservation Department lands and 80 to 90% of these fences have elephants living on both sides of the fence, he said. This minimissed the effectiveness of fencing, he said. “For example, in the North Western Province there is some fencing but GPS data of collared elephants show that their foraging ranges have no bearing on the fences. In the South, these fences sometimes prevent elephants living in areas under the Forest Department from going into Department of Wildlife controlled areas. There are about 150 elephants in Kudaoya and Sellakataragama areas that can’t go into the Lunugamvehera Park due to fencing. But ironically there is no fencing between these elephants and human settlements,” Dr. Fernando said.
The National Business Facilitation Centre (NBFC), which is being established under the Presidential Secretariat with the aim of removing administrative and regulatory barriers that exist among government institutions in relation to investment and industry and expediting these processes, will be opened tomorrow (22).
The centre is being established on the President’s initiative with the aim of bringing about a positive transformation in the industrial sector. The centre will provide solutions to issues that arise in dealing with the government machinery when starting and operating a business, while also coordinating with the relevant government institutions to provide the necessary facilities.
The “ViYASA” National Business Facilitation Centre (NBFC) has been established at Building C-80, Hector Kobbekaduwa Mawatha, Colombo 07, and is headed by Senior Additional( Secretary to the President, Seevali Arukgoda.
The centre will be opened under the patronage of Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning Dr Anil Jayantha Fernando and Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development Sunil Handunnetti, with the participation of Secretary to the President Dr Nandika Sanath Kumanayake.
The website https://nbfc.presidentsoffice.gov.lk is also scheduled to be officially launched on the occasion.
President’s Media Division)
Latest News
Court of Appeal Judge M. Sri Mevan Anthony Edirimannasuriya Corea appointed as Acting President of the Court of Appeal
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has appointed Court of Appeal Judge Mayadunna Sri Mevan Anthony Edirimannasuriya Corea as the Acting President of the Court of Appeal.
The appointment has been made as President’s Counsel Nalin Rohantha Abeysuriya, who currently serves as President of the Court of Appeal, will be overseas until the 24th.
Accordingly Judge Mayadunna Corea was sworn in as Acting President of the Court of Appeal before President Anura Kumara Dissanayake at the Presidential secretariat this morning (21).
Secretary to the President Dr Nandika Sanath Kumanayake was also present at the occasion.
(President’s Media Division)
Latest News
President instructs expediting further measures concerning Sivarasa Anojan, sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia
A discussion to review the further measures that could be taken regarding Sivarasa Anojan, a young Sri Lankan national who has been sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia, was held at the Presidential Secretariat this afternoon (21), under the patronage of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
The discussion focused on the measures taken to date concerning Sivaraasa Anojan and the further diplomatic and legal steps that could be pursued. Attention was also given to expediting the necessary further measures that could be taken to secure his release.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake instructed officials to continue the necessary diplomatic engagement with the relevant authorities in Saudi Arabia and to maintain close and continuous involvement in all further measures concerning the case.
Reaffirming the Government’s continued attention to the safety and welfare of Sri Lankans living and working overseas, the President also stressed the need for the relevant ministries and institutions to work in close coordination and pursue all possible measures that could be taken in connection with the case.
Deputy Speaker Rizvie Salih, Deputy Minister of Religious and Cultural Affairs Muneer Mulaffer, Governor of the Western Province Hanif Yusoof, Secretary – Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism Aruni Ranaraja, Secretary to the Ministry of Defence Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha (Retd), Attorney General Parinda Ranasinghe and officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism were also present at the discussion.
(President’s Media Division)
“ViYASA” National Business Facilitation Centre (NBFC) to be opened tomorrow (22)
Court of Appeal Judge M. Sri Mevan Anthony Edirimannasuriya Corea appointed as Acting President of the Court of Appeal
President instructs expediting further measures concerning Sivarasa Anojan, sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia
It’s Shafali vs Athapaththu as Sri Lanka seek to stop India juggernaut
Trophy row unlikely to repeat in Japan
Powerful explosions at Syrian army site near Aleppo injure at least four
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