Sri Lanka
Conservationists fight against elephant conservation project
Wild elephants forage for food at an open landfill site in Pallakkadu village, Ampara district. Photo: Achala Pussalla/AP/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
How do you prevent wild animals from killing people who are taking away more and more of their habitat? Sri Lanka is trying ditches around elephant habitats. Conservationists sound the alarm.
In Sri Lanka, dozens of people die every year because of elephants – and even more elephants die because of people.
The main reason: Humans are encroaching further and further into the habitat of the approximately 7,500 wild elephants, which are why they keep destroying fields and houses. People take revenge on them, for example by shooting the animals or injuring them with explosive devices, or by erecting electric fences that electrocute the elephants. And then there are poachers who are after the tusks.
Trenches five meters deep
How to solve the problem? The government has been trying to dig ditches for several months. These should prevent the pachyderms from penetrating into populated areas. According to wildlife researcher and environmental activist Supun Lahiru Prakash, the trenches that have already been dug are around five meters deep. The project had recently garnered greater attention when images of elephants at a large rubbish dump circulated around the world, revealing that more than 20 elephants had died there in the past eight years as a result of eating plastic. At the time, the government had announced that it would also dig trenches around the garbage dump.
But now the local environmental organization Center for Environmental Justice wants to have the project stopped by a court. The trenches would do more harm than good, the organization justifies the procedure. On the one hand, they could impede the usual migration routes of wild animals, on the other hand, elephants and other animals could fall into the ditches and die. It would also be easy for poachers to simply chase small animals into the ditches. Finally, the ditches could affect the ecosystem as well as the groundwater game. Other environmental protection organizations are also considering taking action against the project.
Elephants are considered to be the embodiment of Buddha
Irrigation Minister Anuradha Jayaratne recently admitted that the project had been hastily started – without having properly clarified the environmental impact. A spokesman for the wildlife ministry, Wasantha Chandrapala, told the German Press Agency that elephants had already filled in the ditches in some places. Therefore, one would now try to build deeper and wider trenches. Overall, it is believed that the project will reduce conflicts between humans and elephants.
Elephants and how to deal with them is a sensitive political issue in Sri Lanka. In the predominantly Buddhist island state in the Indian Ocean, the animals are considered to be the embodiment of Buddha himself. They are revered and are a symbol of wealth. At religious festivals, the animals are required to carry relics of Buddha and walk through large crowds adorned. Killing elephants is punishable by death. On the other hand, the animals and the destruction they cause threaten the existence of simple farmers. Against this background, it may be difficult to find a simple solution to the conflicts between humans and elephants.