Opinions of Dr. H.
Manthrithillake,
Director, Environment
and Forest Conservation Division, Mahaweli Authority of Sri Lanka as per
Telephone Conference with Lareef Zubair, December 10, 2001:
The Human-Elephant Conflict
is an issue that affects the Mahaweli in a large number of areas. In particular,
the issue arises in the following wilderness areas and the villages surrounding
them: These are
1.
Victoria, Randenigala and Rantembe conservation area (Eastern Hill slopes)
2.
Wasgomuwa Park, System B, Somawathiya Sanctuary, Minneriya, Giritale Reserve
3.
System C and the Maduru Oya Sanctuary, (North-East)
4.
Wasgomuwa also has a link to the Kala Oya Basin, Ras Vehera and Wilpattu
sanctuaries(North Central)
5.
The Walawe basin (in the South) that we also manage has a number of elephant
issues arising from the herds in the Udawalawe Sanctuary above and Handapangala
which connects to Yala. (South-East)
My division is involved
in the elephant management aspects with funding from the European Union
(100 million rupees – 100 rupees = 1 USD) through
1. Education Programs:
We have developed leaflets, pamphlets, and are promoting coexistence in
a participatory manner using indigenous knowledge. – Villagers who have
been
living in the area over generations know of various techniques to anticipate
and manage danger. They know the fodder that the elephants eat, the use
of certain trees to keep away elephants, etc. We have been conducting programs in the affected
villages
2. Electric Fencing:
The Mahaweli Authority has established around 200-miles of electric fencing
to reduce human-elephant contact. This work is going on now. These
fences are difficult to maintain due to vegetation growth. The elephants
themselves have developed various techniques to break down the fences: they
use logs to break down the fences or push down the wooden pools with their
hind legs.
3. Wildlife Enrichment
programs:
In the areas that are
allocated for elephants, we are undertaking the rehabilitation of abandoned
tanks and other ways of improving the elephant habitat.
In all this, we work
closely with the assistance of the Wildlife Department. In particular, we
do not tranquilize or capture any elephants but call upon the department.
For this project work, we can obtain the cooperation of the Wildlife Department,
as we constantly interact with the the Director and several others
involved in it.