Sri Lanka: Solutions exist for Human/Elephant Conflict - an interview with Dr. Sumith Pilapitiya, former Director General of Wildlife.
Sri Lanka: Solutions exist for Human/Elephant Conflict - an interview with Dr. Sumith Pilapitiya, former Director General of Wildlife.
Dr. Sumith is a hero for the elephants of Sri Lanka. He discusses the need for electric fences to be erected that surround villages and cultivations - not the elephants. While the village fences will be permanent, the fences around the cultivations are seasonal. The wire being removed after the harvest which allows the elephants to graze on the leavings.
Radio collaring of particular elephants will allow tracking of movements and better protection of corridors for which the elephants have ranged for eons of time. This information will serve to protect those lands or even remove structures that were inappropriately constructed in these pathways.
Environmental assessments Must be done before development commences within any elephant range areas. A slap in the face of long established laws requiring these assessments include the recent plan to hand over forest lands for management to local jurisdictions. This is a horrendous idea and will result in favoritism toward elite persons that court favor from their political connections. This is Corrupt and must Stop! Human elephant conflict will most assuredly increase if this is allowed.
Dr. Sumith has a long career, including being an executive with the World Bank, working on environmental protection within complicated, large-scale, development activities. He is a treasure to Sri Lanka and the government best listen to his plain speaking logical solutions. No one in Sri Lanka has the skill set to provide the wisdom for both a thriving elephant population in coexistence with human development. His good friend, elephant scientist Pruthu Fernando, may even concede this point
Please read this interview by Kamathi Wickramasinghe of the Daily Mirror....it's thorough and right on!
