Human Elephant conflict in Sri Lanka

               Damages to humans, crops and properties of the forest adjacent communities by the wild elephants and killings elephants back by humans have been reported consistently over the last several centuries in Sri Lanka. However, today the human elephant conflict has come to its climax due to rapid increase of population of humans as well as elephants.

                The human population of Sri Lanka has increased by 150% during the last 6

decades (1950-2010) while wild elephant population has increased by 300% during the same period as a result of effective conservation measures taken by the DWLC (Census and Statistics Department of Sri Lanka, 2009; Department of Wildlife Life Conservation 2008).

            Presently, farmers of the forest belts, the government agencies and many other non governmental development agencies are desperately looking for a sustainable solution for human elephant conflict as it has become one of the crucial constraints in enhancing the living conditions of the people of the forest belts. Moreover, intensified human elephant conflict has undermined almost all measures taken by the DWLC to protect wild elephants and it has become the prime cause for elephant deaths in the country today.

                Elephants are restricted mostly to the lowlands in the dry zone where they are still fairly widespread in north, south, east, north-western,north-central and south-eastern Sri Lanka.During the armed conflict in Sri Lanka, elephants were maimed or killed by land mines.Today, given the rarity of tuskers in Sri Lanka, poaching for ivory is not a major threat. Nevertheless, some trade in ivory still goes on. Kandy has been identified as the centre for such illegal trade. 

               The greatest threat to elephants comes from an expanding human population and its demand for land. Loss of significant extents of elephant range to development continues currently, with a number of irrigation and development projects leading to the conversion of more elephant ranges to irrigated agriculture and settlements.