Govt. tackles human­–elephant conflict

The government has approved the setting up of pilot committees at rural, regional, district and national level with representation of government officials in an attempt to find redress for the human–elephant conflict with solutions that would be best suited for the issues faced in each of those districts.

Dr. Bandula Gunawardena said that approximately 80 human and 250 elephant deaths are reported annually. “There is a considerable loss caused due to the devastation of property and crops. It is envisioned that this committee will be able to come up with solutions that include maintenance of electric fences constructed for minimising the human–elephant conflict.”