Pakke (Arunachal Pradesh): In a move away from cash compensations, 7700 kgs of rice were given away to 140 farmers whose crops were destroyed by elephants around Pakke Wildlife Sanctuary in the north-east Indian Arunachal Pradesh state.

This was done to assuage people’s anger against wild elephants jointly by the Arunachal Pradesh Forest Department and Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) with the support of the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).

Pakke is a part of the Kameng Elephant Reserve which also includes Eagle Nest WLS and Sessa Orchid WLS. Although relatively intact, Kameng ER, situated near Sonitpur Elephant Reserve in Assam, faces repercussions of acute habitat degradation in the latter. Elephants migrate from Sonitpur to Kameng, causing moderate levels of conflicts with people in Arunachal Pradesh.

The northeast Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh is a predominantly agrarian. As most agriculturists here practise subsistence agriculture, crop damage by large-bodied mammals such as elephants affects them severely. Often, irate locals resort to retaliation against the elephants, affecting conservation initiatives.

The relief measure, also called ‘Grains-for-Grains’ scheme, was initiated in Pakke in 2005, to prevent or minimise this backlash from people towards elephants. The scheme is supported by the Executive Director’s Discretionary Grant (EDDG) project of the WTI.

At the grain distribution event, Tana Tapi, DFO, Pakke, said, “The grain distribution has greatly helped improve the relationship of the Forest Department and the villagers. Hostility towards elephants and Department has been shaped into an affinity for conservation.”

“Providing relief to human victims of human-elephant conflicts helps in two ways,” said Sunil Kyarong, Manager, WTI. “Firstly, by reducing the impact of the losses incurred in conflicts it assuages the anger of the local people, tending to reduce retaliations. Secondly, it serves to generate awareness on the conservation of elephants among these people residing close by elephant habitats.”

Grains-for-Grains scheme is just one of the several Asian elephant conservation initiatives being undertaken by WTI in Arunachal Pradesh. Along with its partner, International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and other donors including the World Land Trust, Elephant Family, and US Fish and Wildlife among others, WTI has been working with the local communities to secure critical elephant corridors, especially through establishment of Village Reserve Forests.