Sindhudurg: To discuss the issues of human-elephant conflicts in Maharashtra, a two-day workshop was conducted in the Dodamarg taluk of Sindhudurg district with forest officials.

The workshop was organized on September 20 and 21, by the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) in collaboration with the Forest Department.

Forest officials from Kolhapur and the Sindhudurg districts and the adjacent state of Goa participated. Issues related to bio-diversity, biology and social behaviour of elephants, human-elephant conflicts and mitigation measures were discussed.

Dr. P. S. Easa, Sr. Director of WTI highlighted the need to make use of the information gained from past experiences, in tackling human-elephant conflicts in various parts of the country.

“Creation of landscapes across state administrative boundaries, to allow people and elephants to co-exist will be vital, since, elephants need large areas to sustain (requirement for food and space).” Dr. Easa said.

Ujjal Kumar Sharma, Programme Officer of WTI said, “This deliberation will empower the participants with increased awareness and to take steps to reduce conflicts.”

Consultative meetings were also organized with the affected villagers to find out their problems. Damage to cash crops, such as, coconut, cashew and banana etc. by elephants has hurt the farmers most, as it takes a minimum of four years before ready for harvest.

Chandgad and Dodamarg forest ranges in southern Maharashtra are most affected in elephant depredation – affecting more than 60 villages.

As per the Department records, elephants first migrated to the state from Karnataka in the year 2002 and since then made it their home.

Early this year, WTI had conducted a study in the affected regions to understand the problems faced by people due to human-elephant conflicts and to initiate conservation actions.

Various steps, including empowerment and equipping of villagers to alert elephant movements, create awareness and documenting conflicts for future interventions were planned.

Pix credit: Ujjal Kumar Sharma / WTI