‘I heard about elephants for the first time from a local guy at our place, he comes to the local tea shops and narrates his encounter with wild elephants at his place. Whenever an elephant enters his land he always gives a slap on its back with a bamboo stick and drives it away. This story made me think that elephants are like goats and cows only.’ These were the words of Mr. Vinoy Thomas, eminent author, and Kerala Sahithya Academy Award winner who inaugurated the media conclave organized by Wildlife Trust of India on the occasion of World Elephant Day.

His inaugural speech was a trip down memory lane to the time he had a close brush with a wild elephant while he was a teacher. That sparked a desire in him to observe more, which resulted in a large number of short stories about the species and some of them were widely accepted by people and critics. Just like this, the media can act as a fulcrum for engaging government, institutional, and public support for elephant conservation and mobilizing action for it.

Mr Bony Thomas addressing the gathering at Gajutsav, Kerala | Photo by Sreenanth K

In order to highlight media’s role in conservation and to develop a network of responsible journalists and “Gajah Mitra”- supporting elephant conservation, WTI organized a media conclave on August 11, 2022, to commemorate World Elephant Day 2022 at The Raviz Calicut, Kozhikode.

E Somanath Fraternity, a group founded by the close friends of the late E. Somanath, an accomplished journalist whose work exemplified best practices in the industry, whether it was in sensitively covering environmental issues or reporting on politics in Kerala collaborated on the event. The conclave was supported by the Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN), a nature conservation charity that provides funding, training, and recognition to support conservation leaders in developing nations. Established by Edward Whitley OBE in 1993, the Whitley Award has completed 25 years and over the period has funded 200 conservationists across 80 countries that need immediate conservation action.

Gajutsav, Kerala 2022 | Photo by Sreenanth K

Writer, illustrator, and founder of Kochi Biennale Mr. Bony Thomas delivered a talk on ‘Art as a Medium for Conservation.’ He referred to WTI’s Gaj Mahotsav organized in2018, and appreciated the efforts that were then put in to make it a historic and memorable event for Asian Elephants.  Along with this he also mentioned how art can support conservation. He cited this by bringing in his insights regarding the possibility of a ‘Green Biennale’  which can advocate the message for conservation in a larger way.

Ms. Reji R Nair, Vice President of the Calicut Press Club addressed the gathering and also touched upon the welfare issues of captive elephants and their management. Several case studies were presented by experts such as Dr. M. Ananda Kumar, scientist at Nature Conservation Foundation, Mr. Narendra Nath Veluri, CEO of Agency for New and Renewable Energy Research and Technology (ANERT), and Ms. Upasana Ganguly, Manager and Head of the elephant corridors projects of WTI, on effective steps taken for elephant conservation and mitigating the human-elephant conflict in several parts of the country.

During his presentation on the topic, ‘Elephant as a part of Cultural Ethos’, Dr. NVK Ashraf, Senior Advisor and Chief Veterinarian, WTI mentioned the relationship and the bond between elephants and culture. Through his presentation, he explained that the elephant can be found even in world sculptures and literature.

Mr. Ananda Banerjee, Director and Chief of Communications and Campaigns, WTI announced the ‘Gajah Mitra Media Awards’. The award is for Young Journalists/Social Influencers in Kerala who are keen on reporting on issues related to elephants and their conservation in the state and the winners will be awarded a trophy, citation, and cash prize.

Right of Passage, Kerala Illustrative Map | Artwork by Sudarshan Shaw

An illustrative map of Kerala depicting the elephant distribution and corridors was released during the conclave. The illustration was created by Mr. Sudarshan Shaw, a Bhubaneswar-based illustrator, and designer. The map not only shows the habitat and corridors, but also the various associations humans have with elephants that of conflict, companionship and love. It also details the factors which affect an elephant’s safe passage all depicted using an indigenous art form.

The conclave saw a participation of 70 people from various media houses, colleges and forest departments. The event also served as a platform where the forest officials could express the struggles the frontline staff go through to manage the human-wildlife conflicts. Mr. Anoop KR. IFS, CCF Thrissur mentioned that the support from the media is critical for the forest department.

Mr. CA Abdul Basheer, Environmental Educationist moderated the Q&A session, where the doubts and queries of the participants were answered by the experts present. Mr. Jayan Menon, member of E Somanath Fraternity and Bureau Chief of Malayala Manorama delivered the vote of thanks.

Mr Vivek menon delivering the keynote address | Photo by Sreenanth K

Elephants are a very important keystone species for the environment; are landscape architects, are excellent seed dispersers, and to have elephants in isolated populations, unable to move freely through their home ranges, would have a devastating effect on India’s natural heritage. India’s biggest campaign for elephants, the Gaj Yatra was launched in 2017 by WTI under its flagship project ‘Right of Passage’ to secure a future for India’s wild elephants, for which it is essential that we ensure their unhindered movement between key habitats. It is critical to engage communities living in Human-Elephant Conflict prone areas at a grass root level through media. The media conclave aimed to develop a network of responsible journalists and “Gajah Mitras”- supporting elephant conservation.