Fort Kochi 10 January 2023: The Gaja Shastra and Gaja Dharma tracks of Gajotsavam brought together representatives from linear infrastructure agencies, government, Forest Departments, the Bar and Bench, civil society and religion. These expert panels were conducted from 13^th through 20^th of December.

The series kicked off with a gathering of Green Corridor Champion (GCC) teams from the southern region. This cadre of local organizations/individuals across 28 corridors in Southern India are a part of an already existing nationwide network of such teams deployed across other corridors in India.

DR. Rahul Kaul (right) felicitating KJ Sohan (left) during the GCC gathering; Photo by Sreenanth K

Shri KJ Sohan, former mayor of Kochi and President of Cochin Carnival, inaugurated the session and WTI’s CEO Dr. Rahul Kaul made the keynote address. Representatives of eight GCC Partner organizations overseeing 20 of 28 south Indian elephant corridors participated in the discussion. Each showcased their methodology and approach of work in their respective corridors and shared the pressing issues within each of their corridors which need to be addressed by us as a group, be it pertaining to linear infrastructure or attitudes of the community towards elephants.

Hon’ble Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas, during the inaugural address; Besides him Mr Elias George, Adv. Nagaraj Narayanan and Mr. Vivek Menon; Photo by Sreenanth K

The following day’s session ‘Gaja Shastra: Linear Infrastructure and Asian Elephant’ brought together line agencies, forest department and civil services to discuss existing and potential mitigation measures to help reduce the threat to elephants due to development. Hon’ble Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas, Judge Kerala High Court inaugurated the session, quoting Article 51A(g) of the Constitution of India:  ‘It shall be duty of every citizen of India to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures’. A technical presentation by Dr Sandeep Kr Tiwari, Chief of Conservation WTI revealed the extent of road and railway network across wildlife habitats in the country as well as the wildlife mortalities related to it. He also shared some guidelines worked out by the Asian Elephant Specialist Group with the IUCN Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group for mitigating effects of linear infrastructure. Mr Elias George, Head Government Services, KPMG and Trustee WTI, who delivered the keynote address, highlighted the need to move from Output-based to Outcome-based transport infrastructure, and give more time to conceptualise, plan and integrate mitigation measures. Vivek Menon, Founder and Executive Director WTI shared the vision of the Gajotsavam campaign. The inaugural session was followed by a panel discussion moderated by Adv Nagraj Narayan, Special Pleader, Forests, Kerala High Court. The panellists were Mr S Anantharaman– IRTS(R), Ex Principal Chief Operations Manager, Southern Railways, Mr K. Vijayananthan, IFS, CCF Eastern Circle and Custodian of Vested Forests, Palakkad, Mr Arun Kumar, Divisional Engineer East, Southern Railways Palakkad who joined the panel online and Mr KR Anoop IFS, CCF (Southern Circle), Kerala Forest Dept., Shri R.S. Arun IFS, CCF, High Range Circle, Kottayam, Kerala Forest Dept. and Shri Ramiah K, Deputy Chief Engineer, Transmission Circle, Thodupuzha, Kerala State Electricity Board who joined in-person. Each gave their suggestion and examples of what has already been done by respective agencies in this regard and what more needs to be done. The discussions were centred around ideas to mitigate elephant deaths due to train hits in the Walayar railway line between Tamil Nadu and Kerala which is of pressing concern.

Mr Aditya Gangadharan, during his presentation on the opportunities, risks and safeguards in the use of technology in elephant conservation; Photo by Sreenanth K

The session on 15^th Dec, saw individuals and organizations implementing Technological innovative solutions for Asian Elephant Conservation in Southern India come together to share their experiences. This session was inaugurated by Shri Manu Sathyan, DFO Flying Squad, Ernakulam who emphasised that forest management involves several pillars where innovation comes into use with a primary focus on protection. However, this comes with two drawbacks- technology is costly and demand is less and people who are into developing the technology at times lack knowledge about forest management. Mr Aditya Gangadharan, Programme Lead- Lands, The Nature Conservancy- India, made a very interesting opening presentation on the opportunities, risks and safeguards in the use of technology in elephant conservation which set the context for the session. This was followed by experience sharing and demonstration of technology by the panel moderated by Mr Jose Louies, Chief of Enforcement, WTI. Dr. Sanjoy Deb, Associate Professor, Bannari Amman Institute of Technology, Coimbatore presented inclusive technological solutions to mitigate Human-Elephant Conflict which ranged from early warning system, crop safety system to acoustic devices to deter elephants. Mr Tim Vedanayagam, CEO, Advantech Data Link Solutions, Coimbatore spoke about his technology to mitigate Human-Elephant Conflict with Artificial Intelligence (AI) Early Warning System and presented snippets from actual installations in Conflict Zones. Mr Praveen Nair, ELV Consultant, Surya S ANC, Thrissur presented AI integrated intelligence integrated robotic system with a scope to minimize human-animal conflict, detect and verify presence of wild animals, alert forest officials in case of threats etc. Leopard Tech Labs, Kottayam, Kerala presented Elephant Watch – a tool to monitor individual elephants in context of human elephant conflict management. This was followed by an interaction with the audience where it was unanimously agreed that technology alone cannot work without the buy-in of the local communities and the forest department and needs to keep evolving to avoid the animals getting conditioned or habituated to it. Solutions should be accessible depending upon the threat and must be systematically replicable in different parts of India.

Adv. Harish Vasudevan, during his talk, alongside him Adv. Nagaraj Narayanan; Photo by Sreenanth K

On 17^th Dec, a session on ‘Elephant and the Law: The Role of Bar and Bench in strengthening Wild Elephant Protection’ was organized which saw representatives from the legal fraternity come together to discuss ways of elephant conservation through legal provisions. The session was inaugurated by Hon’ble Mr. Justice Gopinath P., Judge, Kerala High Court where he suggested it is crucial to form a cell of legal experts along with wildlife experts facilitating regular interaction between the two groups to identify wildlife emergencies that need to be addressed on an urgent basis. “Human Elephant Conflict is a result of our own doing and not animals targeting us so we must be conscious towards protection of elephants”, he said. Dr PS Easa, Elephant Expert and Chairman of Aryanakam Nature Foundation, gave a very insightful opening presentation on the plight of Asian Elephants in Kerala and touched upon the policies on linear infrastructure development that pose a threat to elephants. The panel discussion moderated by Adv. Nagaraj Narayanan, Special Pleader, Forests, Kerala High Court, had panelists Mr. Praveen Bhargav, Managing Trustee, Wildlife First, Mr. A Madhivanan, Wildlife Inspector, Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, Kochi, Adv. Latha Prabhakaran, Lawyer, High Court of Kerala, Adv. Sajan Mannali, Founding Member & Former President, Lawyer’s Environment Awareness Forum (LEAF), Adv. Sunil V. Mohammed, President, LEAF, and Adv. Harish Vasudevan, Environmental Lawyer, High Court of Kerala. The panel acknowledged the strengths and limitations of the existing legal protections afforded to wild elephants. Whilst innovative methods and uses of the law may be availed to execute requisite protections, such as notifying government land or private land surrendered to the government as National Parks, the lack of statutory legal protections accorded to Elephant Reserves has not gone unnoticed. An all-rounded approach was discussed, with the bar being supplemented by the bench and executive arms of government, and encouraging people to collectively demonstrate a consolidated approach. The sessions saw good participation from students of law colleges who actively interacted with the panel during the Q&A session.

Left to right: Adv. Latha, Adv. Nagaraj Narayanan, Hon’ble Mr. Justice Gopinath P, Mr.Vivek Menon, Dr PS Easa, Mr. Praveen Bhargav, Adv. Sajan Mannali, Mr. A Madhivanan, Adv. Sunil V. Mohammed, and Adv. Harish Vasudevan after the panel discussion

On 19^th Dec, a session on ‘Gaja Dharma: Elephants in Religious Ethos’ was organized which brought together spiritual and religious leaders from different faiths sharing insights on the elephant in religious traditions. Dr NVK Ashraf, Senior Advisor & Chief Veterinarian, WTI moderated the session and appreciated the fact that the day’s panel was a refreshing change, considering representatives from different faiths often come together for addressing social concerns but not so much for environmental concerns. Dr. T P Shashikumar, LIFE Mentor, Space Scientist, Science Communicator, Poet, Author, Educationist, Motivational Speaker spoke about Elephant in Hinduism, and mentioned that the elephant God, Ganesha, is worshipped at the start of an auspicious event and quoted references from Mahabharata and Sanatan Dharma. Dr. Ajay S Sekher, Coordinator, Centre for Buddhist Studies, Sri Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit represented Elephant in Buddhism who mentioned that there has been a traditional respect and reverence for elephants since the Ashokan era. Elephants frequently represent Buddha in Buddhist texts. Father Dr. Mathew Manjakunnel, Director, Carmel Ayurveda Village & Research Centre, Ernakulam spoke about Elephant in Christianity. Not many people know that the Bible has references to elephants even in Asian non range countries, elephants were used as a force during wars.  He added that humanity has concerns about their ilk but a sustainable coexistence with elephant. Moulavi Syed Ali Baqavi, Vice Principal Jamiathul Hikmah Arabic College, Pondicherry spoke about the Elephant in Islam. He mentioned that just like in the Bible, the elephant has been represented as a symbol of force in Islamic literature too. The year of Muhammad’s birth is identified as ‘the Year of the Elephant’, when Mecca was attacked by Abraha accompanied by an elephant. The session concluded on a note that elephants should be given sufficient space and should not suffer at the cost of people and life. The panellists were all for an inclusive approach to animal protection and the aspects of conservation that need to be reformulated.

Mr Vivek Menon during his talk, on the dais (left to right) Mr Harikumar M.R, Eranakulam Press Club President; Mr. Venu Rajamony; Justice Devan Ramachandran; Dr. PS Easa. Photo by Sreenanth K

A media seminar was held on December 20, 2022 with Justice Devan Ramachandran, Judge Kerala High Court as the chief guest. Media representatives from more than 20 media houses attended this event. The seminar started with a presentation by Dr PS Easa, on the role of media in elephant conservation and the impact they make. Citing examples that portrayed the elephant as a villain and humans as the heroes or afflicted parties, Dr. Easa emphasized that media reports incidents that occur in the forest, which is supposed to be the home of the wild animal but do not question the invasion of humans. Any reportage that questions the right of wildlife to be in the wild is not good for conservation. Mr. Venu Rajamony, Officer on special duty (external cooperation), Govt. of Kerala and former Indian ambassador to the Netherlands, recollected his memories of being a journalist in his early days. He mentioned how a good article can gain public attention. He highlighted the media related to the killing of a pregnant elephant in Palakad, where the animal was fed a pineapple filled with explosives. He also requested the media to bring up such news to the public attention. Vivek Menon, Founder and ED, WTI talked about solution-oriented approaches from the media and gave insights into WTI’s conservation action for elephants. Justice Devan Ramachandran said that all the laws are human-centric because all these laws are made by humans, where he/she is not thinking about any other species. Citing the ban on single-use plastics in Sabarimala,  came into effect because of a piece of news about the death of a baby elephant who swallowed plastic. WTI representatives, DR. NVK Ashraf, Senior Advisor & Chief Veterinarian; Upasana Ganguly, Manager and Head: Wildlife Corridors Projects; and Mr Jose Louis, Joint Director and Chief of Enforcement presented talks on Elephant in Gods on Country, Right of Passage: Securing Future for Elephants in India, and Reporting Wildlife Crimes respectively. Media representatives Mr K.S Sudhi, Senior Assistant Editor, The Hindu and Lal Krishna, Journalist, Mathrubhumi narrated their experience as conservation journalists. While Sudhi shared how the media reports on illegal wildlife trade, Lal Krishna shared the challenges journalists face in reporting from a conflict place.

Gajotsavam in Kerala thus continued the dialogue with stakeholders and brought the need to give elephants Right of Passage to public platforms.