World Wildlife Fund

Washington DC, November 17, 2008 - The massive international investment in large-scale infrastructure projects in South Asia will increase human-elephant conflict and cause more losses on both sides unless greater care is taken, cautions a new report from WWF.

“Billions of dollars lined up for regional and national level infrastructure investments, such as the Trans-Asian highway project and various hydropower and irrigation projects, are going to significantly increase human-elephant conflict across Asia,” said Barney Long of WWF’s species conservation program.

The report, “Review of Human-Elephant Conflict Mitigation Measures Practiced in South Asia,” released yesterday, advises international investors that a clear strategy for keeping human-elephant conflict under control makes economic as well as environmental sense. The estimated economic cost of human-elephant conflict runs into millions of dollars in some countries.

“Land is a finite resource and banks and investors can demonstrate leadership when it comes to human-elephant conflict by incorporating mitigation options into their large infrastructure plans right from the start in the landscapes where elephants are found,” added Long.

In South Asia, the close proximity of elephant habitat to human settlements often leads to conflict, especially when elephants raid crops and homes. The report analyzes the mitigation methods used by local people in Sri Lanka and India. Their arsenal of traditional and new methods has not always been successful, resulting in a deadly toll on people and elephants, with avoidable fatalities on both sides.

"Most mitigation measures currently being used are just akin to bandaging the wounds and not treating the root cause,” said Prithiviraj Fernando, chairman of the Centre for Conservation and Research-Sri Lanka. “Good land-use planning that takes the needs of people and elephants into account is the only long-term solution.”

The report recommends an “umbrella strategy” for the effective use of mitigation methods as a conservation tool for Asian elephants. It notes that this could help investors planning infrastructure projects in South Asia to include human-elephant conflict mitigation options from the start, which would lead to both economic and conservation gains.

For more information:

Read more about WWF’s work with Asian Elephants.

The “Review of Human-Elephant Conflict Mitigation Measures Practiced in South Asia” was compiled by WWF-Nepal, the Centre for Conservation and Research Sri Lanka (CCR) and the Nature Conservation Foundation, with funding from the World Bank–WWF Alliance for Forest Conservation & Sustainable Use