STEPPING OVER THE LINE IN JUMBO TERRITORY
People under threat as more disruptions take place in elephant habitats
Presidential Committee to develop HEC mitigation action plan Ad hoc compensation process for families of HEC victims An elephant holding ground is detrimental to elephant conservation More female breadwinners as men have fallen victim to HEC
The Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) recently revealed that 189 elephants have died so far for this year due to the ongoing Human-elephant Conflict (HEC). Horowpathana, situated deep in the heart of Anuradhapura District, is an area with a severely aggravating HEC. Punctuated with thick jungles, the area has a dense elephant population. However, people have started to encroach (mostly illegal) and have felled trees and burned them for chena cultivations thereby disrupting elephant territory. According to the Horowpathana Police, around five people have died just for this year due to the ongoing HEC. People in areas such as Rasnakawewa, Divulwewa and Dunuaththegama are severely affected by the issue.
While on the way to speak to people affected by the HEC, the Daily Mirror observed that there were no electric fences except for the presence of wire fences; that people can barely afford.
WIDOWED AND UNEMPLOYED
Most men have become victims to the issue and women therefore have to shift their roles as breadwinners. A. Wimalshantha has breathed his last after a fatal encounter with a wild elephant. We went in search of his house in Hasthipura. His widow Nilmini Renuka is now the sole breadwinner of the family and has to look after her three children. “My husband had gone to fetch a beehive on the day of this incident. His body was found three days later following a major search operation by the Army and Police. There have been elephants roaming around this area, but they were never a threat to humans. One had even eaten all our newly planted banana and coconut trees. Both of us used to do contract work, but now I can’t send my two daughters alone to school. My son is sitting for his Advanced Level Exam next year. So far we haven’t received any compensation either. Now I have to start working in the paddy field to earn money. Even the cost of living is high and we have no other way of income.” said Renuka.
When A. M. Ekanayake, a paddy farmer from Rasnakawewa, left to remove some shrubs growing in his field nobody would have thought that it would be his last journey. Today, A. Podimanike is widowed and is struggling to make ends meet. “My son has a congenital malformation from birth and I have to raise him. My two daughters are married and they live separately. But this happened at a very unexpected time. In several occasions I’ve been asked to give my son to a children’s home, but if it had been a healthy child nobody would have asked me to do so. So I decided to keep him with me. I receive the Samurdhi and my son receives Rs. 5,000 as well. But that isn’t enough to look after him. With elephants roaming around how can I go to the paddy field and spend the night in the tree house (pela)?” she questioned.
Similar stories were heard from all over the place and things are bound to worsen with no effective elephant conservation and management practices in place.
PROBLEM IS WITH THE PEOPLE
Refuting claims that elephants from the EHG are moving into the villages, DWC Director-general Chandana Sooriyabandara said that it is a misleading fact. “The EHG is protected from all sides with an electric fence and there’s no way that elephants could escape. The problem however is with the people because there are massive encroachment practices taking place and people are setting fire to forests for chena cultivations. As a result elephants have lost their habitats.” he said adding that if a person dies from HEC the family would be given Rs. 500,000 as compensation. He also said that a decision was taken to translocate Rambo since he has become a problem elephant in the area. “But no such translocation was done”.