HEC -Why should land and food hungry SL reinvent the wheel with costly new techniques when a more cost effective alternative is available?-by Bernard Fernando
In addition to exposing weaknesses in our Land management policy and practices in terms of Irrigation and Road infrastructure, Soil conservation, crop-diversification, food systems and market logistics etc., the devastating ‘Ditwah’ has upstaged the elusive debate of urging decision makers to immediately rationalise our Elephant population and productively manage our now brittle and fragile small island of 65,210 square kilo meters disproportionately accommodating 23.3 million humans and 7,450 Elephants as revealed by the latest Human Population estimates and the Elephant census in the year 2024 conducted by the Govt.itself.
It is alarming and disturbing to note that according to ‘Post- Ditwah’disclosure by the National Building Research Organisation (NBRO), 30% of our Land is prone to landslides and 34% of the Human population already resides in those areas.
It is further reported that already 70 % of our wild Elephant population is living outside the protected areas dedicated to them and share 44% of the landscape with Humans (Dr.Sumith Pilapitiya and Malathy Knight) obviously hunting for scarce food and habitat space, perpetuating HEC in the long run.
Since 2019, the writer has updated and proposed the detailed methodology for a cost effective method of fixing an ‘Affordable Upper Limit’ (AUL) for our Wild elephant population through press articles in both Sinhala and English languages, and they have been forwarded to the respective authorities too. A Power Point Presentation in Sinhala is now available in the U tube.
The writer is pleased that relevant statistics/Data required to fix the said upper limit are at last now available after 2011,thanks to the Elephant Census carried out by the Wild Life Dept. in Aug. 2024 deploying more than 1000 volunteers using ‘Water hole Method ‘ under trying circumstances and several other limitations.
As frankly admitted by the Wild Life Dept., the census was marred by intermittent rains. According to Elephant Experts, although more technically advanced methods are available, SL cannot apply them due to financial and time constraints. Thus SL had to be satisfied with the ‘water hole’ method to estimate the current Elephant population. It can be reviewed at the next Census for Elephants and Humans likely to be conducted every 10 years.
Notwithstanding the statistical data, the common scenes of elephants eating rubbish mixed with plastics / polythene and begging for food from travelers exacerbated by recent incidents of a wild elephant running amok in a village Town killing a couple of poor humans and fatally attacking Foreign tourists, glaringly prove our inability to look after our wild Elephant population in terms of their basic food and habitat needs.
The compelling post ‘Ditwah’, new human re-settlement imperatives will obviously exert pressure on our limited forest reserves, Elephant corridors and National Reserves/Parks allocated to look after the basic needs of Elephant habitat and food which are devoid of ‘Savannas’ as available in large African countries with relatively large Elephant populations.
It also reopens the debate that billions of taxpayer monies and Foreign exchange are being wasted over the years, in reinventing the wheel with invasive measures to control elephant movements under the guise of adopting multi-disciplinary approaches.
In such context, the most logical alternative is to adopt a wise cost effective policy of fixing the afore said practically ‘Affordable Upper Limit’(AUL) for the number of Elephants required to look after the Religious, Cultural and Tourism needs in our small and fragile land. Any excess or deficit shall be exported or imported to comply with the fixed upper limit which will prevent extinction of Sri Lankan Elephants.The detailed methodology is given in my feature articles to the press.
Since HEC has been a hackneyed issue for the last 55 years or so, now getting aggravated by the looming global economic crisis, it is imperative to enforce the said most feasible and practical solution instead of reinventing the wheel with futile costly and accuracy seeking techniques coupled with harmful measures such as Electric fencing, fire crackers, Elephant Kraals, digging large drains, chillie concoctions and Bee hives etc. that neglect the basic pangs of hunger and entitlement to an ecological habitat for our Elephants.
Given the globally looming fuel/economic crisis and our food/habitat limitations, we urge our decision makers to grasp the ‘Ground reality’ and act fast during this crucial hour, by appointing a Task force to set the Affordabe Upper Limit (AUL)for Elephants in the wild and other connected recommendations within 3 months.
Bernard Fernando
Retired DGM- BOC
