•  Drones and local residents expected to assist monitoring

The tri-forces will mainly be responsible for gathering information on the country’s tuskers under the proposed national programme to improve elephant protection and reduce human-elephant conflict, Army Spokesperson Major General Waruna Gamage said.

Speaking to The Daily Morning yesterday (25), he said the information would help authorities monitor the elephants’ locations and check on their safety. “Our main role will largely be to gather information. There are around 13 tuskers in Sri Lanka, if I am not mistaken. We will gather information about them, including where they are and whether they are safe.” 

Technology, including drones, could be used to collect information, he said, adding that details would also be obtained from people living in areas where the elephants were found.

Responding to further questions, Major General Gamage said the initial stage of the programme had already begun. However, he said it was not possible to identify a specific district where the work had started because tuskers moved between different areas.

The programme would be carried out in coordination with the Department of Wildlife Conservation, which would identify the areas where the elephants were located, he added.

The initiative is being developed under a concept proposed by Defence Ministry Secretary, retired Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha. The decision was taken at a meeting held at the Ministry of Environment on 23 October under the chairmanship of Environment Minister Dr Dhammika Patabendi.

A special operations centre has been proposed at Army Headquarters to improve coordination and information-sharing among the tri-forces, the Department of Wildlife Conservation, veterinary specialists and other relevant institutions.

The programme is expected to focus on preventing the killing of wild elephants and other wildlife crimes, improving surveillance and intelligence-sharing, and supporting joint operations in areas where human-elephant conflict is frequent.

The proposal also includes specialised training for military personnel involved in elephant protection and closer cooperation between the armed forces and wildlife officials.