The Human-Elephant Conflict (HEC) in Sri Lanka continues to escalate, particularly in villages surrounding the Moragahakanda Development Project in the Matale District. Despite Government efforts to mitigate the issue, recent parliamentary discussions have highlighted the significant challenges faced by the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) in managing these conflicts effectively.
As alleged by environmentalists, HEC has been aggravated since the construction of the Moragahakanda Reservoir and associated development projects have significantly disrupted the natural habitats of wild elephants in the Matale District.
Dire situation
A few weeks ago, Member of Parliament (MP) Rohini Wijeratne Kavirathna raised concerns in Parliament about the consequences of these projects, emphasising that the loss of traditional elephant habitats had forced elephants to encroach on human settlements, leading to increased conflicts.
Kavirathna described the situation as dire, with elephants frequently appearing on roads and near villages, posing a constant threat to both lives and property. She cited an instance where three people had been killed by a wild elephant during daylight hours.
In response, Wildlife Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi acknowledged the issue but highlighted that fences had been constructed and were being actively guarded to mitigate the threat posed by elephants considering that their migratory routes are blocked by the Moragahakanda Reservoir.
In the parliamentary session, Kavirathna criticised the DWC’s lack of preparedness, highlighting instances where villagers had been asked to fund the removal of problematic elephants themselves, with costs estimated at Rs. 2 million – an amount beyond the means of most communities.
Additionally, she pointed out the difficulties faced by villagers in accessing essential deterrents such as ‘ali wedi’ (elephant crackers), which are often only available in remote locations like Minneriya.
Kavirathna urged the Minister of Wildlife to increase the availability of these deterrents and allocate funds from this year’s budget for maintaining fences, emphasising that people’s lives depended on these measures.
Minister Wanniarachchi refuted these claims, asserting that adequate funds were available and that resources were being allocated effectively. She emphasised that compared to last year, wild elephant deaths and human casualties had decreased in certain districts, with some areas reporting reduced reliance on deterrents such as ‘ali wedi’.
Need to maximise resource efficiency
However, when contacted by The Sunday Morning, DWC Director General Chandana Sooriyabandara refuted claims of equipment shortages, stating: “There is no scarcity in equipment and technology; the challenge lies in maximising the efficiency of the resources we already have.”
According to him, the department is equipped with communication devices, GPS instruments, protective gear, and vehicles, but the real issue is enhancing the effective use of these resources.
While declining to comment on specific statements made by MP Kavirathna, Sooriyabandara outlined the procedure for elephant removal, stating: “When an elephant is identified for removal, the field staff prepares a budget. Once funding is approved, we proceed without any hindrance.”
However, the DWC Director General did highlight staffing constraints: “We have the required human resources, but not at the level needed due to Government restrictions and limitations.” He also underscored the need for greater public awareness about HEC, an aspect he believes is yet to be fully addressed.
Meanwhile, Environmental Lawyer Jagath Gunawardana stressed that the DWC was severely understaffed and lacked the manpower needed to manage not only HEC but the broader conservation mandate. He estimated that at least 6,000 staff members were required to adequately protect wildlife, plants, and habitats across the country.
Elephant displacement and habitat degradation
Sooriyabandara explained that the displacement of elephants was a major factor in the rise of HEC: “Whenever there is a development project, it’s inevitable that habitats will be lost. This leads to escalating conflicts as elephants lose their natural pathways.”
He further acknowledged the need for a balanced approach between development and conservation, stating: “We have to accept that development projects are necessary for a country. Our role is to minimise their environmental impact through careful planning and implementation.”
Although the DWC Director General emphasised that Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) were conducted for such projects, Gunawardana nevertheless expressed concerns that they were often treated as formalities to gain approval for the project. “Many of these reports are done just to obtain project approval without a genuine examination of the impacts,” he said.
Gunawardana observed that had the Moragahakanda project undergone a proper EIA, many of these issues could have been mitigated from the outset. He explained that the real problem lay in inadequate planning and a lack of integrity in conducting these studies. According to him, recommendations from these assessments are often either ignored or poorly implemented, focusing on quick fixes rather than addressing the broader, systemic issues.
He stressed that the root cause of HEC was habitat degradation, explaining that when their natural habitat was destroyed, elephants encroached into human habitats due to not having enough space, food, and water, leading to the so-called conflict.
“The term ‘Human-Elephant Conflict’ is a misnomer. It’s not a conflict between two factions; it’s a situation entirely caused by human encroachment into elephant habitats, which in turn deprives the elephants of their sustenance.”
Resolving HEC
Gunawardana noted that the solution lay in restoring and enriching degraded habitats to provide elephants with the resources they needed for their sustenance, rather than focusing narrowly on equipment or translocation strategies.
Highlighting that this is a multi-dimensional issue, he pointed out that resolving HEC required a multi-agency approach: “The DWC alone cannot solve this issue; it requires collaboration with other Government bodies like the Agriculture Department, Forest Conservation Department, and the Lands Ministry.”
Gunawardana further criticised the tendency to treat HEC as an isolated problem: “The problem isn’t just HEC; it’s a symptom of a much larger issue which is habitat degradation and fragmentation.”
He noted that HEC was a means of attempting to isolate the problem, which would not yield lasting solutions. “I am concerned about the wider issue of habitat destruction not receiving the due focus it needs. If we take that into consideration and look at the larger problem while trying to find answers in a holistic context, these smaller problems can be tackled very easily,” he explained.
While acknowledging the challenges posed by HEC, Minister Wanniarachchi maintained that the DWC was actively working to mitigate the issue. She pointed out that measures such as a 121.85 km electric fence covering Rajgammana, Elahera, and Laggala, along with civil protection units to guard it, had been implemented to curb the conflict. Additionally, 10 wild elephants have been removed from conflict areas between 2016 and 2024.
The Minister also pointed to ongoing habitat enrichment activities in the Wasgamuwa and Angammedilla National Parks to increase the food supply for wild elephants and plans to continue these efforts. She however acknowledged that some recommendations from EIAs had not been fully implemented due to human settlements encroaching on elephant travel routes.
Wanniarachchi further emphasised the need for relocating communities from these critical areas and highlighted future plans to recruit more wildlife officers and enhance the equipment available to them.