Elephant corridors to be restored in South Bengal-
✅The fragmented and patchy forests in south Bengal have become one of the hotspots of human-elephant conflict in India.
✅Between 2014 and 2019, as many as 2,381 human deaths were recorded in elephant attacks across the country, of which 403 (over 16%) were reported from West Bengal.
✅The State, however, is home to less than 3% of the elephant population and records a high death count of pachyderms in conflicts.
✅The degradation and fragmentation of forests have led to disruption in the traditional migration routes of the elephant herds in the region.
● About:
✅An elephant corridor is defined as a stretch/narrow strip of forested (or otherwise) land that connects larger habitats with elephant populations and forms a conduit for animal movement between the habitats.
✅This movement helps enhance species survival and birth rate.
✅There are 88 identified elephant corridors in India.
✅Out of the total of 88 corridors
✅20 are in south India,
✅12 in north-western India,
✅20 in central India,
✅14 in northern West Bengal and,
✅22 in north-eastern India
Threats to Elephant Corridors:
✅Habitat loss leading to fragmentation and destruction caused by developmental activities like construction of buildings, roads, railways, holiday resorts, and fixing solar energized electric fencing, etc.
✅Coal mining and iron ore mining is the two ""single biggest threats"" to elephant corridors in central India.
✅Orissa, Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh are mineral-rich states, but also have the highest number of elephant corridors in the country, which makes them known for elephant-man conflicts.
✅There is also a serious poaching problem, as elephant ivory from the tusks is extremely valuable.
✅Elephants need extensive grazing grounds and most reserves cannot accommodate them.
✅If protected areas are not large enough, elephants may search for food elsewhere.
✅This often results in conflicts with humans, due to elephants raiding or destroying crops.
Mitigation:
✅The fusion of the corridors with nearby protected areas wherever feasible; in other cases, declaration as Ecologically Sensitive Areas or conservation reserves to grant protection.
✅During the process of securing a corridor, monitoring for animal movement has to be carried out; depending on the need, habitat restoration work shall also be done.
✅Securing the corridors involves sensitizing local communities to the option of voluntarily relocation outside the conflict zones to safer areas.
✅Preventing further fragmentation of the continuous forest habitat by encroachment from urban areas.
● Initiatives for protecting elephants:
✅Monitoring of Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE) Programme
✅Mandated by COP resolution of CITES, MIKE program started in South Asia in the year 2003 with the following purpose:
✅To provide the information needed for elephant range States to make appropriate management and enforcement decisions, and
✅to build institutional capacity within the range States for the long-term management of their elephant populations
✅India has 10 MIKE sites.
Haathi Mere Saathi:
✅Haathi Mere Saathi is a campaign launched by the Ministry of environment and forest (MoEF) in partnership with the wildlife trust of India (WTI).
✅The campaign was launched at the ""Elephant- 8"" Ministerial meeting held in Delhi in 2011.
✅The E-8 countries comprise India, Botswana, the Republic of Congo, Indonesia, Kenya, Srilanka, Tanzania, and Thailand.
✅This public initiative was aimed at increasing awareness among people and developing friendship, companionship between people and elephants.
● Project Elephant:
✅Project Elephant was launched in 1992.
✅It is a centrally sponsored scheme.
✅To protect elephants, their habitat & corridors.
✅To address issues of man-animal conflict.
✅The welfare of captive elephants.
✅The elephant census is conducted once in 5 years under the aegis of Project elephant.
✅The direct elephant counting method is based on the sightings of elephants.