Elephant conservation measures have failed in State

GUWAHATI, March 21 ? Conservation of the Asian elephant in Assam has failed for all purpose and it is imperative that immediate short-term alongwith long-term measures are initiated to reduce man-elephant conflict, leading NGOs working in the environmental field claim. "As sub-optimal habitat is unable to meet the demands made on it by a herd of elephants who seek sustenance elsewhere and come into conflict with man. The degradation is largely man-made and the elephant has disappeared from areas where forests have been destroyed for human needs", the director of the organisation "Nature's Beckon", Soumyadeep Dutta told PTI. He pointed out that in five reserve forests located in the eastern part of Sonitpur district where series of mass killings of Asian elephants have taken place, there has been systematic destruction of forests. Over and above the systematic encroachment of forest land in Sonitpur district, there had been large-scale poisoning of elephants in and around Nameri NationalPark and Naduar Reserve Forest last year, he said. "Unless elephant habitats are brought under stringent forest laws and the encroachers are evicted or apprehended, the prospect of elephant conservation in Assam will remain bleak," Datta warned. Datta, whose organisation is involved in the conservation of elephants by creating public awareness, management and preservation of habitats, also suggested that forest department should pay full compensation of Rs one lakh to the kin of villagers killed by elephants. "This fund is received from the Centre but the Assam forest department pays amounts ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 20,000 and we appeal that the balance payment to victims families be made at the earliest", he added. Datta pointed out that the objectives of Asian elephant conservation must be to ensure the long-term survival of identified large population among others. The measures, to be adopted depending on ground situation, will help in reducing "man-elephant conflict", he said. Forest land encroached by tea gardens, should be immediately vacated to keep the elephants' habitat intact and forest department should immediately prepare data of encroachment of forest land by various tea gardens for eviction, Datta suggested. "Elephants do not require money but need food, shelter and habitat. As such the elephant habitats which are still free from encroachment must be given full protection by bringing these under Protected Area Act", he added. He further said that enough funds had been spent on data collection and it was time that funds were now used for protection and management of elephant habitats. The World Wide Fund for India in a report submitted last year claimed "a silent war has been declared against a helpless group of inhabitants ? the Asian elephants as in a matter of 70 days, 31 elephants have been poisoned to death". Assam holds one of the country's largest Asian elephant population but the numbers are dwindling as the forests they inhabit have become fragmented and reduced through conversion for agriculture and human settlements. "The elephants, squeezed out of their homes, often raid crops and farmlands in search of food, destroying harvests leading angry villagers to seek revenge. Thus the stage is set for one of the biggest threats to wildlife as population pressure on the environment results in loss of both animals and people", says the WWF report. Dr Bibhab Kumar Talukdar, convenor of 'Aaranyak' ? a NGO which has done extensive survey on "man-elephant conflict" points out that the animal was worshipped as a Lord but now people have resorted to killing them by poisoning their food. The conflict problem is a cause for major concern because it threatens to erode local support for conservation in areas where human life and property are to high risk of destruction by wild elephants.