Page 16 - Demo

Mobile Technology for HEC Mitigation in Anamalai Hills, Tamil Nadu
M. Ananda Kumar, Ganesh Raghunathan, Sreedhar Vijayakrishnan and
Vinod Krishnan, NCF .
Understanding human-elephant interactions is critical for con- servation of elephants outside Protected Areas. Conflict in- cidents frequently lead to use of reactive measures such as
chasing elephants, capture and translocation, or retaliatory perse- cution, but these often fail to resolve conflicts on a sustained basis, empower communities to implement solutions, or help in conser- vation of elephants. In India, thousands of people and hundreds of elephants interact with each other on an everyday basis in many landscapes. Aspiring for inviolate spaces (exclusive zones) for people and elephants would not be possible as both protagonists are inter- connected strongly over resources. The only way is to promote hu- man-elephant coexistence in overlapping landscapes.
Our long term research (2002-2020) on the Valparai plateau in the Anamalai hills, enabled us to understand elephants’ use of fragment- ed habitats, their movements and conflict with people, and imple- ment site specific conflict mitigation measures in collaboration with the Tamil Nadu Forest Department that help promote human-ele- phant coexistence.
Right: Aerial view of elephants in a tea estate.
Photo:
Kalyan Varma
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