Project Elephant Start

• In February 1992, the Indian government introduced Project Elephant, a dedicated initiative aimed at ensuring the long-term survival of wild elephants.

Where It’s Happening

• This project operates primarily across 13 states and union territories, including Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Karnataka, and Kerala, with additional support provided to Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh.

Why It’s Needed

• The core objective of Project Elephant is to offer financial aid and technical expertise to states that are home to wild elephants. This assistance helps in tasks such as elephant population monitoring, staff training, and managing human-elephant conflicts.

Objectives

• Protect Elephants: Ensuring the safety of elephants, safeguarding their habitats, and creating secure pathways for their movement.
• Address Conflicts: Resolving issues that arise when there are conflicts between people and elephants.
• Welfare of Domesticated Elephants: Taking care of elephants that live alongside human communities.

Aim

• The broader goal is to restore natural habitats and migratory routes for elephants. This includes reducing conflicts between people and elephants while managing human activities in areas where elephants live.

Specific Goals

• Conservation Measures: Implementing plans to protect elephants and their habitats.
• Stop Illegal Activities: Preventing illegal activities like hunting and the trade of ivory.
• Research and Awareness: Studying issues related to elephants and creating awareness and education programs for the public.
• Eco-Development and Vet Care: Supporting elephants through environmental initiatives and providing veterinary care.
• Maintain Tamed Elephants: Taking care of and breeding elephants that live with people.

Elephant Corridor

• An elephant corridor is like a pathway, usually a narrow strip of land with trees, that connects different areas where elephants live. It helps elephants move around, which is crucial for their survival and having baby elephants.
• India has identified 88 elephant corridors across the country. They are located in:
  • 20 corridors are in South India
  • 12 in north-western India
  • 20 in central India
  • 14 in northern West Bengal
  • 22 in north-eastern India
• How They’re Used: Elephants regularly use about 77.3% of these corridors. Some are more important for the environment, about one-third being of high importance, and the other two-thirds are of medium importance.
• Fragmentation Issues: The places where elephants live are sometimes cut into pieces, especially in northern West Bengal, followed by northwestern India, north-eastern India, and central India. South India has the least fragmentation.
• Protection in South India: In South India, 65% of the corridors are in protected areas or reserved forests, meaning they are safer for elephants.
• Land Use in Central India: In central India, 90% of the corridors are shared by forests, farms, and homes. Only 10% are entirely covered by forests.
• National Picture: Across India, only 24% of the corridors are entirely covered by forests. The rest may have other types of land use.

Threats to Elephant Corridors

• Main Problem: The biggest issue for elephants is losing their homes, which happens when places get broken up or destroyed by things like buildings, roads, railways, resorts, and solar-powered fences.
• Big Threats in Central India: In the central part of India, coal mining and iron ore mining are the most significant dangers for the paths elephants use to move around. These are called elephant corridors.
• Conflict Zones: States like Orissa, Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh are rich in minerals, but they also have a lot of elephant corridors. This creates conflicts between elephants and people, especially because the development for mining can harm the paths elephants use.
• Poaching Issue: People also hunt elephants for their tusks, which are very valuable. This is a big problem.
• Not Enough Space: Elephants need a lot of space to find food, and many protected areas are not big enough for them. When elephants can’t find enough food, they might go into areas where people live, causing conflicts. This can lead to damage to crops or even harm to people.

Mitigation Strategies

1. Connecting Corridors: Combine elephant corridors with nearby protected areas whenever possible. In other cases, these areas might be officially labeled as Ecologically Sensitive Areas or conservation reserves for added protection.
2. Monitoring and Habitat Restoration: When securing a corridor, keep an eye on animal movements and, if needed, work on restoring the natural habitat.
3. Engaging Local Communities: To secure corridors, local communities need to be made aware of the option to voluntarily move out of conflict zones to safer areas. This not only helps in conservation but also prevents further damage to the continuous forest habitat from urban expansion. It’s especially vital for the safety of animals like tigers, elephants, sambar, marsh crocodiles, gharials, and various bird species.