Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Shri Bhupender Yadav launched a field manual to guide forest staffers dealing with human-elephant conflict (HEC) in major elephant range states on April 29, 2022.
- The Field Manual for Managing Human-Elephant Conflicts in India was launched at the Forest Research Institute (FRI) in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.
- Shri Yadav also released the Preliminary Report on Human Elephant Conflict and a booklet titled Trumpet.
- The manual has been prepared by the ministry, along with the Wildlife Institute of India (WWI) and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF India).
Human-elephant conflict
- Human-elephant conflict had caused 1,401 human and 301 elephant deaths in India from 2018-2020.
- Some 115 elephants and 457 people had died in 2018-19, while 99 elephants and 585 people had died in 2019-20.
Elephant Population
- The current population estimates indicate that there are about 50,000 -60000 Asian elephants in the world.
- More than 60 % of the population is held in India.
Conservation Status
- Some 30 elephant reserves have been established so far in 14 major elephant states. Asian elephants are listed as “Endangered” on the IUCN Red List of threatened species.
- This has been done as most of the range states except India, have lost their viable elephant populations due to loss of habitats & poaching etc.
- Indian Elephant has also been listed in the Appendix I of the Convention of the Migratory species in the Conference of Parties of CMS 13 at Gandhi Nagar, Gujarat in February 2020.
- World Elephant Day is celebrated on August 12 to bring attention of various stakeholders to support various conservation policies to help elephants, including improving enforcement policies to prevent the illegal poaching and trade of ivory, conserving elephant habitats, providing better treatment for captive elephants and reintroducing some captive elephants into sanctuaries.
- Elephant is the Natural Heritage Animal of India and India also celebrates this day to spread awareness towards conservation of the species.
Project RE-HAB
- Project RE-HAB is a sub-mission of KVIC’s National Honey Mission. While the Honey Mission is a programme to increase the bee population, honey production and beekeepers’ income by setting up apiaries.
- Project RE-HAB uses bee boxes as a fence to prevent the elephant attacks.
- Under Project RE-HAB, “Bee-fences” are created by setting up bee boxes in the passage ways of elephants to block their entrance to human territories.
- Project RE-HAB was launched at 11 locations in Kodagu district of Karnataka on 15th March 2021.Later it was also implemented in Assam.
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