The Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFCC) has given its nod to set up Terai Elephant Reserve (TER) in Lakhimpur Kheri district of Uttar Pradesh.
About Terai Elephant Reserve (TER)
- The Terai Elephant Reserve (TER) would be the 33rd in the country and 2nd in Uttar Pradesh.
- The first elephant reserve in Uttar Pradesh was notified in Shivalik in Saharanpur and Bijnor districts in 2009.
- The TER would be set up in an area of 3,049.39 square kilometre.
- The TER comprises forest areas of Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR), Dudhwa Nation Park (DNP), Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary (KWS), Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary (KGWS), Dudhwa buffer zone and parts of south Kheri forest division.
Need for an elephant reserve
- The need for an elephant reserve in Dudhwa area was felt after a study on wild tuskers revealed that migrant elephants which earlier visited Dudhwa, Katarniaghat, Pilibhit and other Terai areas from neighbouring areas, including Nepal, and returned to their original destinations have tended to stay here permanently.
Significance of Elephant reserve
- The TER is located on India-Nepal border where trans-national migration of wild tuskers is a routine, giving rise to man-elephant conflicts. With financial and technical assistance under the Project Elephant, the TER would enable to effectively handle the man-elephant conflicts.
- More and more locals would be engaged in elephant conservation and eco-development.
