Bengaluru, 12 Aug

Preserving the natural habitats for the elephants will reduce the human-elephant conflicts that we are witnessing at an alarmingly high rate, said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday.

He was speaking after inaugurating an international conference that coincides with World Elephant Day.

The two-day conference on human-elephant conflict management, which aims to tackle the increased human-elephant conflicts, was organised by the Forest department.

The conference will see Forest Department officials from across India sharing knowledge with academic researchers and civil society organisations to bring about evidence-based inclusive approaches to human-elephant conflict solutions.

At the inaugural event, Siddaramaiah said State particular is susceptible to increased human-elephant conflicts it has the highest elephant population with 6,395 elephants, which makes approximately 25 per cent of the nation's total elephant population.

“In the last 10 years, the State reported 2,500 incidents of human-elephant conflicts, resulting in over 350 human fatalities and substantial crop losses,” he said.

 “As climate change raises temperatures and changes rainfall patterns, resources become even more scarce and elephants get pushed into new areas, including communal lands. Humans face their own challenges as they must move deeper into elephant territory to collect water or firewood,” said Siddaramaiah.

Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has flagged that there is the urgent need for expert-driven strategies to mitigate human-elephant conflicts, which have become a significant issue in Karnataka.

Speaking at an international conference on human-elephant conflict held at GKVK, Bengaluru, he highlighted the frequency of such conflicts in his constituency and across the State, urging experts to devise actionable plans to prevent the loss of lives. Salar News