Odisha comes up with comprehensive strategy to mitigate human-elephant conflict

Odisha’s Forest and Environment department submits an affidavit with Orissa HC detailing actions to check human and elephant deaths

The Odisha government has come up with a ‘comprehensive action plan for conservation of elephants and mitigation of human-elephant conflict’, a zonation approach to maintain a long-term viable population of 1700-1800 elephants in the State.

According to the plan, which is part of an affidavit filed with Orissa High Court, steps will be taken to minimise the incidence of human-elephant conflict and consequent death of humans and elephants.

A division bench of Orissa High Court comprising Chief Justice S. Muralidhar and Justice M.S. Raman has been bearing a number of public interest litigations concerning elephant deaths. The State has been divided into four zones.

The Zone I will be ‘Elephant Conservation Zone’, which is three elephant reserves. The State Forest and Environment department will give strict protection, ensure no change in land-use, improve habitat quality and retain the optimum number of elephants within them throughout the year.

The Zone II will be treated as a co-existence zone, intending to increase habitat quality and viability and reduce conflict through long- term strategies, discourage destructive land-use practices, promote scientific eco-restoration of degraded forests and encourage wildlife-friendly land-use, thereby inducing elephants to stay within such areas for a year-long.

Similarly, Zone III will be a Conflict Mitigation Zone where steps will be taken to reduce conflict through short-term strategies, minimize human and elephant deaths and to retain a minimum viable number of elephants as per social carrying capacity.

The Zone IV will be a no-go area for elephants. The jumbos straying in this zone to be captured and translocated forthwith to identified locations.