7 days ago
Govt to organise workshop on human-elephant conflict in Coimbatore on World Elephant Day
New Delhi, The government will organise a focused workshop on human-elephant conflict in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, on World Elephant Day on Tuesday to provide a platform for elephant range states to share their challenges and discuss mitigation measures. Govt to organise workshop on human-elephant conflict in Coimbatore on World Elephant Day
The workshop will be jointly organised by the Union environment ministry and the Tamil Nadu Forest Department. It will be inaugurated by Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav in the presence of his deputy Kirti Vardhan Singh.
India is home to nearly 60 per cent of the world's wild elephant population, with 33 elephant reserves and 150 identified elephant corridors, according to the 2023 Report on Elephant Corridors in India.
The last population estimation exercise in 2017 counted 29,964 elephants, while the results of the 2022 exercise are yet to be announced.
With robust legal protection, strong institutional frameworks and widespread public support, the country is recognised globally as a leader in reconciling human welfare with wildlife conservation.
The workshop comes at a time when incidents of elephants straying into human settlements in search of food and water have increased.
According to government data presented in the Rajya Sabha, 2,869 people were killed in elephant attacks in India between 2019 and 2023.
Odisha reported the highest toll with 624 deaths, followed by Jharkhand , West Bengal , Assam and Chhattisgarh .
Experts, policymakers, conservationists and forest officials will deliberate on best practices, ranging from habitat management and corridor maintenance to creating awareness and capacity building in high-conflict areas, the environment ministry said in a statement.
A nationwide awareness programme on elephant conservation will also be launched, engaging around 12 lakh schoolchildren from about 5,000 schools.
Tamil Nadu sustains a significant elephant population and plays a key role in mitigating human-elephant conflict.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
