Asian Elephant Conservation

Why in News?

Interim Elephant Census report has highlighted declining elephant population across India.

How Elephant census is conducted?

• Elephant Census – It is a synchronized census conducted region wise.
• It is conducted every 5 years by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), an autonomous body under the ministry.
• Census Methods
  • Direct (head) count - Forest divisions is divided into sample blocks ranging from 4 to 6 sq km.
  • Indirect (dung) count
  • waterhole count method – Identifying waterbodies frequented by the elephants.
  • DNA profiling
  • Camera traps
  • Statistical modelling based on mark-recapture
• Till 2017 Direct and Indirect method only used and Scientific estimation is being used in this years’ census.

What are the impacts of declining elephant population?

• Human Animal Conflict – Threats have pushed elephants to venture into historical but currently unoccupied areas fuelling human-elephant conflicts.
• Retaliatory Killing - In some cases, conflicts can escalate to retaliatory killings of elephants, further exacerbating their population decline.
• Economic Losses - Human-elephant conflicts can result in significant economic losses for farmers and communities, especially in areas where agriculture is a primary livelihood.
• Habitat Degradation - As elephant populations decline, their role in shaping and maintaining ecosystems becomes compromised.

Elephants are ecosystem engineers and keystone species influencing vegetation structure and seed dispersal.

• Disruption of Food Chains -Their decline can disrupt food chains, affecting predator populations and overall ecosystem balance.
• Reduced Seed Dispersal - Elephants play a vital role in dispersing seeds, helping to regenerate forests and maintain plant diversity.
• Loss of Cultural Heritage - Elephants have deep cultural significance in India, and their decline represents a loss of cultural heritage.
• Reduced Tourism Revenue - Elephant tourism is a significant source of income in many parts of India.
• Impact on Traditional Practices - Some indigenous communities rely on elephants for their livelihoods and cultural practices.

What are the elephant’s conservation initiatives?

• Area Conservation - There are 33 elephant reserves in India aimed at conserving their population.
• Project Elephant – It was launched in 1992 to protect elephants, their habitat and corridors, address issues of man-animal conflict and welfare of captive elephants
• Surveillance - Monitoring of Illegal Killing of Elephant is launched in 10 elephant reserves since 2003.
• Stop Poaching - Anti-poaching units have been formed to patrol elephant habitats and apprehend poachers.
• Prevent Wildlife Crime - Special Elephant task forces have been set up to address specific threats to elephant populations, such as ivory smuggling.
• Compensation – Community compensation schemes are in place to reimburse farmers for crop damage caused by elephants.
• Surveys - Regular elephant surveys are conducted to assess elephant population trends and distribution.

What are the strategies to conserve elephant population?

• Strengthening elephant corridors and connectivity, restoring habitat, mitigating developmental projects, and ensuring the support of local communities for elephant conservation.
• Focused estimation exercise to comprehensively assess occupancy and abundance to devise specific conservation actions.
• Develop early warning systems to alert communities of approaching elephant herds.
• Establish community-based anti-poaching units to monitor and protect elephant habitats.

Reference

The Indian Express | Count fell by 20% in 5 year