Editorial: A jumbo protection policy needed

While wildlife activists expressed their indignation on the need for performing such antics using an endangered animal, it has ignited a conversation on the state of the country’s jumbos. Not many know the Indian elephant is a subspecies of the Asian elephant that has been listed as endangered as per the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. The wild population of the Asian pachyderm has declined by as much as 50 pc since the 1930s-1940s owing to factors including habitat loss and fragmentation, climate change as well as environmental degradation and poaching.

India has about 30,000 elephants today, and it makes up for 60 per cent of the Asian elephant population. Of these, over 2,500 elephants are captive, of which 560 are with forest departments of various states, 1,809 are in private custody (including those belonging to individuals, circuses and religious institutions). These numbers are not encouraging as hundreds of elephants, that fall under Schedule 1 of protected animals, have perished annually, due to the impact of human-animal conflict or due to habitat destruction. As per data provided by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF), over 2,300 people were killed by elephants from 2014-2019. And about 490 elephants were killed by poachers or through poisoning by local residents, train accidents, and electrocution.

In June, a hungry pregnant elephant in Palakkad consumed a pineapple laced with explosives, which led to her death and prompted a nation-wide outrage. Such traps were laid by farmers in regions adjoining elephant corridors to prevent wild animals from damaging crops. Just last week, the National Green Tribunal came down heavily on the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board in the aftermath of rising jumbo deaths due to electrocution in this region. As many as 461 elephant deaths were recorded pan-India due to electrocution between 2009 and 2017, of which 50 were in Tamil Nadu. According to the tribunal, shoddy maintenance of power lines was one of the causes behind such fatalities.

To address this, the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) has instructed all electricity supply units, which also include the State Electricity Boards (SEBs) to consider laying out underground lines in protected areas. But compliance is almost non-existent. However, changes are on the anvil. Earlier this month, the Union Environment Ministry proposed an amendment to the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, to offer legal status to elephant corridors and reserves, similar to the status accorded to tiger reserves. The idea was to prepare a national elephant action plan aimed at mitigating concerns of human-animal conflict.

About 30 elephant reserves in 15 states can benefit from the amendment. Towards this, state forest departments have been asked to formulate management plans and provide staffers. Granting of a statutory status to Project Elephant means no mining or industrial activity would be allowed in the vicinity of such reserves and boundaries cannot be altered without the consent of the National Board of Wildlife.

Encouragingly, the Wildlife Institute of India, under the Environment Ministry is embarking on a project to provide captive elephants with an Aadhaar-like unique ID. This is to protect them from abuse and poaching. Two years ago, the Supreme Court asked the Nilgiris administration to eliminate encroachments from the elephant corridor, part of the buffer zone in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve. And last week, the Apex Court upheld the Madras High Court’s 2011 order asking owners of resorts and private land to vacate and transfer the possession of their land which fell under the ‘elephant corridor’, to The Nilgiris’ District collector. These might seem like baby steps, but the government must keep up its focus on the need to preserve one of India’s most cherished national treasures. There won’t be a second chance.