The humanelephant conflict in indias tea state assam. Growers of worldfamous assam tea are encroaching into forests, fuelling a conflict between elephants and humans, locals and authorities in the indian state have said. Elephant herd moving into agricultural area, assam, india. As per order of the transport department, government of assam, dated 23rd september 2019.
Humanwildlife interactions have occurred throughout man s prehistory and recorded history. In the past 10 years, 372 people have been killed by elephants in assam talukdar, 2010. The elephants move gracefully in procession, run races, play games of various kind. Dec 05, 2014 this short video provides a snapshot of human elephant conflict in assam. This short video provides a snapshot of humanelephant conflict in assam.
Manelephant conflict keeping assam forest dept on toes. Mar 15, 2018 eight elephants had been killed by poisoning in the state this year, state environment and forest minister pramila rani brahma informed the assembly on thursday while presenting the data on man. The scenario of manelephant conflict in hoollongapar gibbon wildlife sanctuary of assam, india sujayita bhattacharjee abstract manelephant conflict is a crucial problem concerning the northeastern part of india. Elephants of india find themselves in the hotbed of conflict. Reduced forest cover and inadequate food source are responsible for the increased incidents of manelephant conflict being reported from across assam, which has nearly 6,000 wild elephants. Estimates for the wild elephant population in assam vary.
All of them have been killed due to unnatural causes, with the primary reasons. Between 2009 and 2014, at least 408 people faced the wrath of animals in assam. Man elephant conflict searching for the reasons behind. Pdf habitat loss and humanelephant conflict in assam. He is a renowned global leader in preserving wildernesses and has founded many movements and initiatives like the nature needs half movement and yellowstone to yukon initiative.
The scenario of man elephant conflict in hoollongapar gibbon wildlife sanctuary of assam, india sujayita bhattacharjee abstract man elephant conflict is a crucial problem concerning the northeastern part of india. Determining if, how and why this conflict has changed over time will be an important step towards managing landscapes where people and elephants elephas maximus coexist. A 2017 survey puts northeastern indias wild elephant population at 10,9 nearly 25 percent of the total asian elephant elephas maximus stock of which 5,719 are found in assam, 1,754. Eight elephants had been killed by poisoning in the state this year, state environment and forest minister pramila rani brahma informed the assembly. Dec 02, 2017 it is a documentary film produced by the department of mass communication, assam womens university under the direction of suryya kumar chetia. Identifying reasons of occurrence 92 movement of elephants is largely dependent on the availability of food, water and shelter. Pdf habitat loss and humanelephant conflict in assam, india. Habitat loss and humanelephant conflict in assam, india. However, human elephant conflict remains pervasive as the majority of existing prevention strategies are driven by sitespecific factors that only offer shortterm. In order to mitigate the problem, the state forest department has taken a number of steps to create awareness among the people. The manelephant conflict has assumed alarming proportions in assam this year, raising the hackles of conservationists and compelling the state government to take initiatives to resolve the issue. Assams elephants at risk as mananimal conflict on the rise.
Humanwildlife conflict in the forest villages of barak. Man elephant conflict isnt something unheard of in assam. Nov 29, 2016 the human elephant conflict in assam has seen a steep rise in the recent times. Manelephant conflict a case study from forests in west bengal, india. An assessment of humanelephant conflict in manas national. Human elephant conflict in india, driven by habitat loss and an expanding human population, is a complex challenge for biodiversity conservation. In assams forests, humanelephant conflict has no winners. An assessment of human elephant conflict was carried out in the fringe villages around manas national park, assam during 2005 06. Jan 11, 2019 human elephant conflict is a major conservation concern in elephant range countries. Various historical developments since the occupation of assam by the british in 1826. This chapter initially focusses on the issue of humanelephant conflict worldwide, with special emphasis on the countries of south east asia and africa. Odisha and maharashtra surpassed assam with 106 and 92 deaths respectively last year. Over the last 100 years, african elephant populations have declined from 35 million to 470,000690,000 and asian elephant populations have declined from 100,000 to between 35,000 and 50,000. Manelephant conflict a case study from forests in west.
Until a few years ago, elephants summering in the upper reaches as high as 3,300 m. Issues were often polarized or framed in dramatic terms, and consonance in reporting causes was lacking. Humanelephant conflict hec is a complex interaction between humans and elephants, and represents the. Such practices exist in assam, india, which is home to over 5,000 elephants moef, 2017. Humanwildlife interactions have occurred throughout mans prehistory and recorded history. Jan 24, 2018 growers of worldfamous assam tea are encroaching into forests, fuelling a conflict between elephants and humans, locals and authorities in the indian state have said. The 70yearold politician, who as a former military man attended the counterinsurgency and jungle warfare school in assam in 1980, served as the defence secretary during his elder brother mahinda rajapaksas tenure as president from 2005 to 2014.
Abstract the paper analyses movements of different small ethnic groups belonging to both tribal and nontribal communities in the state of assam and attempts to understand. A variety of management strategies have been developed and are practiced at different scales for preventing and mitigating human elephant conflict. Communitybased humanelephant conflict management in assam. The study used satellite imagery of 1974, 1991 and 2004 to. As elephants kill in assam, blame on laden india news,the.
Unabated manelephant conflict in udalguri by robertson tanti saturday, may 20, 2017 02. Manelephant conflict on the rise in sonitpur state of assam. Humanelephant conflict in assams tea gardens bbc news. Pdf man elephant conflict is a crucial problem concerning the northeastern part of india. This article traces the depiction of humanelephant conflict in the media by examining a how conflicts are framed and b how ultimate and proximate causes are communicated in indian and international newspapers. Humanelephant conflict, case study, mitigation, elephants.
Humanelephant conflict is a major conservation concern in elephant range countries. However, in assam, unsustainable extraction of forest products and encroachment of forests. The scenario of manelephant conflict in hoollongapar gibbon. Borah and others published manelephant conflict problem. Jan 23, 2018 human elephant conflict in assam s tea gardens the human price of the conflict with elephants in indias tea garden state where a student was killed by an elephant on her way home from college. Humanwildlife conflict in the forest villages of barak valley, assam, india h. The immediate cause of the riots was the targeted killings of four bodo men by bangladeshi muslims. Keywords humanwildlife conflict, elephant, fragmentation, conservation, india introduction northeastern ne india is comprised of several states, including arunachal pradesh, assam, manipur, meghalaya, mi zoram, nagaland, tripura, sikkim, and the northern parts of west bengal. The humanelephant conflict in assam has seen a steep rise in the recent times.
May 15, 2018 a 2017 survey puts northeastern indias wild elephant population at 10,9 nearly 25 percent of the total asian elephant elephas maximus stock of which 5,719 are found in assam, 1,754. According to indias environment ministry, 72 elephants were killed between 20 and 2014, with more than 100 killed in 2012. The assam forest department data shows that a total of 245 humans and 146 elephants were killed between 2001 and 2014 in mananimal conflicts on the border between assam and bhutan. Lets tune in to this beautiful story of bonding between man and animal. The immediate cause of the riots was the targeted killings of four bodo men by.
In the case of elephant and man we have one of the best examples known of two superficially dissimilar animals sharing common biological needs, and therefore competing vigorously whenever they contact each other. According to the ministry of environment and forest, only 22 percent of the elephant habitat in india comes under the protected areas network. There has been more livestock loss in areas where people took their. Tezpur seems to have seen a terrible form of man elephant conflict over the years. It has assumed a severe character due to increasing human population. The rhino foundation for nature in ne india, guwahati, india. This is an extremely serious problem as the conflict results in people and elephants being killed each year. Male elephants leave their natal clan after reaching puberty and do. It is a documentary film produced by the department of mass communication, assam womens university under the direction of suryya kumar chetia. It has assumed a severe character due to increasing human. The government of india had launched the project elephant in the year 1992 as a centrally sponsored scheme with objectives to protect elephants, their habitat corridors. Tezpur seems to have seen a terrible form of manelephant conflict over the years. Pdf humanelephant conflict in india, driven by habitat loss and an expanding human. Kalaigaon, june 17 manelephant conflict has taken a serious turn in the district with the deaths of three persons during the last three months.
Identifying reasons of occurrence 95 2008 in eight2 rfs in golaghat district presents a very lucid picture of loss of elephant habitat over three decades. The assam forest department data shows that a total of 245 humans and 146 elephants were killed between 2001 and 2014 in man animal conflicts on the border between assam and bhutan. Humanelephant conflict in assams tea gardens the human price of the conflict with elephants in indias tea garden state where a student was killed by. Ironically, the cause of the conflict has nothing to do with any lapse on bhutans part. A variety of management strategies have been developed and are practiced at different scales for preventing and mitigating humanelephant conflict. Assam, therefore, is one of the most important strongholds for the survival of the asian elephant. The people of the cultural town have now sought help from the state government for a permanent solution in this regard. Assam separatist movements are insurgency movements operating in northeast indias oilrich state of assam. Due to antielephant barricading in the nearby garo hills region of meghalaya, the area of movement of these elephants has become restricted, increasing the chances of mananimal conflict. The problem is aggravated day by day due to obstruction of elephant corridors. The man elephant conflict has assumed alarming proportions in assam this year, raising the hackles of conservationists and compelling the state government to take initiatives to resolve the issue. Data collected by conservationists has revealed that 40 elephants have died in assam in the last 100 days. Humanelephant conflicts in northeast india assam state. Some of the following offences will be fined as under.
Assam itself has been struggling to contain cases of elephants coming into clash with humans, for reasons such as degradation of elephant habitats. Eight elephants died of poisoning in assam in 2018. An assessment of humanelephant conflict was carried out in the fringe villages around manas national park, assam during 2005 06. Altogether 70 elephants have died this year and causes vary from train accidents to poisoning and electrocution, according to the forest department. Habitat loss and conflict with people are among the biggest threats to their continued survival. A conservationist, writer and photographer, harvey locke has moved mountains in the world of conservation.
Monojit singha ma, ph d, net research scholar, department of political science, assam university, silchar. Between 20 and 2016, 357 elephant mortalities were reported in the state, of which 37 were by electrocution. Introduction humanwildlife conflict hwc arises when there is a compulsion to share common limited resources, such as land, game, livestock or fish schwerdtner and brend, 2007 and graham et al. Guwahati, nov 20 notwithstanding its remarkable conservation saga, bhutan continues to grapple with a serious manelephant conflict. Jan 23, 2018 this conflict also results in the death of elephants. May 20, 2014 various historical developments since the occupation of assam by the british in 1826. Reduced forest cover and inadequate food source are responsible for the increased incidents of man elephant conflict being reported from across assam, which has nearly 6,000 wild elephants. Consequence of humanelephant conflict in balasore division year man killed by elephant human injured by elephant house damage by elephant crop damaged by elephant death of elephant fully partly total 200506 02 200607 01 200708 18 16 34 3. Train hit kills 3 elephants, including 2 pregnant females, in.
The humanelephant conflict in indias tea state assam bbc news. There is also transborder movement of elephants in to bangladesh, from meghalaya and assam in. This violence is back to year 1952 between bodo tribe and ethnic bengali muslim settlers. Between 20 and 2016, 357 elephant mortalities were. The conflict started in the 1970s 5 following tension between the native indigenous assamese people and the indian government over alleged neglect, domination, subjugation, political, social, cultural, economic exploitation and internal. Assam 3rd in human deaths from mananimal conflicts. However, humanelephant conflict remains pervasive as the majority of existing prevention strategies are driven by sitespecific factors that only offer short.
Officials blame smallscale plantations for most of the encroachment but local leaders told the bbc there was no uptodate land survey of bigger tea estates either. The elephant festival holiday tour the elephant festival is a unique event held annually in assam. This conflict also results in the death of elephants. Sanctuary asia wildlife magazine and best wildlife.
The available forest department conflict records since 1991 onwards were also incorporated during analysis. First captive elephant survey burning issues pdf download. A persons memory of when an incident occurred may be mistaken hedges, 2007. In assams forests, humanelephant conflict has no winners between 2006 and 2016, wild elephants have killed 785 people in the state, while 225 pachyderms fell victim to poaching, speeding. The elephants are groomed to perfection, row upon row of elephants catwalk before an enthralled audience.
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