ELEPHANT CORRIDORS

ELEPHANT CORRIDORS

TOPIC: Environment

Context- Wildlife Trust of India (WTI)’s 2017 report titled Right to Passage highlights the issue of rising conflict around elephant corridors.

• Jharkhand has been a hotspot for elephants in north India. But, in the last decade, the surge of illegal mining has posed new challenges to the free movement of elephants.

Concept-

Elephant Corridors:

• Elephant corridors are narrow strips of land that connect two large habitats of elephants.
• Elephant corridors are crucial to reduce animal fatalities due to accidents and other reasons. So fragmentation of forests makes it all the more important to preserve migratory corridors.
• Elephant corridors have been identified with the help of The Elephant Task Force Report, 2010 “Gajah” and State Forest Departments of elephant range states and till date total no. of 100 elephant corridors have been identified in the country. Many steps have been undertaken by GoI to protect corridors of elephants.
• Around 101 elephant corridors have been identified by the wildlife trust of India under the National elephant Corridor project.
  • 20 are in south India,
  • 12 in north-western India,
  • 20 in central India,
  • 14 in northern West Bengal, and
  • 22 in north-eastern India.

Threats to Elephant Corridors:

• Habitat loss leading to fragmentation and destruction like construction of buildings, roads, railways, holiday resorts, and fixing solar energized electric fencing, etc.
• Coal mining and iron ore mining is the two “single biggest threats” to elephant corridors in central India.
• There is also a serious poaching problem, as elephant ivory from the tusks is extremely valuable.
• Elephants need extensive grazing grounds and most reserves cannot accommodate them. If protected areas are not large enough, elephants may search for food elsewhere. This often results in conflicts with humans, due to elephants raiding or destroying crops.

About Elephants:

• Elephants are keystone species.
• Asian and African Elephants are facing extinction due to illegal poaching for high demand of ivory, tusks & other body parts; as a result these both elephants are also listed in IUCN Red list of Threatened Species as ‘Endangered Asian Elephants’ and ‘Vulnerable African Elephants’
• There are around 28,000 elephants in India with around 25% of them in Karnataka.
• 12 august is celebrated every year as World Elephant day worldwide.
• Elephants have the longest gestation period of any mammal—22 months. Females give birth every four to five years.
• Elephant herds have complex social structures, are led by matriarchs, and are comprised of a group of other adult females and calves, while male elephants tend to live in isolation or small bachelor groups.
• Conservation Status of Indian Elephants:
  • Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I
  • IUCN Red List: Endangered
  • CITES: Appendix I
• Project Elephant: It is a centrally sponsored scheme which was launched in 1992 for their protection.