With no let up in incidents of elephants raiding farms and entering human settlements in Dehradun region, the forest department is working on a composite plan for incorporating measures aimed at protecting farms and settlements.
However, wildlife experts point out that such measures alone cannot mitigate the human-pachyderm conflict without plantation of fodder species for the jumbos in the forest areas.Elephants raided farms in the Nakraunda area on Monday and Tuesday nights causing much damage to standing crops.
This is not the only area with frequent incidents of human-elephant conflict in Dehradun forest division. Dozens of areas in Badkot, Thano, lacchiwala and Asharodi ranges are frequented by elephants. The elephants raiding farms not only damage crops but at times also damage the homes of residents in these areas. According to the Dehradun sub divisional officer Gulvir Singh, the department is working on a long term composite plan to protect farms and people living in areas frequented by the pachyderms. “Such areas will be identified and measures like installation of solar fencing, excavation of trenches and construction of protection walls will be undertaken in these areas to mitigate the human-elephant conflict. The department has already constructed protection walls at some places facing human-jumbo conflict in the Rishikesh area,” he said.
However, experts point out that features like solar fencing, trenches and protection walls will not resolve the conflict situation but only shift it to some other place. The pachyderms raid human settlements and farms mainly due to decreasing fodder in the jungles and fragmentation of their habitat.
Ensuring the plantation of ficus trees and grasses preferred by elephants as food source should not be delayed any more. Measures should be taken to clear elephant corridors of encroachments and hurdles so that the pachyderms can move unrestricted between protected forest areas. Without ensuring this, simply installing solar fencing, digging trenches and constructing protection walls will not resolve human-wildlife conflicts which could escalate in the future if adequate fodder for the pachyderms is not ensure within the forest areas.