Speeding trains, poachers endanger tuskers in Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (India)
Speeding trains, poachers endanger tuskers in Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve
(India)
Jaison Wilson, Daiji World
September 24, 2022
NEW DELHI: A female elephant, a tusk-less male elephant, and a juvenile
female elephant were killed when hit by a train about 220 metres outside a
reserve forest in Coimbatore division of Tamil Nadu last year.
This was only one of the tragic incidents among the rising human-elephant
conflicts in and around the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve of the Western Ghats.
Dealing with a similar incident in Mettupalayam in the district, in which
an elephant was reportedly found dead, the National Green Tribunal (NGT),
in a recent order on a plea said that unless the wildlife population in the
forest area is maintained in its equilibrium, it may have its own impact on
the forest ecology which will affect the total environment, in turn having
an impact on human life as well.
In the order, the green court observed that the issue in this case mainly
revolves around the huge number of tusker deaths either due to man-elephant
conflict or due to train accidents when they pass through the villages and
their corridors.
It also directed the Southern Railways and the Forest Department of Tamil
Nadu and bordering Kerala to explore the possibility of using Artificial
Intelligence based systems to avoid hitting wild animals among other
solutions.
Though several projects have been launched by the Central government like
Project Elephant Gajah, these incidents are recurring which is a matter of
concern for the regulators and policy makers, apart from animal lovers and
environmentalists.
Conservation of wildlife is required as part of wildlife protection, apart
from protecting the forest environment, it stressed.
Though the applicant has filed the application stating that the authorities
are lagging behind in providing the mechanism to mitigate these incidents,
no solution has been forthcoming from the applicant on how this can be
effectively managed and how such incidents can be minimized.
The total eradication of such incidents is a remote possibility, especially
when there cannot be any control over the movement of wild animals,
especially elephants, which are nomadic animals, the order said.
The number of elephants is decreasing at an alarming rate in India mainly
due to the human-animal conflict and also due to lack of treatment and care
for injured elephants, said the plea moved before the green court.
On the other hand, farmer organisations complained that elephants are
causing extensive damage to crops and property in the fringe villages of
Coimbatore and Periyanaikenpalayam Ranges.
A forest staffer who was engaged in driving back the elephants was killed
in the forests. Frequent damage to the crops and property coupled with the
loss of life has created a constant fear among the public in these areas,
they said.
The forest department said it is making all efforts to protect wildlife and
many elephants have been rescued and rehabilitated.
Anti-poaching and anti-depredation squads and Rapid Response Teams have
been deployed for monitoring the movements of elephants.
Whenever, the movement of elephants towards the villages is detected, the
farmers and other public are warned to be safe and the strayed elephants
are carefully guided back to the forests, according to the forest officials.
The Indian elephant was declared a National Heritage Animal in 2010 and is
also a Schedule-I species under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
The Act provides for the protection of wild as well as captive animals with
a view to ensuring the ecological and environmental security of the
country. 'Project Elephant' was launched by the government in 1992 as a
centrally sponsored scheme for the management and protection of wild as
well as captive elephants, their habitats and corridors and address the
issue of human- elephant conflict.
The Environment Ministry, along with the Standing Committee of the National
Board for Wildlife is examining the various issues relating to
human-wildlife conflict including securing of elephant corridors to
minimize human-elephant conflict, mitigation measures for reducing animal
deaths on the roads/ highways, and deaths due to electrocution, it was
submitted.
The Palakkad-Podanur electrified broad gauge double line railway track of
Southern Railway passes through the reserved forest in the Western Ghats
between Kanjikode and Madukarai railway stations.
The track between 486 km to 534 km long is being separated by twin single
line. The Podanur-Palakkad Dn line is an A-line laid in 1861 and the
Palakkad-Podanur Up line is a B-line which was laid in 1974 and comes in
the Ghat section both in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, as per the Railways.
The conflict in Line B started mostly after 2000 when human habitations
thrived in the area and paddy cultivation was taken up by the villagers, it
was submitted.