How UP Is Going To Benefit from Newly Created Terai Elephant Reserve
How UP Is Going To Benefit from Newly Created Terai Elephant Reserve
Ayodhya Prasad Singh, Indian Masterminds
November 30, 2022
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https://indianmasterminds.com/features/beyond-headlines/how-up-is-going-to-benefit-from-newly-created-terai-elephant-reserve/
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Recently, there was good news for Uttar Pradesh as the Ministry of
Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) gave its nod for the
creation of Terai Elephant Reserve (TER) in Dudhwa-Pilibhit landscape in
the state. This will be the 33rd Elephant Reserve of the country after its
notification by the state government.
The Terai Elephant Reserve will comprise of Dudhwa Tiger Reserve, Pilibhit
Tiger Reserve, Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary, Katarniaghat Wildlife
Sanctuary, Dudhwa buffer zone and forests of south Kheri forest divisions.
It would be set up in an area of 3,049.39 square kilometre and the Central
government will provide all financial and technical support.
The establishment of the new elephant reserve will help conserve the
trans-boundary migration of elephant populations. It will also help protect
the neighbouring villages in the Indo-Nepal border area of Uttar Pradesh.
It will also be beneficial for the two tiger reserves because of the
maintenance of grassland and corridor.
Indian Masterminds interacted with 1996-batch IFS officer and Director of
Project Elephant in MoEFCC, Mr. Ramesh Pandey, to get more details.
Terai Elephant Reserve
According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) India, habitat loss and
fragmentation are major threats to the existence of elephants. So, there is
obvious need to take some important steps in that direction for
conservation of elephants and curbing human-elephant conflicts.
The proposal of Terai Elephant Reserve was sent about three years ago by
Mr. Ramesh Pandey, when he was the field director of Dudhwa Tiger Reserve.
After deep brainstorming on this proposal, Central government has given its
approval after the presentation of the project by the present Field
Director of Dudhwa Tiger Reserve, Mr. Sanjay Pathak.
Mr. Ramesh Pandey said, “In places where there are elephants, elephant
reserves are made for their protection. The proposals comes from the states
and the Central government gives its consent. The Central government’s nod
for the Terai Elephant Reserve has been received. Now the state government
will soon issue a notification.”
Tiger and Elephant Reserve Together
Dudhwa is already a tiger reserve and conserving the tigers. Now, there
will also be an elephant reserve here and, hence, both will be protected
simultaneously. Both the animals are together in many places, like Rajaji
National Park, Jim Corbett, etc. Wherever tigers and elephants co-exist, if
there is a need, both tiger and elephant reserves are created for their
protection.
“Basically the entire area gets the benefit of the project. This gives
strength for their protection and funds will be available for better
management. So, with the arrival of another project at a place, the
conservation of that area and the already ongoing project gets more
strength. So there will be no conflict due to tiger and elephant reserves
being together and no legal status will get changed. Rather, the sector
will now get more benefits,” Mr. Panday said.
Benefits
With this elephant reserve, the frequent conflict between elephant and
human will stop. The Forest Department of Uttar Pradesh will also be
benefited by getting help from the Centre in establishing an elephant
sanctuary in Dudhwa. Project Elephant will finance the establishment and
operation of the Terai Elephant Reserve to be built in about 3,049.39
square kilometre.
It will not only provide the financial help, but also support the technical
aid. This will lead to better care, maintenance and protection of wild and
domesticated elephants. New elephant corridors will be developed for the
movement of elephants while the old corridors will be strengthened. Along
with this, doctors will be appointed for the treatment of elephants so that
timely treatment can be provided to them. If any person dies in an elephant
attack, he will be compensated. Sixty per cent share in the funding will be
from the central government and 40 per cent from the state government.
Mr. Pandey said, “The tiger reserve conservation plans and TER plans would
supplement each other in terms of wildlife protection and conservation,
grassland and drinking water management, maintenance and renovation of wild
corridors, training and skill development of the forest personnel,
mitigation of man-animal conflict, as there would be no financial
constraints. Moreover, it will ensure welfare of local communities living
in proximity of the two reserves.”
Helping Dudhwa
The current CCF & Field Director of Dudhwa Tiger Reserve, Mr. Sanjay Pathak
said that in view of the decreasing number of Asian elephants around the
world, it has been decided to establish Terai Elephant Reserve for their
conservation. The in-principle approval of the Central government has been
received for the Terai Elephant Reserve and work will start as soon as the
budget is received.
“It will help to effectively handle man-elephant conflicts which are
presently state-dependent. It will not only boost the eco-tourism, but will
also help adopt elephant-centric approach towards their conservation under
Project Elephant, besides managing camp or captive Dudhwa elephants. The
formation of an elephant reserve will also help in better conservation of
wild and domesticated elephants,” he said.
Second Elephant Reserve in UP
Mr. Ramesh Panday further informed that “TER would be the 33rd elephant
reserve in the country and second in Uttar Pradesh. The first elephant
reserve in Uttar Pradesh was notified in Shivalik in Saharanpur and Bijnor
districts in 2009. It is much smaller in area than the proposed Terai
Elephant Reserve.”
According to the census done in the year 2019, there are a total of 352
elephants in the state, while 149 elephants were found in Dudhwa Tiger
Reserve alone. And now, their number has increased to 205. Apart from
these, there are also a total of 25 domesticated elephants in Dudhwa Tiger
Reserve. The forests of Dudhwa Tiger Reserve are also a favorite
destination for Nepal’s elephants, due to which large groups of elephants
migrate and come here every year.
About Project Elephant
Project Elephant is a centrally sponsored scheme that supports elephant
conservation in India. Project Elephant was launched by the Government of
India in 1992 to provide financial and technical aid to states for the
protection of free-ranging population of wild Asian elephants. This
centrally sponsored scheme aims to ensure long-term survival of Asian
elephants in their natural habitats by protecting them, their habitats, and
migration corridors.