State plans cross-border strategy to curb human-elephant conflict

Siliguri: A large number of wild elephants from Nepal have been entering India using the India-Nepal border, which has increased the number of elephants in Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad area. The state Forest department has reported an alarming increase in elephant movement through border corridors adjacent to Nepal’s Jhapa and Bahundangi regions, including areas near Kharibari along the India-Nepal border.

More than a hundred elephants have been observed entering Indian forests in North Bengal, causing heightened fears of human-elephant conflict. Forest workers in North Bengal are already grappling with the impact, as herds continue to stray into human settlements. To address the growing issue, Sandeep Sundriyal, the Chief Forester (Wildlife) and Chief Wildlife Warden of Bengal, announced that discussions with the Nepal government at the secretary level are being planned. These discussions aim to develop coordinated solutions to manage the transboundary elephant corridors more effectively.

A meeting was recently held at the Sukna Nature Interpretation Center, where Sundriyal met with all Divisional Forest Officers (DFOs) of North Bengal. The DFOs submitted detailed reports highlighting the challenges in their respective jurisdictions, including elephant corridor management, human-animal conflict, wildlife trafficking and manpower constraints. One of the key resolutions involves enhancing communication between the Kurseong Forest Division in India and forest officials in Nepal. The Forest department is considering the formation of a joint India-Nepal action committee focused specifically on elephant-related issues. To streamline operations and tracking, a shared WhatsApp group may be created for instant updates between forest staff across both borders.

In addition to conflict prevention, the department is also intensifying efforts to curb wildlife trafficking from India into Nepal. Data collection has begun to assess the scale of smuggling over the past year.

“Steps are being taken after reviewing all aspects to prevent human-elephant conflict and also to stop the smuggling of wildlife products,” said Sundriyal.