Discussed measures to reduce negative human-elephant interactions in Valparai Plateau

With the start of the annual elephant migration season, on 3 October various stakeholders discussed measures to reduce negative interactions between humans and elephants in the ecologically important Valparai Plateau.

The Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF) and Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) jointly organized the meeting at the Advanced Wildlife Management Training Centre, Attakatti.

As per the data maintained by the NCF, there have been over 100 incidents of elephants damaging properties like houses and shops in the Valparai area in the past one year.

Experts from NCF, namely TR Shankar Raman, Ganesh Raghunathan and Srinivasan Kasinathan explained the stakeholders, which included representatives of about 10 tea gardens, forest range officers of three forest ranges of Pollachi division of ATR, officers of revenue, police department, Valparai Municipality were involved. and the media on the importance of ecosystems in Valparai. They highlighted that the spread of invasive species, erosion of swamps and changes in land use are affecting the migration patterns of elephants, leading to conflict.

As ration shops are frequently damaged by elephants for rice and other rations, stakeholders discussed possible alternatives. At the end of the day, alternatives such as shifting the stock to safe godowns and shifting of ration shops to places away from residential areas were suggested. Introducing mobile ration shops was another suggestion that Bhargava Teja, deputy director (Pollachi division) of ATR had promised to bring to the notice of officials, including the district collector.

Issues related to waste disposal were also discussed in the meeting. Valparai Municipality President Algu Sundarvalli said the civic body would take measures to improve the collection and proper disposal of waste.

The meeting resolved to build a strong network of stakeholders for better communication and mitigation plans.