Conflicting interactions between elephant habitats and human settlements; a case of Hambanthota

Abstract

Conflicts between human and elephants are one of the most widespread regional issues in Sri Lanka, particularly in the dry zone. Moreover, human-elephant conflict is increasing, predominantly in areas where expansion of human settlements cultivation, water sources and other developments. Human-elephant conflicts in these regions are increasing despite the management interventions of the government authorities. The impact of human-elephant conflict may take several forms including human death, agricultural crop losses, infrastructural damages and disturbances to the daily routine of the community such as travel to work and school. Habitat fragmentation and habitat loss can be considered as the main reasons for increasing human-elephant conflicts. Habitat fragmentation can be defined as a landscape ecological process involving both habitat shrinking and the dissection of habitat. There is a strong relationship between the habitat fragmentation and the habitat loss. This research work analyses how habitat fragmentation as a process affects on habitat loss of elephants and human-elephant conflicts in Hambanthota region. Therefore, this research questions the causative factors for increasing elephant human conflicts in Hambanthota region based on the information collected through secondary sources, key informant interviews and field observations. Further this research discusses how to manage the human settlements development coherent with the biodiversity particularly elephants’ habitats. The paper recommends how to adopt the concept of co-management in order to achieve the twin objectives of biodiversity conservation and safeguarding human security in the process of spatial strategy making.