ELEPHANT CORRIDORS

 

Latest Context

A new elephant corridor report released by the central government showed a 40 per cent increase in elephant corridors across 15 elephant range states in India.

What are Elephant Corridors?

• Elephant corridors can be described as a strip of land that enables elephant movement between two or more friendly habitats. The corridors were reported by respective state governments and ground validation methods were used to verify them.
• This movement promotes the survival and procreation of the species.
• 88 elephant corridors have been found in India.
• Out of a total of 88 corridors, there were 20 in the south, 12 in the north-western, 20 in the centre, 14 in northern West Bengal, and 22 in the north-east of India.
• 77.3 percent of all the corridor are regularly used by elephants.
• The remaining two-thirds are of medium ecological priority, while one third is of high ecological priority.
• Northern West Bengal has the most severely fragmented habitat for elephants, followed by northwestern, northeastern, and central India.
• In South India, the least amount of fragmentation was seen.
• In south India, 65 percent of the corridors are located in reserves or protected regions.
• Forest, agriculture, and habitations occupy 90% of Central India. Forest only makes up 10% of the land.
• In India, only 24% of the corridors are completely forested.

Need for Elephant Corridors

• The Asian elephant is currently facing major problems in India despite being a symbol of traditional cultural reverence, having been named a National Heritage Animal, and enjoying the greatest level of legal protection.
• The root of the issue is land, which has an impact on all of the nation's species.
• The demand for resources has expanded tremendously over the past few decades along with India's population growth. This need essentially comes down to the requirement for additional land, which is required for homes, roads, dams, mining, and farmland in order to produce more food.
• The nation's forest cover has deteriorated and been fragmented as a result of this need for land.
• Elephants need a lot of space to roam around in so they may browse, forage, and move from place to place as the seasons change in search of food and water.
• The farther an elephant herd needs travel in search of food and water, the worse off the forest habitat is becoming.
• Elephants are having to travel farther and farther away, which puts them in confrontation with people.
• Conflict with elephants also rises as humans expand on forest regions, cultivate nutrient-rich crops close to forest lands, build houses, roads, and trains.
• In India today, there is a severe issue with human-elephant conflict: around 400 people are murdered by elephants every year, and crops and property worth millions of rupees are damaged.

Significance of Elephant Corridors

• For elephant populations to remain genetically viable, migration is essential.
• Additionally, it helps with forest regeneration, which is important for tigers and other animals.
• As they walk through the forest, elephants prevent some plant species from overgrowing and provide room for the regrowth of others, which in turn supply food for other herbivorous creatures.
• Elephants consume vegetation, fruits, and seeds. When they urinate while moving across different locations, they spread the seeds everywhere. This promotes biodiversity by enabling the spread of many plant species.
• Elephant dung provides food for animals and plants as well as acting as an insect breeding ground.
• They create holes to collect water during droughts, which benefits other species. Additionally, their big footprints catch water when it rains, which helps smaller animals.
• Sometimes, tigers and other apex predators may hunt baby elephants. Other animals can eat elephant carcasses as well.
• By allowing elephants to wander freely, one creates an ecosystem that is suited for a variety of different animal and plant species.

Threats to Elephant Corridors

• Nearly 40% of elephant reserves are in danger because they are outside of sanctuaries or parks that are under protection. Furthermore, there is no legal protection for the migrant corridors.
• The main danger is habitat loss brought on by habitat fragmentation and destruction brought on by human development activities including construction, construction of roads and railways, construction of resorts, and the installation of solar-powered electric fencing, among others.
• Coal and iron ore mining are the "single biggest threats" to elephant pathways in central India.
• The mineral-rich states of Orissa, Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh also have the most elephant corridors in the nation, which makes them known for elephant-man clashes.
• Due to the high value of elephant ivory from the tusks, there is also a significant poaching issue.
• Large grazing areas, which elephants need, are in scarce supply in most reserves. If protected areas are too small, elephants may look for food elsewhere.
• Due to elephants attacking or destroying crops, this frequently results in disputes with people.

Conclusion

Elephant habitat is not well-protected in many areas of the nation, is under risk from human encroachment, or is already occupied by people. Despite the fact that elephant populations are primarily concentrated in protected forests in north-eastern states, east-central India, the Himalayan foothills in the north, and the Western and Eastern Ghats in the south, the animals need to be able to freely move between these locations to maintain genetic flow and account for seasonal variations in forage and water availability. Elephant corridors are essential because of this.

 

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