Tolerant behaviour and understanding of elephant habits could significantly reduce human-elephant conflict in areas where wild elephants frequently roam, experts and local people said at a workshop held in Chattogram鈥檚 Lohagara upazila on Tuesday morning.
The daylong workshop titled 鈥楬uman-elephant conflict鈥�, was organised by Nazeeya Chowdhury, a master鈥檚 student of conservation medicine at Tufts University in the United States, as part of her academic research.
The workshop was held at the Chunati Wildlife Sanctuary range office in which residents from the elephant corridors of Lohagara, Banshkhali, Anwara and Lama upazilas along with students from local schools took part.
While giving her presentation, Nazeeya Chowdhury said, 鈥楨lephants are coming because forests are shrinking. With less food and water, elephants seek out crop fields as easy sources of nutrition. An elephant can consume up to 140 kilograms of food and 190 litres of water a day. They follow traditional migratory paths used by their ancestors for generations.鈥�
Having said that elephants improved soil fertility through dung and seed dispersal, create forest openings that allow sunlight and new growth, and help enhance biodiversity, the conservation medicine student observed, 鈥楬ealthier ecosystems mean better crops and more reliable harvests. Elephants are emotional, family-oriented beings. They want to live in peace just like we do.鈥�
The workshop, moderated by Sanjida Rahman, coordinator of the local conservation group Chunati Rokkhay Amra, also featured testimonies from residents who were directly affected by elephant encounters.
Abul Kashem, a farmer from Bara Hatia in Lohagara, recalled, 鈥楩ive years ago, I was injured by an elephant鈥檚 trunk while working in the fields. I suffered chest and leg injuries, but I鈥檓 not afraid of elephants. They don鈥檛 attack unless provoked.鈥�
Other victims like Rasheda Begum and Fazlur Rahman from Banshkhali, and Laki Akter, Azizur Rahman, Abu Bakar Siddique and Nur Hossain from Lama upazila also spoke about their encounters and the bureaucratic hurdles in receiving compensations from the Forest Department.
Addressing the broader environmental concerns, Nur Jahan, wildlife and biodiversity conservation officer of the Chattogram Forest Department, said, 鈥業n the name of development, we have destroyed lives, nature and ecosystems.鈥�
鈥楴obody talks about the irreversible damage done to nature,鈥� she lamented, stating that it was causing a rise in the conflicts.
Although the government provides compensations to conflict victims following proper procedures, many miss out due to incomplete applications or lack of documentation, Nur Jahan noted.
