Call for a shift from elephant-human conflict to coexistence

Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister K. Pawan Kalyan and Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Kirti Vardhan Singh on Thursday called for a shift from human-elephant conflict to coexistence at a national conference in Visakhapatnam to mark the World Elephant Day.

Mr. Pawan Kalyan, who also holds the Environment and Forests portfolio, said Andhra Pradesh was home to between 132 and 142 wild elephants. Recalling the conflict in Palamaner and Parvathipuram-Manyam after he took charge of the department, Mr. Pawan Kalyan said he had signed a MoU with Karnataka’s Forest Department, under which Andhra Pradesh received four kumki elephants and set up a training centre at Musalimadugu.

The kumkis had assisted in 15 conflict-mitigation operations, which, he said, had contributed to a 70% reduction in human deaths and a decline in crop damage. The State had also begun training its own kumkis, with one deployed near Parvathipuram.

“It is our privilege to transform human-elephant conflict into human-elephant coexistence,” Mr. Pawan Kalyan said, describing “from conflict to coexistence” as the State’s motto.

He also spoke of Project HANUMAN, launched in March 2026, under which 93 response vehicles and seven wildlife ambulances had been deployed, resulting in the rescue of more than 200 wild animals. More than 20 lakh students from 21,450 schools had participated in painting competitions, awareness programmes and plantation drives under a nationwide campaign, he said.

Mr. Singh outlined the Ministry’s initiatives, including a genetic database of captive elephants, the Gaj Suchna mobile application and a field manual on conflict management prepared with the Wildlife Institute of India and WWF India. He said the Centre had approved ₹500 crore under the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) for elephant conservation.

He also announced three new elephant reserves in Chhattisgarh’s Lemru, Tamil Nadu’s Agasthyamalai and Uttar Pradesh’s Terai.

Describing the human-elephant conflict as a complex problem with no “one size fits all” solution, he said a five-year study by the Project Elephant Steering Committee had produced the first regional action plan for the southern States.

Three documents were released at the event: 30 Giant Steps, the Regional Action Plan for Southern India and a special issue of the Journal of Wildlife Science marking 30 years of elephant conservation in India. Awards and certificates were also presented to winners of painting and photography competitions and recipients of Gaj Gaurav awards.

A national workshop on human-elephant conflict was held on August 12, bringing together forest officials, researchers and representatives of non-governmental organisations. The event was attended by Secretary Tanmay Kumar; Director General of Forests and Special Secretary Sushil Kumar Awasthi; Andhra Pradesh Principal Secretary for Forest and Environment Kantilal Dande; Principal Chief Conservator of Forests P.V. Chalapathi Rao; Project Elephant Steering Committee head Ramesh Kumar Pandey; and senior forest officials, scientists and environmentalists from the Centre and the State.