Govt plans to clear major elephant corridors in Anuradhapura

Colombo, July 8 (Daily Mirror) - The government has decided to expedite the clearing and protection of key elephant corridors in the Anuradhapura District as part of its long-term strategy to reduce the human-elephant conflict.

The decision was taken during a special discussion held at Parliament today (8), co-chaired by Environment Minister Dr. Dammika Patabendi and Deputy Minister Anton Jayakody, with the participation of Members of Parliament Susantha Kumara Navaratne and Bhagya Sri Herath, as well as senior officials of the Department of Wildlife Conservation.

The meeting focused on clearing traditional elephant migratory routes linking the Mahakanadarawa, Nachchaduwa and Mahawilachchiya forest areas. Officials also discussed the use of GPS and satellite technology to map elephant movements and identify corridors for legal protection as reserved zones.

Special attention was given to the initial steps needed to declare the elephant corridor between Mahakanadarawa and Nachchaduwa as a wildlife sanctuary.

The Environment Ministry said the initiative forms part of the government's environmental policy aimed at allowing wild elephants to move freely along their traditional migratory routes while providing a long-term scientific solution to the human-elephant conflict.

The government said that three major elephant corridors in the Hambantota and Monaragala districts—Koholankala, Hadapanagala and Wetahirakanda—have already been gazetted and opened under the programme.

Building on that model, the government plans to implement a similar approach in Anuradhapura, where incidents related to the human-elephant conflict remain among the highest in the country.

Officials also highlighted that countries such as India, Kenya and Tanzania have successfully reduced human-elephant conflicts by protecting elephant migration routes through landscape-level conservation, adding that improving habitat connectivity offers a more sustainable solution than relying solely on fences and other temporary measures.