<p>The Karnataka government’s decision to increase the compensation for human deaths and damage caused by wild elephants is welcome. The solatium for death by elephant attack has now been doubled from Rs 7.5 lakh to Rs 15 lakh. The compensation for permanent disability has been hiked from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh, for partial disability from Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 5 lakh and for other injuries, from Rs 30,000 to Rs 50,000. For damage to property, the compensation has been hiked from Rs 30,000 to Rs 60,000, but this too may need a relook as often it is not just houses but entire fields of standing crops are destroyed by elephants running amok. But the award of compensation after the fact is not a solution to the problem. What needs to be done is to go to the root cause of man-animal conflict and take steps to mitigate the problem itself.</p>.<p>Elephants straying into farms and human habitats is often blamed on the encroachment of forests by humans and the consequent shrinkage of their habitat, and that’s true. Indeed, while human encroachment on the forests were for long around the periphery and the damage was limited, over the last few decades, it has begun to affect the core areas of the forests, too. Encroachment by farmers, the building of luxury resorts, the construction of dams and other projects have caused massive deforestation, but even the attempts to compensate for such destruction through afforestation has caused the quality of the core forest areas to deteriorate. At the same time, long-standing efforts at conservation of wildlife have begun to show results and the population of elephants, tigers, etc., have risen over the past two decades. Karnataka has a healthy population of about 6,000 elephants, mostly concentrated in parts of Chamarajanagar, Kodagu, Hassan and Chikkamagaluru. Experts point out that these ecosystems are now not in a position to support this huge population. One reason why elephants are increasingly making farms and estates their ‘home’, is the poor quality of the forests today. Unscientific afforestation, including monocultures, especially the excessive planting of eucalyptus and teak, have led to an acute shortage of fodder in the core forest areas, forcing the elephants to raid farms in search of food. They have now become accustomed to foods like jackfruit and ragi, and raiding farms for these has become a habit. </p>.<p>The government should set up a team of experts to audit the state’s forests and to chart a roadmap to ensure that these natural habitats afford enough fodder and water for the elephant population. Man-animal conflicts won’t end unless the quality of the forests is first improved.</p>
<p>The Karnataka government’s decision to increase the compensation for human deaths and damage caused by wild elephants is welcome. The solatium for death by elephant attack has now been doubled from Rs 7.5 lakh to Rs 15 lakh. The compensation for permanent disability has been hiked from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh, for partial disability from Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 5 lakh and for other injuries, from Rs 30,000 to Rs 50,000. For damage to property, the compensation has been hiked from Rs 30,000 to Rs 60,000, but this too may need a relook as often it is not just houses but entire fields of standing crops are destroyed by elephants running amok. But the award of compensation after the fact is not a solution to the problem. What needs to be done is to go to the root cause of man-animal conflict and take steps to mitigate the problem itself.</p>.<p>Elephants straying into farms and human habitats is often blamed on the encroachment of forests by humans and the consequent shrinkage of their habitat, and that’s true. Indeed, while human encroachment on the forests were for long around the periphery and the damage was limited, over the last few decades, it has begun to affect the core areas of the forests, too. Encroachment by farmers, the building of luxury resorts, the construction of dams and other projects have caused massive deforestation, but even the attempts to compensate for such destruction through afforestation has caused the quality of the core forest areas to deteriorate. At the same time, long-standing efforts at conservation of wildlife have begun to show results and the population of elephants, tigers, etc., have risen over the past two decades. Karnataka has a healthy population of about 6,000 elephants, mostly concentrated in parts of Chamarajanagar, Kodagu, Hassan and Chikkamagaluru. Experts point out that these ecosystems are now not in a position to support this huge population. One reason why elephants are increasingly making farms and estates their ‘home’, is the poor quality of the forests today. Unscientific afforestation, including monocultures, especially the excessive planting of eucalyptus and teak, have led to an acute shortage of fodder in the core forest areas, forcing the elephants to raid farms in search of food. They have now become accustomed to foods like jackfruit and ragi, and raiding farms for these has become a habit. </p>.<p>The government should set up a team of experts to audit the state’s forests and to chart a roadmap to ensure that these natural habitats afford enough fodder and water for the elephant population. Man-animal conflicts won’t end unless the quality of the forests is first improved.</p>
