President Anura Kumara Dissanayake convened a high-level meeting at the Presidential Secretariat on July 24 to address the growing human-elephant conflict and ensure the protection of both wild elephants and rural communities.
During the discussion, the President reviewed the escalating incidents involving wild elephants, which have increasingly disrupted the daily lives and livelihoods of villagers.
Officials briefed the President on the challenges faced by relevant institutions, citing resource shortages and long-standing structural limitations in managing the issue.
President Dissanayake stressed that wild elephants must not be harmed under any circumstances, and urged the formulation of short-, medium-, and long-term strategies to resolve the crisis.
He instructed authorities to carry out detailed village-level assessments and emphasized that effective solutions require joint efforts from political leaders and the public.
To address manpower shortages, the President ordered the immediate deployment of 5,000 Civil Security Force members to assist in managing human-elephant conflict zones.
The President also directed the procurement of additional vehicles, including cabs and motorcycles, to boost the operational capacity of the Department of Wildlife Conservation.
Plans are to be urgently prepared for constructing 800 kilometers of electric fencing and restoring 16 key elephant corridors, aimed at preventing elephants from entering human settlements.
President Dissanayake highlighted the need to close communication gaps within the Department of Wildlife Conservation, and called for a streamlined system to facilitate public access to timely information and support.
The meeting was attended by several senior officials, including the Ministers of Public Security and Environment, the Acting IGP, military representatives, and key figures from the Departments of Wildlife and Forest Conservation.
