The government has reopened three major elephant corridors—Wetahirakanda, Hadapanagala, and Koholankala—as part of a nationwide effort to reduce the human-elephant conflict and restore traditional elephant migration routes.

Speaking at a media briefing, Environment Minister Dammika Patabendi said the corridors had been blocked for years due to unplanned development and land allocations, forcing elephants to move through villages and increasing encounters with people.

Authorities stated that legal, administrative, and social barriers were addressed to return the lands to wildlife use, while plans are also underway to establish Elephant Enrichment Zones within forest reserves to provide natural food and water sources for elephant populations.

The government has introduced a three-stage strategy that includes repairing electric fences, expanding community-based protection systems, improving compensation schemes, legally safeguarding elephant corridors, and using modern technologies such as drones and satellite monitoring to manage elephant movements.

Officials emphasized that the programme aims to protect both rural communities and Sri Lanka’s wild elephant population by addressing the root causes of the long-standing human-elephant conflict.