🐘 Sri Lanka Gazettes Three Major Elephant Corridors to Curb HEC

• Overview & Legal Status: The Government of Sri Lanka officially cleared and gazetted three key traditional elephant migration corridors—Kohombankala, Handapanagala, and Wetahirakanda. While formal gazetting strengthens the legal framework for the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC), experts emphasize that enforcement against encroachment is critical to preventing them from remaining mere "paper corridors." • Key Geography & Linkages: These ancient pathways connect vital national parks—including Yala, Lunugamwehera, and Udawalawe. Designed by elephant herds over centuries through matriarchal social memory, these corridors span widths between 500 meters to 1.5 km to facilitate safe seasonal movement. • Economic & Conservation Impact: Unplanned development, agricultural expansion, and infrastructure built across traditional pathways have heightened the Human-Elephant Conflict (HEC). Effective management requires land-use planning, deterrent buffer crops (chili, citrus, ginger), and scheduled nighttime electric fence road closures to protect ecotourism, agriculture, and rural livelihoods. • Challenges: Beyond legal recognition, successfully restoring these ecological linkages depends on active habitat restoration, strict enforcement against unauthorized settlements, and overcoming political interference in boundary protection.