Protocol to be signed with India for elephant management

Bangladesh will sign a protocol with India to strengthen mutual cooperation for the better management of trans-boundary elephants as many big mammals enter Bangladesh every year, increasing human-elephant conflicts.

"On July 27 last, we held the 2nd Indo-Bangladesh Dialogue on Trans-boundary Conservation of Elephants in Shillong. During the meeting, we (both the countries) agreed to sign a protocol on trans-boundary elephant management," said conservator of forests (wildlife and nature conservation) Jahidul Kabir.

He said Bangladesh Forest Department and its Indian counterpart are now working sincerely to prepare a protocol in this regard and the legal instrument is expected to be signed by 2018.

"Once the protocol is signed between Bangladesh and India, it'll give guidelines on how wild elephants will be managed if they cross the border," Kabir told UNB on the occasion of World Elephant Day, observed on Saturday (Aug 12).

Earlier, the forest conservator said, there are 59 crossing points of elephants in bordering areas, but now it declines to 39 points. "We're talking to our counterpart so that the border at these points could be kept open round the clock for the free movement of elephants."

Asian elephants are migratory animals. They can cover considerable distance within a short period of time. In forests, elephant herds follow a well-defined migration route. The survival of this mega species largely depends on corridors and routes because they allow elephants to safely migrate, access food sources, and establish crucial genetic links between herds.

The presence of traffic on roads, construction of steep retaining walls, barbed-wire fences, and the presence of human population along the corridor and routes can limit the migration of elephants that ultimately hinders the genetic diversity.

According to a new study, 'Status of Asian Elephants in Bangladesh' jointly conducted by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Bangladesh and Bangladesh Forest Department, a total of 39 natural crossing points that elephants use regularly to migrate between Bangladesh and neighbouring countries.


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