In Sri Lanka, over 70% of the elephant population lives outside protected areas and in 44% of the country, elephants and humans share the land. However, they do not always live harmoniously side by side and this poses a major conservation and socio-economic issue that the TUI Wildlife Sri Lanka project addresses.
Elephants that share a habitat with people can cause damage to crops and the local infrastructure. Separating people and elephants at a landscape scale by confining elephants to protected areas has been pursued for decades but without success.
In Sri Lanka, the scale of the challenge and practical issues make it difficult to address the conflict between elephants and people using nature-based solutions, such as bio fences, chillies and bees or alternative crops. Relocation of elephants is also an impractical solution, as intelligent animals have proven that they can easily navigate their way back to their original living spaces. Barriers such as ditches, barbed wire fences and walls have also been tried, but have not worked.
The most practical barrier has proven to be electric fencing – installed in a way that does not disrupt the elephant’s movement patterns and lets them continue to use the natural areas in shared habitats so that people and elephants can continue to co-exist. The TUI Care Foundation therefore initiated TUI Wildlife Sri Lanka in partnership with the Centre for Conservation and Research (CCR) and Cinnamon Nature Trails, to implement two types of solar-powered fences in the village of Bendiwewa in order to protect both humans and elephants whilst also respecting the ecological boundary between them.
TUI Care Foundation Board of Trustees member Dagmar Wöhrl explains: “Sri Lanka boasts an immense natural beauty and impressive Flora and Fauna that I have learned to love in the many years of staying in the country. I am very sensitive to the plight of elephants in Sri Lanka – they are frequently injured and sometimes even killed when they come into conflict with humans. The TUI Wildlife Sri Lanka programme provides a sustainable solution that protects both the people as well as the elephants that inhabit the vast areas around human settlements. “
Under TUI Wildlife Sri Lanka, a sustainable tourism experience for domestic and international tourists is also being developed in order to support the livelihoods of the local population. The project is part of TUI Care Foundation’s TUI Wildlife Programme which aims to protect endangered wildlife and habitats in tourism destinations.
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