Staff Reporter :
Bangladesh is going to be signed with India soon on “Elephant Corridor”. The wild elephants will get free passage through the borders under the agreement, Ministry of Environment and Forests sources said.
According to the Forest Department, attacks by stray elephants destroy homes and crop fields along the border. Human-elephant confrontations often veer into human settlements.
In the last 13 years, at least 226 people and 62 elephants have been killed in such conflicts in the country.
On the other hand, border fence put up by India blocks the elephants’ natural routes.
The department said seven cross-border routes used by elephants have already been identified in Assam, Tripura and Mizoram.
Forest Department’s Deputy Conservator Md Shahab Uddin said keeping the natural corridors open would lessen confrontation. “Elephants will not harm anyone if they are left alone.”
Shahab said, the Home Ministry had taken step to sit with Indian officials.
“Now we are waiting for the Foreign Ministry’s clearance, which we expect soon. Then, we will have the final meeting on how the agreement will be signed.”
In January this year, the Indian union home ministry agreed to sign an agreement with Bangladesh to open the borders to form a cross-border natural elephant corridor.
On January 26, the New Indian Express reported that the Home Ministry of India had cleared the proposal after getting approval from the Forest Department.
Then in Bangladesh, the Forest Ministry contacted the Home Ministry for collaboration with the law enforcement agencies, especially the Border Guard Bangladesh, regarding the corridor.
Human encroachment and habitat loss have pushed down the wild elephant population in Asia in the last two centuries.
Elephants are critically endangered in Bangladesh where only some 200 of them remain – down from more than 500 in the mid-20th century.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) study found that there were 15 important elephant corridors in Bangladesh involving the native elephants and migratory populations from India and Myanmar.
Bangladesh is going to be signed with India soon on “Elephant Corridor”. The wild elephants will get free passage through the borders under the agreement, Ministry of Environment and Forests sources said.
According to the Forest Department, attacks by stray elephants destroy homes and crop fields along the border. Human-elephant confrontations often veer into human settlements.
In the last 13 years, at least 226 people and 62 elephants have been killed in such conflicts in the country.
On the other hand, border fence put up by India blocks the elephants’ natural routes.
The department said seven cross-border routes used by elephants have already been identified in Assam, Tripura and Mizoram.
Forest Department’s Deputy Conservator Md Shahab Uddin said keeping the natural corridors open would lessen confrontation. “Elephants will not harm anyone if they are left alone.”
Shahab said, the Home Ministry had taken step to sit with Indian officials.
“Now we are waiting for the Foreign Ministry’s clearance, which we expect soon. Then, we will have the final meeting on how the agreement will be signed.”
In January this year, the Indian union home ministry agreed to sign an agreement with Bangladesh to open the borders to form a cross-border natural elephant corridor.
On January 26, the New Indian Express reported that the Home Ministry of India had cleared the proposal after getting approval from the Forest Department.
Then in Bangladesh, the Forest Ministry contacted the Home Ministry for collaboration with the law enforcement agencies, especially the Border Guard Bangladesh, regarding the corridor.
Human encroachment and habitat loss have pushed down the wild elephant population in Asia in the last two centuries.
Elephants are critically endangered in Bangladesh where only some 200 of them remain – down from more than 500 in the mid-20th century.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) study found that there were 15 important elephant corridors in Bangladesh involving the native elephants and migratory populations from India and Myanmar.
