Man-elephant conflict: Workshop focuses on community-led solutions

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The Project Elephant Division under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, in association with the Elephant Cell of the Wildlife Institute of India and the Assam Forest Department, held a one-day workshop in Guwahati on February 9, 2026, aimed at strengthening community participation in addressing human–elephant conflict.

Rohini Saikia, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Assam Forest Department, and Dr Parag Nigam, Scientist and Nodal Officer of the Elephant Cell, WII, delivered the welcome addresses at the inaugural session. Dr V. Clement Ben, Inspector General of Forests (Wildlife/Project Tiger & Elephant), MoEF&CC, and Ramesh Kumar Pandey, IFS, Additional Director General of Forests (Wildlife), MoEF&CC, addressed the gathering and stressed the need for coordinated, science-based and community-oriented measures to reduce conflict between humans and elephants.

The workshop brought together 30 participants, including victims of human–elephant conflict and frontline forest personnel from Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Tripura and Odisha. The participants exchanged field experiences and discussed the challenges they faced in mitigating conflict situations.

Nine specialists from academic institutions, research bodies, civil society organizations and forest departments presented technical perspectives on elephant behaviour in human-dominated areas, strategies for co-managing conflict, the effectiveness of barriers and fencing, and initiatives being implemented under Project Elephant. 

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