Dibrugarh (Assam), Dec 4: Conservation experts and researchers representing various organisations based in different states across the country including Karnataka, Odisha, West Bengal, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam have shared their field activities and research-based experiences in mitigation of human elephant conflicts for the sake of elephant conservation of elephants and facilitating human – elephant coexistence.
Most of the speakers besides sharing different mitigation measures that are being practiced in respective landscapes/states, also flagged the need for focusing on various drivers behind the increasing trend of HEC including the glaring one, rapid loss of habitats across the country.
One of the speakers has flagged that forest cover in the country is being disappearing at an alarming rate of four-square kilometers per day which, he said, has been a key driver behind the human-elephant conflict.
The workshop on December 4, 2025 was set on the roll at Dibrugarh in Assam, by acclaimed elephant conservation expert Belinda Stewart-Cox, of Elephant Family, who highlighted the need to share experiences of various organisations from various parts of the country to prepare a future roadmap for conservation of elephants in the country
This workshop on ‘Human Elephant Coexistence’ has been organized by Aaranyak, British Asian Trust and Elephant Family with support from Darwin Initiative.
“We are holding this workshop as part of winding up of project supported Darwin initiative, so to share our experience and learn from other organisations working on elephant conservation across India,” Dr Bibhuti Prasad Lahkar, Deputy Executive Director and Head of Elephant Research and Conservation Division (ERCD) of Aaranyak.
Notable among those who made presentations on their work on HEC mitigation and elephant conservation issues related to respective regions of the country included Dr Bibhuti Prasad Lahkar, Sanjay Gubbi, Anupam Sarmah, Surendra Verma, Dr Rajasekhar Niyogi, M Ananda Kumar, Imnawapang Jamir and Mukti Roy among others.
The post lunch session began with a presentation on “Mapping of Emerging Human Elephant Conflict areas in India” by Auro Shashwat of British Asian Trust and a subsequent participatory discussion on working out a strategy for the purpose.
Later in the afternoon, the conservation experts and researchers divided in to three groups to engage in thematic discussion on following themes – “Coexistence approaches in emerging conflict areas” led by Sanjay Gubbi ; “HEC mitigation interventions in emerging conflict areas “led by M Ananda Kumar and “Lessons learnt and best practices” led by Anupam Sarmah.
Aaranyak’s ERCD team based in eastern Assam under leadership of Assistant Manager Zakir Islam Bora has efficiently done the spadework to facilitate the workshop.
