Sharing the Land: Coexisting with Sri Lanka's Wild Elephants

SLWCS has worked in Sri Lanka since the late 1990s, running scientific research and community programmes aimed at reducing human-elephant conflict, one of the leading causes of death for both people and elephants in the country. Its Wasgamuwa initiatives include community-built electric fences, the pioneering 'EleFriendly Bus' that safely transports villagers along an elephant corridor, and Project Orange Elephant, which uses citrus buffer crops to deter crop-raiding elephants while supplementing farmer income. The organisation reports that after 18 years of on-the-ground mitigation work, the Wasgamuwa region now accounts for less than 2% of Sri Lanka's national human-elephant conflict casualties. SLWCS also operates the New Life Elephant Sanctuary and an anti-poaching K9 unit staffed by local community members.