4,700 civil security personnel to tackle human-elephant conflict

Saturday, 1 March 2025 00:03 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Sri Lanka has deployed over 4,700 Civil Security Force personnel to safeguard electric fences established to mitigate human-elephant conflict, Minister of Environment Dammika Patabendi told Parliament on Thursday.

The minister said that from 2015 to 2024, successive Governments have spent Rs. 906 million (approximately $ 3.1 million) on constructing elephant fences. During this period, 5,612 km of electric fences have

been built.

Over the past decade, 3,477 wild elephants and 1,190 people lost their lives due to human-elephant conflicts, while electric fences remain a key measure in controlling this crisis, he added.

According to Patabendi, 43 elephants and three people died last month as a result of such conflicts.