WNPS restores ‘Great Elephant Gathering of Minneriya’

The ‘Great Elephant Gathering of Minneriya, the largest annual migration of Asian elephants in the world, is a unique natural phenomenon that has occurred over hundreds of years by the Minneriya and Kaudulla Tanks. It is a concentrated and dense gathering of a large number of elephants at the same time on the grasslands of Minneriya, during the dry season, from May to October of each year, with the peak in elephant numbers reaching over 400 generally around September. The numbers start reducing with the onset of the North East monsoon rains in late October.

This natural phenomenon occurs only in Sri Lanka, and has gained global reputation rated as “one of the 10 greatest wildlife wonders of the world” by ‘Lonely Planet,’ and listed as one of the top wildlife spectacles of the world by CNN. 

Scientific findings have proven the reason for this phenomenon to be the annual emergence of the Minneriya lakebed in the dry season starting from May, when a substantial part of the lakebed remains devoid of water. With the reduction of the water in the Minneriya Reservoir, the lakebed, which has been submerged for several months, emerges, providing a rich and prolific surface for the growth of fresh grass, which is higher in protein and minerals than mature grass. 

It is these fresh grasslands, which are higher in protein and minerals, that attract the elephants in large numbers to the site of the Minneriya lakebed. And when the monsoon rains and water releases from the cascade reservoir system fill the Minneriya Reservoir and the grasslands of the lakebed get submerged during the period from December to April, the Gathering reduces to renew and increase yet again in May when the lakebed with the new grasslands emerge.

The Gathering is unsurpassed among the 13 Asian Elephant range states in its ranking as a unique site not only to observe large herds of elephants, but also for observation of elephant social behaviour, attracting tourists, wildlife enthusiasts, environmentalists, and researchers, both foreign and domestic, in tens of thousands each year.

However, since the year 2018, the Gathering has drastically diminished and depleted due to short-sighted and ad hoc activities of public authorities. In 2018, the Mahaweli Authority of Sri Lanka (MASL) completed the construction of the Moragahakanda Reservoir Project. 

And in terms of the environmental law of the country, the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) Director General granted prior approval for the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the said project subject to the mandatory condition of approval, that upon completion of the irrigation project, “if water is released from the Moragahakanda Reservoir to Minneriya and Kaudulla, all water releases should conform to the yearly water levels these reservoirs have maintained in the past. This is because around 400 elephants use the reservoir grasslands as fodder during the dry season, and if the reservoirs are full year-round, these elephants would lose their habitat and feeding grounds.”

The Central Environmental Authority (CEA) granted EIA clearance for the project, subject to the condition that the aforesaid condition imposed by the DWC “should be strictly adhered to, to avoid/mitigate impacts on wildlife in the project area.” 

However, upon completion of the project, the MASL failed to adhere to the said mandatory conditions and started releasing water to the tanks unseasonally. The continued unseasonal water releases from the Moragahakanda Reservoir to the Minneriya Reservoir during the dry season resulted in artificial fluctuation of the water levels, which was not in conformity with the yearly water levels maintained in the Minneriya Reservoir in the past through the natural sequence of events, which resulted in large sections of the Minneriya lakebed being submerged throughout the year, depriving the elephant population of the North Central Province adequate lush rich grasslands that the animals return for each year. 

Continued unseasonal water releases from the Moragahakanda Reservoir to the Minneriya Reservoir have occurred at various times during the dry seasons of 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023, with the Minneriya Reservoir having much higher water levels than prior to the completion of the Moragahakanda Reservoir, while it remained almost at “spill levels” in 2021, which resulted in the elephant numbers decreasing to a mere 20. 

The water level in the Minneriya Reservoir in September 2021, which ought to have been the time period for the peak of the Gathering, was around 90% of the Reservoir capacity, which thus almost completely covered the lakebed, reducing the elephant numbers on the grasslands of Minneriya to 5% of its pre-Moragahakanda levels. 

This has resulted in ‘The Great Elephant Gathering’ of Minneriya visibly dissipating and diminishing to a point of complete disappearance by the year 2021, when the ‘Gathering,’which was reported to be at a count of 402 elephants in September of 2017, drastically depleted to 20 elephants by September 2021. 

The result was devastating. The drastic depletion of the Gathering even placed the very survival of the wild elephant population in great peril. Researchers recorded with photographic evidence the decline of the body conditions of the elephants since the water levels have been increased during the dry seasons since 2019 and carcasses of elephant calves due to malnutrition. It further resulted in the escalation of the Human-Elephant Conflict (HEC) in the area. 

The loss of the traditional grasslands on the Minneriya lakebed has driven the elephant herds towards human settlements, which has led to a drastic increase in the HEC in Minneriya and the surrounding area, particularly since 2019. Data obtained from the Minneriya National Park office reflects a six-fold increase in the HEC in the areas adjacent to Minneriya post-Moragahakanda project.

The rapid disappearance of the “The Great Elephant Gathering” also caused significant economic loss to the tourist industry of the country at a time when the Government heavily relied on revenue from the tourist industry. It was also reported to have impacted the livelihoods of large numbers of citizens who depend on eco-wildlife tourism, particularly in the North Central region of the country. 

In the above circumstances, having repeatedly appealed to the relevant authorities to resolve the situation without any constructive response from the relevant public authorities, the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society (WNPS) was compelled to file action in the Court of Appeal seeking writs of mandamus against the MASL, the Irrigation Department, Director General of the DWC, the CEA, and others to compel the said authorities to comply with the law. 

In the course of the hearings in the Court of Appeal before Justice Kulatunga, the MASL and the Irrigation Department undertook to comply with the law and maintain the natural sequence of water levels in the tanks, while the Director General of the DWC and the CEA undertook to monitor the process and prosecute any violations of the environmental laws. 

The Petitioner, WNPS, recorded its reservation to report to the Court of Appeal any violation of such undertakings given before the Court, which would enable the Petitioner to move for contempt of Court against any public authority found responsible thereof. 

With the maintenance of the natural sequence of water levels in the tanks, the ‘Great Elephant Gathering of Minneriya’ will be fully restored. The WNPS celebrates this momentous achievement for conservation. 

Senior counsels Prashanthi Mahindaratne with Dilumi De Alwis, instructed by Julius & Creasy appeared for the WNPS, while Deputy Solicitor General Dr. Avanti Perera appeared for the Attorney General.