States can't block elephant corridors fearing crop damage: SC, Pg9

Key Highlights:

• The Supreme Court of India has directed the Centre to conduct a fresh nationwide survey of elephant corridors.
• The Court explicitly stated that states cannot block these corridors, even if it is due to concerns over crop damage.
• A three-judge bench, presided over by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, emphasized the critical importance of unobstructed wildlife movement.
• The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has been mandated to submit a comprehensive survey report detailing steps to prevent obstructions within six weeks.

Elephant Corridor.jpg

Detailed Insights:

• The Supreme Court's ruling addresses the ongoing issue of states impeding, choking, or obstructing elephant corridors despite existing mandatory guidelines from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
• The bench underscored that elephant herds naturally travel long distances, making their free movement essential for maintaining ecological balance.
• The Court also sought a report on the use of aggressive methods such as firearms, fireballs, mashaals, and "Hulla parties" to drive away elephants, noting that some states have even constructed walls.
• Project Elephant, a Centrally Sponsored Scheme launched in 1992 by the MoEFCC, aims to protect elephants, their habitats, and migration corridors, while also mitigating human-elephant conflict.
• Elephant corridors are crucial linear strips of habitat that connect larger forest patches, enabling genetic exchange, foraging, and reducing instances of human-elephant conflict.
• The Elephant Corridors of India 2023 report, released by the MoEFCC, has ground-validated 150 such corridors across 15 elephant-range states.
• Elephants are designated as a Schedule I species under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, which provides them with the highest level of legal protection against hunting and trade.
• Human-elephant conflict, often exacerbated by habitat fragmentation and agricultural expansion, leads to significant annual losses for both human lives and elephant populations.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Elephant Corridors: Defined linear pathways connecting larger elephant habitats, crucial for their movement, genetic diversity, and survival.
• Human-Elephant Conflict (HEC): Adverse interactions between humans and elephants, primarily stemming from habitat loss, fragmentation, and competition for resources.
• Schedule I Species: A classification under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, denoting species afforded the highest degree of legal protection against exploitation.