Experts said there needs to be consensus on how to provide safe passage for elephant migration through trans-boundary routes on Thursday.
Speaking at the 2nd Indo-Bangladesh Dialogue on Trans-Boundary Conservation of Elephants in Shillong, Meghalaya, Conservator of Forests Bangladesh Md Shafiul Alam Chowdhury said: “We have devised a number of policies and developed relevant regulations and legislations to protect the elephants.
“We’ve also shown strong adherence to several international treaties and agreements for the conservation of elephants.
“Based on available knowledge and information, the key threats to the elephant population in Bangladesh are insufficient supply of food, loss of habitat and fragmentation.”
Director General of Forests of the Government of India Siddhanta Das said: “There are 9,000 elephants in Northeast India and many migratory elephants keep on moving to and fro between Bangladesh and Meghalaya.
“We have discussed ways of providing them safe passage and having capacity building measures of palliating human-animal conflict.”
As the elephants plod from one habitat to another using natural migration corridors, Das stressed on the need of conserving existing elephant corridors and identifying new ones in order to safely pass through them without conflict with humans.”
Md Shafiul Alam Chowdhury said Indian elephants use the Meghalaya and Sherpur border, Assam and Sylhet (Juri Range) border, and Sunamganj and Meghalaya border during migration.
The one-day consultation between the governments of India and Bangladesh was held to facilitate dialogue on the issue of elephant migration patterns.
Thursday, April 25, 2024
