The Hindu : Change cropping pattern to end man-animal conflict: Forest dept.

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jan 30, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Change cropping pattern to end man-animal conflict: Forest dept.

By Our Staff Reporter

COIMBATORE, JAN. 29. The Forest Department has embarked on enlightening farmers on the need to change the cropping pattern in the fringe areas of the Coimbatore Forest Division to minimise incidents of man-animal conflict.

Talking to The Hindu, the District Forest Officer, P. Durairasu, said the recent electrocution of two elephants at Boluvampatti and Sirumugai necessitated steps to prevent recurrence of such incidents.

Pachyderms had strayed into farm land across the electric fencing because of the presence of crops.

In both cases, the farms with cabbage, plantain and tobacco crops attracted the elephants. A farm owner in one case and a farm assistant in the other were remanded to custody.

Unlike as in other forest areas, the Coimbatore Division has a number of perennial water resources in streams and rivulets. Hence, water was not the primary reason for the elephants to migrate, Mr. Durairasu said.

To educate the farmers, six range officers would hold meetings in every village with the help of the Village Forest Committee members, NGOs, voluntary organisations, elected representatives of local bodies on the need to change the cropping pattern, at least along the fringe areas. The concept of buffer land did not exist any more. There had to be some buffer land dividing the forest land with patta lands.

In the absence of buffer land, the man-animal conflict became a very serious issue.

The services of tribal self-help groups (SHGs), women SHGs were being used, in addition to the forest staff, for sensitising the farmers.

If the change in the cropping pattern was not adopted, preventing the animals from going on a crop raid would be extremely difficult.

Measures such as electric fencing would not prove helpful, he said.

At a meeting of the Forest Department, revenue officials and TNEB authorities, it was proposed to take up joint inspection of farm lands in the fringe areas of forests and at every block level to take stock of the number of electric fences.

The farmers, besides refraining from using direct power supply for the fences should register their names with the departments concerned, even for using solar panels or battery operated fence.

Since, most of the farmers were found using direct power supply for fencing during nights, special squads were formed for patrolling the reserve forest boundaries from Madukkarai to Mettuppalayam to prevent electrocution.

However, as part of the habitat improvement programmes, adequate water resources would be created at eight identified pockets in the Division before mid-February to minimise the man-animal conflict.

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