Sri Lanka Launches 'Hasthi Sena' Operation to Safeguard Elephants and Ease Human-Wildlife Tensions

Nationwide Campaign Targets Elephant Protection and Conflict Reduction

The Ministry of Environment has launched a sweeping islandwide operation aimed at protecting Sri Lanka's wild elephant population from life-threatening dangers while working to reduce the longstanding tensions between humans and elephants across the country.

The initiative, officially named Hasthi Sena, marks a significant step by authorities to address one of the island's most pressing wildlife conservation challenges. Human-elephant conflict has for decades resulted in casualties on both sides, with communities living near forest boundaries frequently bearing the brunt of crop destruction, property damage, and physical harm caused by wild elephants straying into populated areas.

A Coordinated Island-Wide Effort

The operation is designed to be carried out across all regions of the country, reflecting the scale and seriousness with which the Ministry of Environment is approaching the issue. By deploying coordinated teams under the Hasthi Sena framework, authorities aim to respond more swiftly and effectively to situations that place elephants in danger or bring them into conflict with human settlements.

Sri Lanka is home to one of the largest concentrations of Asian elephants in the world, and the species holds deep cultural, religious, and ecological significance for the nation. Despite this, rapid land use changes, encroachment on forest habitats, and the fragmentation of elephant corridors have increasingly pushed wild herds closer to human communities.

Addressing a Long-Standing Crisis

The human-elephant conflict in Sri Lanka has claimed hundreds of lives annually — both human and elephant — making it one of the most acute wildlife management problems in Asia. Key threats facing elephants include:

• Electrocution from illegal electric fences erected by farmers to protect crops
• Gunshot wounds and hakka patas — improvised explosive devices concealed in food
• Loss of natural habitat and fragmentation of traditional migration corridors
• Retaliatory killings by communities affected by elephant raids

The Hasthi Sena operation is expected to bring together wildlife officers, law enforcement personnel, and community stakeholders in a unified effort to combat these dangers and foster coexistence between people and elephants.

Conservation and Community at the Core

Wildlife conservationists and environmental advocates have long called for a more proactive and structured government response to protect the island's elephant population. The launch of Hasthi Sena is being seen as a meaningful move in that direction, with the potential to serve as a model for human-wildlife conflict management in the broader South Asian region.

Further details regarding the operational scope, deployment of personnel, and specific measures under the Hasthi Sena initiative are expected to be announced by the Ministry of Environment in the coming days.

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