Sri Lanka Wildlife Conservation Society (SLWCS) works to enable communities across the country to balance ecosystem protection and economic development by exploring ways to resolve human-elephant conflict through community development, capacity building, and research.

Recognizing that one of the biggest threats to elephants in Sri Lanka is conflict with humans, often through crop raiding, and that human settlements are increasingly encroaching further into elephant habitat, the initiative has worked with rural communities to develop a range of innovative mitigation measures. These include the use of solar-powered electrical fences, adjustments in crop cultivation timeframes, and the introduction of alternative crops. The project has also addressed a range of interconnected socioeconomic issues such as sustainable land use, capacity building, and gender equality by promoting agroforestry and home garden development, and by extending access to new technologies and microcredit.

 

Key Facts 

Equator Prize Winner: 2008

Founded: 1997

Location: Dehiwala, Sri Lanka

Beneficiaries: 16,500 villagers in three provinces

Biodiversity: Asian elephant

 

Case Study

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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