Centre for Conservation and Research (CCR)

25/08/2026

"Dr. Prithiviraj Fernando, an expert who has conducted extensive research on wild elephants in Sri Lanka and chairman of the Centre for Conservation and Research (CCR) said that 82% of the total land area is inhabited by people where as only 18% of the land area is uninhabited. According to his research, elephants roam in this uninhabited area. He said that 44% of the country’s total land area is shared by humans and elephants."

Sri Lanka has lost nearly 3500 wild elephants and at least 1500 people as a result of the aggravating human-elephant conflict (HEC) between 2015 and 2024. ..

17/08/2026

Dr. Fernando, speaking at the World Elephant Day gathering, stressed the need for a national strategy that recognises the reality that most Sri Lankan elephants share landscapes with people.

For about six decades, Sri Lanka has attempted to restrict elephants to protected areas, which cover only around 17% of the country’s land. That strategy, he said, has failed to resolve the conflict.

“It would be foolish to believe we can proceed with the same strategy expecting this will get success now,” he said.

As Sri Lanka marked World Elephant Day 12 August, conservationists renew the call for science-based solutions to the human-elephant conflict that goes beyond political experiments   By Malaka Rodrigo A living wild elephant in Sri Lanka could be worth as much as Rs. 3.8 billion when its ecological, ...

16/08/2026

"If the political willpower and science join hands here, we can solve the human-elephant conflict. It can be controlled. There needs to be a vision and a clear path forward,” explained Dr. Fernando (Chairman CCR).

Every single person was important in this journey. It could only have been true love for the gentle giant that is the elephant! The “Every Elephant Matters” Special Supplement to…

14/08/2026

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8QW4eg6qU8&t=116s

LIVE AT SRI LANKA - 06.50 ප්‍රධාන ප්‍රවෘත්ති විකාශය - 2026.08.12 #...

20/07/2026

"The credibility of the corridor approach rests substantially on tracking research conducted since 2008 by Dr. Prithiviraj Fernando and his team at the Centre for Conservation and Research (CCR), whose GPS and satellite telemetry data reshaped scientific understanding of elephant movement in Sri Lanka."

For the first time in years, the State has moved to legally clear elephant corridors rather than simply declare them on a map.

25/06/2026

CCR's Chairman in a documentary about human-elephant conflict on AlJazeera

In rural Sri Lanka, families face deadly human-elephant conflict while seeking a fragile path to co-existence.

03/05/2026

“Although the Sri Lanka authorities turn a blind eye towards Presidential Committee’s National Action Plan-2020 the countries like Vietnam, China and Cambodia have shown high interest in the strategies highlighted in the NAP-2020 for the preservation of the fast dwindling elephant population in their countries."

The Human Elephant Conflict (HEC) is one of the widespread environmental issues with severe socio-economic and political implications in Sri Lanka. The HEC in Sri Lanka inflicts severe consequences on…

14/04/2026

25/12/2025

The CCR Team wishes everybody happy holidays!