Centre for Conservation and Research (CCR)

17/11/2025

අලින්ගේ වාසභූමි වලින් 70%ක්ම තියෙන්නේ මිනිස් ජනාවාස සහිත ප්‍රදේශවල ආණ්ඩුව කටයුතු කරන්නේ කිසිම අධ්‍යයනයකින් තොරව....

12/11/2025

Fernando added that the practice also creates unseen suffering. “During drives, thousands of elephant firecrackers are used. Gunfire is common. Families get separated. Calves are lost. And when these elephants are forced into fenced parks with limited food, many starve.”

When President Anura Kumara Dissanayake presented the 2026 budget before Parliament on 7 November, his words carried the weight of one of Sri Lanka’s most painful and persistent crises: the human-elephant conflict (HEC).

10/11/2025

"The above facts highlight a couple of important points for elephant conservation and human-elephant conflict mitigation in Sri Lanka. Firstly, while Sri Lankan scientists’ and experts in elephant conservation and human-elephant conflict mitigation are being sought after by other countries, it is regrettable that it is not appreciated in our own country. Secondly, the elephant population in Vietnam has declined to a very small number and currently it stands at about two percent of the number of the Sri Lankan elephant. However, the human-elephant conflict is still a major issue. At present it appears that some in Sri Lanka believe that the solution to human-elephant conflict is reducing the number of elephants in Sri Lanka. However, the situation in Vietnam clearly shows that human-elephant conflict cannot be solved by reducing the number of elephants."

The Human Elephant Conflict (HEC) is the principal challenge in conserving Asian elephants. Crop raiding by elephants is the most prevalent proximal clause of the HEC and the main obstacle…

02/11/2025

It's well known that elephant drives are terrible for elephants and also increase human-elephant conflict, therefore making it worse for the affected people in the drive area.

By Malaka Rodrigo Hambantota has been one of the worst-affected areas for human–elephant conflict (HEC) in recent years and as a response, authorities have planned a major elephant drive to chase away herds from several problem zones. According to Nihal Galappaththi, the National People’s Power ...

30/09/2025

"The study helps identify areas where conservation activities need to focus with preservation or creation of elephant corridors to maintain contiguity for posterity. Also our study provides information that is directly relevant to elephant conservation and management unlike merely counting of elephants on which much efforts and funds are expended in vain.” Dr. Prithiviraj said.

While Asian elephants are classified as endangered, are one of the most iconic species in Asia and people have very strong social, cultural and religious ties and bonds to them,…

02/09/2025

n 2020, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa appointed a Presidential Committee to prepare a National Action Plan and this multi-stakeholder committee was chaired by Dr. Pritiviraj Fernando who is the top HEC specialist among Asian elephant range countries.

The medium to long term future of our jumbo is bleak unless the National Action Plan for Human Elephant Conflict Mitigation (NAP) is immediately implemented, say conservationists who also call for legal reforms and a centralised coordination hub to help injured elephants. ..

12/08/2025

06/08/2025

Centre for Conservation and Research Chairman Dr. Prithiviraj Fernando, one of Sri Lanka’s foremost elephant experts and the architect of the 2020 National Action Plan (NAP) on HEC, explained that the rising death toll was no accident. “After a number of years, in 2023/2024, there was a decrease in deaths of both humans and elephants,” he explained. “A possible reason for this was that the 2020 NAP was partly implemented in those years. Most notably, more than 300 [temporary] community-based paddy fields were implemented under the purview of the Department of Agrarian Development. The DWC also drastically reduced the number of elephant drives and elephant translocations that it carried out, and this also probably contributed to a decrease in elephant deaths.”

There are few creatures as intrinsically tied to Sri Lanka’s cultural and ecological identity as the Sri Lankan elephant. A subspecies unique to the island (and the largest Asian elephant), it is, in short, one of our most iconic national treasures.

19/07/2025

Sri Lanka used to be a safe haven for elephants...

I write this with deep sadness and outrage. As of 15 June, 236 elephants have been killed this year alone, that’s more than one elephant every single day. And many of these deaths are not natural. They are brutal, painful, and preventable. This is not just a tragedy. This is a crime against our na...

07/07/2025

Centre for Conservation and Research Chair, Trustee, and Scientist Dr. Prithiviraj Fernando, who chaired the committee that drafted the plan (National Action Plan for the Mitigation of Human-Elephant Conflict), stated: “This was a national-level plan that combined scientific research with local knowledge. It was designed to be practical and cost-effective. What’s disappointing is that after all that work, we see the same failed tactics being repeated, and the plan left largely unimplemented.”

When Sri Lanka’s National People’s Power Government assumed office under President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, it did so on the promise of transformative change

02/07/2025

“We must serve as caretakers of the gathering,” Dr. Fernando urged. “In today’s world, there is so much happening – shifting aspirations and growing populations. We need to understand this.”

Every year, as the northeastern dry season settles over Sri Lanka’s North Central Province, an extraordinary convergence unfolds across the ancient