The state of Odisha in eastern India is one of five priority elephant landscapes in the country. It is home to an estimated population of 1,976 elephants.

However, rampant development in the form of mining, industries and irrigation networks in Odisha is increasingly fragmenting vital elephant habitat, driving wild elephants into human populated areas. This fragmentation and habitat disturbance has lead to escalating human-elephant conflict (HEC) across the state. Odisha’s impoverished farmers face huge crop loss and property damage as a result of such conflict.

Initiated in 2010 in collaboration with a local NGO, the Wildlife Society of Orissa (WSO), this programme addresses threats faced by wild elephants and develops mitigation measures to help local communities impacted by human-elephant conflict.

WPSI works with the government to curb conflict-inducing activities in elephant habitats and also to address pre-existing threats such as open wells, railway lines and sagging electrical lines which claim the lives of many elephants each year. Poaching for ivory is also a constant, lurking threat. For this, we have established three field camps near known poaching hotspots and secured a network of informers.

WPSI works with communities in seven key elephant districts (Cuttack, Angul, Sambalpur, Deogarh, Ganjam, Dhenkanal and Keonjhar) of Odisha to create conservation awareness and to provide the local people the tools needed to mitigate conflict with elephants.

Ganjam Informer Network

Initiated in 2012, the Ganjam Informer Network is a secret information scheme whereby individuals can approach WPSI to provide valuable information on instances of poaching in their areas. The information is then conveyed to the Forest Department by the WPSI team. The identity of the informer is not revealed and in cases where the information provided is found to be true and valuable, the informer is given a monetary reward.

This project is currently focussed around two areas; in Ghumsur North Forest Division, Khallikote Range (Berhampur Forest Division) and Rambha Wildlife Range (Chilika Wildlife Division). Supervisors employed by WPSI visit the 90 villages located in these areas and interact with the local people. They spread the news about the Ganjam Informer Network and encourage individuals to come forward with any poaching information.

We also focus on the threat of accidental electrocution of wild elephants. Since we started work in the Ganjam area in 2012, we have seen a vast improvement with this problem. Since 2014, no case of elephant electrocution has been reported except for one in 2017 and many seizures have been made by the various Range Officers of the two Divisions.