Much of rural Sri Lanka lives on the starvation line depending on producing annual crops such as bananas, corn or rice for their total yearly income. The remaining wild elephants in Sri Lanka live in the same general areas but are continually being driven out of their traditional grazing areas by the logging of the forests and other land development activities. In seeking new food sources the availability of crops like the usual crops grown by rural small holdings are an irresistible attraction to hungry elephants but in casual grazing they trample everything they come across totally destroying the village's annual income. The villagers react to the threat of this destruction by shooting the elephants. The Sri Lanka Wild Life Conservation Society has come up with a solution to this problem which, if it is successful, will result in benefits to the elephants, the villagers and the Sri Lankan economy.
Exetel is donating $US100,000 a year to fund a pilot project to be designed and managed by the Sri Lanka Wild Life Conservation Society aimed at upgrading land currently not used due to its poor quality to grazing land thus allowing rural villages to switch from growing annual crops of bananas, corn or rice (which attract wild elephants) to grass land which will allow grazing cows and producing milk which will be paid for daily. Elephants coexist with cattle and don't destroy grass if they graze eliminating the need for the villagers to shoot the elephants to protect their annual income. More money than Exetel is providing is needed to accelerate the implementation of other parts of this program and if you can assist, as little as $0.50 per month will be welcome, then you can make your personal donation here:
https://www.exetel.com.au/members/customer_donation_choice.php
Or if you wish to donate direct to SLWCS
Project Updates
A full description of this project can be found by clicking here.
Progress reports by the Project manager for this and other Exetel sponsored projects can be found on the Exetel Forum here:
http://forum.exetel.com.au/viewforum.php?f=323&sid=7921f33759cf99130d18660f0b5ebc49
http://www.info.lk/srilanka/srilankaelephants/index.htm