Elephant trails captured by humans in Anuradhapura are being returned to elephants.

As a long-term measure to reduce human-elephant conflict, the government has decided to immediately release the main elephant trails in the Anuradhapura district and declare them as protected areas.

This decision was reached during a special discussion held in Parliament today, co-chaired by the Minister of Environment, Dr. Dhammika Patabendi, and Deputy Minister, Anton Jayakody.

Members of Parliament, Susantha Kumara Navaratne and Bhagya Sri Herath, as well as senior officials of the Department of Wildlife Conservation, were present at the event. During the discussion, special attention was paid to removing obstacles in the traditional elephant trails connecting the forest areas of Mahakanadara, Nachchaduwa and Mahawilachchiya and releasing them.

Also, the GPS Discussions were held to map elephant habitats and routes using GPS and satellite technology, and to declare these elephant corridors as legally protected protected areas.

Under this national program, three major elephant corridors in the Hambantota and Monaragala districts, namely Koholankala, Handapanagala and Thethirakanda, have already been gazetted and opened for elephant movement.