Lemru Elephant Reserve

In news

State government of Chhattisgarh proposed to reduce the area of Lemru elephant reserve.

About Lemru Elephant reserve

The proposal for the Lemru Elephant reserve was passed unanimously by the Assembly in 2005 and got central approval in 2007 with an area of 450sq km.
The state government notified the reserve(as a conservation reserve) under Section 36A of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 or WLPA. Elephant reserves are not recognised under the WLPA.
It is located in Korba district of the state.
The state Forest and Environment Department has proposed to decrease the area of the proposed reserve from 1,995 sq km to 450 sq km.
Lemru is one of two elephant reserves planned to prevent human-animal conflict in the region, with elephants moving into Chhattisgarh from Odisha and Jharkhand.
As per letter of the then Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) the reserve is part of an elephant corridor that connects Lemru (Korba), Badalkhol (Jashpur), Tamorpingla (Surguja).
Badalkhol-Tamorpingla is also a elephant reserve in the state.

Why is the state government planning to reduce the area of reserve?

The area proposed under the reserve is part of the Hasdeo Aranya forests, a very diverse biozone that is also rich in coal deposits.
Of 22 coal blocks in the area, seven have already been allotted with mines running in three, and in the process of being established in the other four.
As per the forest officials, the biggest challenge in increasing the reserve area was that several coal mines would become unusable.

Importance of the reserve

Elephants are found in five divisions of the state.
North Chhattisgarh alone is home to over 240 elephants. More than 150 elephants have died in the state over the last 20 years, including 16 between June and October 2020.
Elephants in Chhattisgarh are relatively new; according to experts, they started moving into undivided Madhya Pradesh in 1990.
While MP had a policy of pushing back the animals coming from Jharkhand, after Chhattisgarh was formed, the lack of a formal policy allowed elephants to use as a corridor a route in the north and central parts of the state.
As these creatures were relatively new, human-animal conflict arose when elephants began wandering into populated areas in search of food.

Elephant Reserves in India

There are 32 notified Elephant Reserves (ERs) in the country spread over 15 states.
The Indian elephant Elephas maximus occurs in the central and southern Western Ghats, North-east India, eastern Indian and northern India and in some parts of southern peninsular India.
It is included in Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES
It is listed as Endangered in the IUCN list.

Various initiatives for Conservation of elephants in India