Elephant Corridors in India

Context

The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) recently directed the forest departments of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam to prepare a proposal to notify the Dulung Subansiri elephant corridor.

Legal Recognition for Elephant Corridors in India

• Notification of the elephant corridor: It  will involve physically marking the relevant areas used by elephants on the ground as well as potentially notifying parts of the corridor as either a wildlife sanctuary or a conservation reserve.
• Providing Legal sanctity: Including the corridor as part of a legally notified protected area will provide legal sanctity to it. 
• Importance of the Corridor: This corridor facilitates the east-west movement of elephants across the Subansiri River. 
  • The corridor, however, is fragile and requires urgent restoration efforts 
• Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972: Each state could notify the area of the corridor falling in their respective jurisdiction as conservation reserve under Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
• Commissioning of the Hydroelectric project: The 2000 MW Lower Subansiri hydro-project, executed by the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC), has been in the works since 2003 and is yet to be commissioned.
• Geographical Location: It is located in the Kamle and Dhemaji districts of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, respectively, and is being constructed on the Subansiri River, a tributary of the Brahmaputra River.
• Threat to Elephants: WII report had also pointed out that hydropeaking for power generation from the project will pose a threat of sweeping away elephants, especially calves, due to flash floods. 

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