The changing face of Human-Elephant relationship in Assam
The Brahmaputra river on the plains of Assam makes it one of the richest and most pristine landscapes for large mammals to live and thrive in. For centuries, the landscape has watched elephants find sustenance and growth while continually gracing it with their presence. With their astounding number, it doesn’t come as a surprise then, that, for centuries, the art of capturing, and subsequently training the elephants has found a unique and important place into the lifestyle of the human inhabitants here. Over the ages, Elephants have been of aid in navigating through difficult terrains, carving ways out of, and cutting dense jungles, carrying out logging activities, or even, gracing ceremonial expressions of society like marriage and religious ceremonies for human beings.
The art of nosing and capturing in Assam draws its influence from Burma and the Terai region (India) dating back to the age of Aryans (as old as 10 B.C). Back then, the tribes specializing in capturing and training elephants — such as the Morans with Koonkies(trained elephant) were highly valued and appreciated for their courage and skillset. For these professionals, the pride wasn’t in monetary rewards, but in the number of catches and in the skills and courage applied to the process.
Catching a lone bull elephant in his prime with precision to stockade the elephant was the fastest way to name and glory. The Ahom kingdom(1227–1826), which ruled Assam was also referred to as the Gajapati kingdom, and boasted of five thousand elephants in its empire. Metaphorically, they were the main citadels that helped defend the kingdoms successfully for centuries. Back then, elephants were a direct reflection of the strength, prestige and power of a kingdom.
These gentle giants carved a deep and indelible mark inside the minds and hearts of India and were deeply imbibed into the religious, and cultural facets in every part of country. It is said that at some point in time, every villager would take part in capturing elephants and watching the kheedas (driving of elephants into stockades) across the grass plains of Assam. These were a delight to watch and indulge in. They were respected, loved and feared. To this date, one can easily find wooden carvings or artistic representations of the elephant in various forms across Indian households.
What happened then?
How did the reverence and awe for this splendid creature turn into a spectacle to be watched on in the hot roads begging for a few rupees..?
Why is it that the urban city-dwellers have turned completely ignorant about the precarious and endangered position that this species is in?
Over the years, unplanned human settlements have grown exponentially in regions near reserve forests and inside it. The human population’s attitude towards the functioning and existence of elephant reserves is changing with a budding outlook of nuisance. This attitude invokes behaviors that are detrimental at both ends.
Elephants today are in a precarious position where they need protection from the same humans who used to protect and look up to it with awe and respect.
In India and especially in Assam, direct and indirect pressures from human beings have led to massive destruction of forests that provide for their food. More alarmingly, the forest corridors that once used to be their natural paths for migration are suffering serious deforestation and encroachment by communities — leading to a dangerous habitat shrinkage.
Today, Habitat and corridor shrinkage is a fact. We know that with every passing day we are sinking deeper into the losses of species across the world with our negligence.
An example of the ironic state of affairs is when human beings acquire regions on the elephant corridor or near forest reserves for the purpose of farming. They plant bananas and coconuts, but wonder and are vexed at the sight of elephants (or even other wild beings) on their land. They are at an absolute loss of the understanding or knowledge behind elephants’ behavior or the drivers behind their action.
The road to development has led to an increase in elephant deaths with unnatural deaths in a higher proportion due to human interference. Recently, I witnessed a rather disconcerting incident at Digboi (Assam), when a herd of elephants appeared behind the hotel I was put up at in the middle of the night. They had followed the long concrete wall created by anoil company and had appeared at the small opening right before a village. This village is a settlement in the corridor area beyond which lies the other side of the forest reserve.
I was told that this wasn’t an unusual event, and that villagers burst crackers to send the herd back to the forest from where they come. The situation is a direct indicative of the loss of movement and the complicated state of co-existence we force upon these giants by disabling or obstructing their migratory paths.
If we were to visually represent a summarized condition of forests and elephants in Assam, it would be probably look akin to small splashes of dark green on a huge white canvas. The isolation of elephants in reserve forests are putting them under the direct threat of decimation of entire herds from genetic diseases. It is also leading inevitably to conflicts where both human and elephants life are harmed and lost.
Conservation is a very complex and difficult issue because it needs the understanding and cooperation of various players at every branch of the tree — starting from government, bureaucrats, stakeholders at every aspect, inhabitants in regions close to the forest reserves, inhabitants far away from the contact of issue directly, right down to every single child and adult. Without the cooperation of even one group, efforts at any level suffer or take way longer to fruitify.
Over my period of working with WWF-India, I have learnt the complexity of the situation at a deeper level. Today, WWF in India is approaching to mitigate this crisis at a very granular level. By gently approaching different facets of the situation from various perspectives and at various levels, WWF is inducing ripples with small changes in a bigger way. In the Assam landscape, the Human-Elephant conflicts have been dangerously on the rise.
To tackle this issue and dilute its harsher consequences, we consistently communicate with, and understand the complexity of the conflict from the perspectives at each level such as that of the communities settled in the sensitive corridor areas, difficulties faced at the management level of various sanctuaries, the understanding of difficulties faced by the grass-root-level staffs at forest reserves, challenges at the administrative level — both political and non-profits, to name a few. Ever-changing circumstances and different perspectives give a more contextual picture of the problem at hand and the possible ways to mitigate it.
For instance, one of the initiatives towards resolving conflicts involved the conduction of a series of awareness sessions. These sessions were held with a tribe of tea gardeners who have a tradition of making fermented rice wine. However, their settlement close to the forest reserve puts them at a direct threat of conflict, as elephants have a particular fondness to the rice wine, subsequently leading them to cause a lot of life and property damage under intoxication. We understand how difficult it can be to give up a tradition and change habits. Communicating with a tribe to explain them the risks and threats that come with an activity that has been with them for ages requires many proactive awareness sessions, and sometimes, years to bring an effective change.
Cconservation is a bittersweet pill. While the efforts at the beginning are always full of (almost bitter) trials and challenges, a persistent pursuance of the efforts brings the hope of sweeter consequences.
However, one must remember to always hope but not expect.. :)
In my experience of working with government officials and various stakeholders, I realize that we are fighting to buy time for people and governments to make them understand that Real development and growth goes beyond money and exploitation. Environmental education goes beyond policies and facts. It is about redefining human beings’ relationship with nature right from the time of our first conscious steps towards learning — with education. We need to stop assuming our position as that at the top of the pyramid, and understand that we belong only as a part of the whole.
