Elephants Never Forget: Capturing Nature at the Border of Ruhuna National Park (Yala), Sri Lanka

Benadusi, Mara

doi:10.1080/10455752.2014.971419

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…For example, Igoe and Croucher (2007) explore how reforms to facilitate community involvement in ecotourism led to elite capture of wildlife revenues through both legal and illegal means, with similar dynamics leading to the elite capture of revenues from PES schemes in Vietnam . At the same time, the weakest in society are most vulnerable to resource grabbing associated with conservation and to cope with the restrictions placed by conservation projects: for instance, Benadusi (2014) shows how local elites, allied with the state, were able to dispossess weaker peasants of their lands surrounding Yala National Park in Sri Lanka during a government initiative to liberalise land markets and facilitate ecotourism.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of the social impacts of neoliberal conservation: Formations, inequalities, contestations

2016

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of the social impacts of neoliberal conservation: Formations, inequalities, contestations

2016

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“…Political ecologies of elephant conservation in Sri Lanka [64,65] criticise the commodification of the "nature experience" in international tourism and the enclosure of commons under the guise of conservation. Political ecology as a critical theory of nature-society relations is at the root of a reflective critique of traditional-often (post-) colonial-conservation policies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Benadusi [64] discusses spatial politics in and around Yala (Ruhuna) National Park; Yala lies in the south of the country and is the country's most-visited national park. Yala (Ruhuna) is here conceptualised as a neoliberal project of commodifying nature, a global destination for ecotourism.…”

Section: Conservation and Social Justicementioning

confidence: 99%

Human–Elephant Conflict in Sri Lanka: A Critical Review of Causal Explanations

Köpke

Withanachchi

Pathiranage³

et al. 2021

Sustainability

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Human–elephant conflict (HEC) is a severe and much-debated issue in Sri Lanka. An average of two hundred animals are intentionally killed, and seventy to eighty human casualties are counted each year. The Sri Lankan elephant (Elephas maximus maximus) is an endangered subspecies. The reported elephant mortality rates are high. On the other hand, human–elephant conflict also leads to hardship and trauma among rural populations. This research paper reviews causal explanations for HEC in Sri Lanka, tracing underlying narratives and connecting broader conservation theory and practical approaches. The paper discusses potential causes and contexts of HEC in Sri Lanka, including historical factors (i.e., colonial hunting and land-use changes), poaching, habitat loss due to population growth, crop-raiding behaviour, problem animals, and changes in agricultural production systems. The review concludes that socio-economic and cultural factors in HEC in Sri Lanka are poorly explained, and more research should focus on the underlying conditions of rural populations’ vulnerability.

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Human-elephant conflict in the Sri Lankan dry zone: investigating social and geographical drivers through field-based methods

Köpke

Withanachchi

Pathiranage³

et al. 2023

GeoJournal

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Human-elephant conflict (HEC) in Sri Lanka has escalated over the recent years, with, on average, 300 elephant deaths annually and human casualties of around 90 per year. Employing field-based qualitative methods, this contribution identifies causes and contexts of human-elephant conflict in those parts of the Sri Lankan dry zone most severely affected. We have used field observations as well as semi-structured interviews with experts and affected villagers as primary data collection techniques. The findings show that (a) human-elephant conflicts are the result of land-use decisions, encroachment on elephant corridors, changes in agricultural production systems, and commercialization of land, and that (b) there is a deep division between the environmental knowledge and practices of rural people and the conservation governance provided by government authorities. Furthermore, both traditional and modern mitigation approaches fail to reign in HEC effectively. The insufficient implementation of HEC mitigation measures, and a severe disconnect between the needs and anxieties of rural people and conservation policies, render the management of human-wildlife interactions ineffective. This suggests a need for fundamental reform of elephant conservation policy in Sri Lanka.

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Elephants Never Forget: Capturing Nature at the Border of Ruhuna National Park (Yala), Sri Lanka

Cited by 4 publications

References 23 publications

A review of the social impacts of neoliberal conservation: Formations, inequalities, contestations

A review of the social impacts of neoliberal conservation: Formations, inequalities, contestations

Human–Elephant Conflict in Sri Lanka: A Critical Review of Causal Explanations

Human-elephant conflict in the Sri Lankan dry zone: investigating social and geographical drivers through field-based methods

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