Speeches & Articles

Remarks of Consul General Henry V. Jardine on
Commemoration of 16 Years of Aaranyak in Conservation in Northeast India and Inauguration of two new projects on
“Mitigation of Man-Elephant Conflict” in Assam

Vivekananda Kendra, Guwahati
November 09, 2005

Dr. Talukdar, members of Aaranyak, conservationists and friends, thank you for inviting me today.  I am very happy to be in Assam and here.  First, I would like to congratulate Aaranyak for their 16 years of very dedicated work in conservation in Northeast India.  I have just been introduced to them, and I believe the group of very committed conservationists at Aaranyak have been contributing a great deal to preserve the region’s wonderful gift of an abundant biodiversity.  This is my first visit to the Northeast India, and I have been less than a week in Assam.  But in that period, I have seen and experienced some of the State’s and the region’s unique and beautiful environment. 

The Northeast, as part of the globally bio-diverse hotspot of the Eastern Himalayas, is known for its ecological and cultural diversity, wildlife habitats and plentiful bio-resources.  Assam is home to some of the rarest and richest flora and fauna.  I was in Kaziranga with my wife and son over this holiday weekend.  We were overwhelmed by the enormous natural wealth with which this state has been blessed.  We enjoyed very much the personal experience of the beauty of Assam.

Today, throughout the world the growing human population is having a huge impact on the world’s environment.  A range of problems needs to be addressed to ameliorate the environmental degradation but one of the more consistent themes is the problem of deforestation and human encroachment into nature reserves.

While States and governments play a key role in coordinating a solution to environmental degradation.  Successful conservation greatly depends in the end on the willing and voluntary actions of individuals.  As responsible members of our community we must all accept our responsibility to preserve the environment and we must work in a concerted, coherent manner.  Too often approaches tend to be reactive in nature whereas a more scientific and analytical approach is needed. 

In the specific area of elephant-human conflict for example, the route to reach an effective approach to mitigate the impact of this issue is to start with quantification of the relevant factors: the identification of elephant corridors, elephant population and distribution, seasonal movements of the elephants and crop damage.

Fortunately, Assam does have a network of protected areas to facilitate the preservation of elephant populations.  The challenge for megafauna conservation is keeping these areas connected.  This is where research – applied research – is critical to provide the proper data to maintain the viability of the nature reserves and the elephant communities.  With a better understanding of the issues, efforts to mitigate the elephant-human pressures will be more effective.

There will, of course, always be conflict where there are protected elephants as ironically, conservation increases the potential for elephant-human competition when these animals’ populations stabilize, grown and begin to seek out the food resources cultivated near human settlement.

Over the years, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has supported quite a few projects in Assam for the conservation of rhinos, tigers, and elephants.  They have, and continue to, work very closely with the Assam Forest Department and leading wildlife conservation NGOs based in this region.  I feel especially privileged then to be here today to announce the start of two projects supported by the US Fish & Wildlife Service and to be carried out by Aaranyak.  One will be near Kaziranga (Golaghat area), and the other in the Manas area. 

Both these projects will attempt to find ways to reduce elephant-human conflict.  They will also be conducting elephant surveys, work with local people and the Forest Department, and enhance capacity building.

We are very happy and fortunate to be able to support such a collaborative effort and look forward to Aaranyak's continued work.  Assam is a great state and Kaziranga and Manas are wonderful parks.  I have had the pleasure of being in Kaziranga this visit, and I look forward to experiencing the grandeur of Manas sometime during my tenure in Eastern India over the next three years.  

I close in wishing you the greatest success in implementing the upcoming projects. 

Thank you.