Increasing elephant deaths in Kerala : NGT seeks response from Centre

A news item has highlighted current threats to elephants including habitat shrinkage, fragmentation, climate change, and competition from invasive plant species exacerbating their vulnerability.

New Delhi: Expressing concern over increasing deaths of elephants in Kerala forests, the National Green Tribunal has sought a response from the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

Taking suo motu cognisance of a newspaper report about the alleged deaths of around 845 elephants from 2015 to 2023 in the state forests, the principal bench of the NGT headed by its Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava said that news item highlights current threats to elephants including habitat shrinkage, fragmentation, climate change, and competition from invasive plant species exacerbating their vulnerability.

"These factors contribute to declining population sizes, increased sensitivity to high temperatures, and heightened disease susceptibility," it said.

The NGT took note of the media report that around 40 per cent of elephants die under 10 years because of Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesvirus-Haemorrhagic Disease.

According to forest officials, the disease could be combated by restoring natural habitats and preventing fragmentation of jumbo herds.

It noted that the report mentioned a study recommending adopting a protocol similar to Tamil Nadu’s Elephant Death Audit Framework (EDAF) to systematically investigate the deaths, which would help in identifying patterns, assessing threats, and implementing targeted conservation measures.

The NGT said that the news report raised a substantial issue relating to compliance of the environmental norms, especially compliance with the Environment Protection Act of 1986 and the Biological Diversity Act, of 2002.

It impleaded as parties or respondents the MoEFCCs regional office, Kerala’s Principal Chief Conservator of Forest and Chief Wildlife Warden.

The tribunal transferred the matter to its Southern Bench and posted the matter to September 30 for further hearing.