BACKGROUND
There are about 29,000 elephants in India and 6,000 in Karnataka alone. Due to decline in forest habitats, all animals, including elephants, have to constantly move because of limited availability of food, water and shelter. In Coorg, Karnataka, where the coffee plantations of Tata Coffee are located, the largest congregation of elephants takes place during June-July every year wherein elephants move to various locations, resulting in them entering coffee plantations, leading to a rise in human-animal conflicts as well as damage to crops.
IMPLEMENTATION
As an organization that is committed to protect the environment, flora and fauna, as well as the safety of the people, Tata Coffee developed and executed an integrated programme in collaboration with State Forest Departments, State Governments of Karnataka & Tamil Nadu and the Planters Association.
Conflict severity zones were mapped and GIS Polygons created for elephant prone locations. These areas are manned by full-time wildlife trackers, who have been trained to track, monitor and report elephant movements.
A joint GPS survey of 274 km was undertaken in collaboration with the forest department, where in drones and camera traps were deployed to monitor movement of wild animals.
A barrier report with a budget of INR 228 Cr., was submitted to the Chief Conservator of Forests for implementation.
An early warning system comprising bulk SMS for the people staying in and around plantations was developed and awareness programs were conducted for the community, employees and planters.
Anti-depredation camps were held and multiple rapid response teams were formed to manage human-elephant conflict.
Water holes with solar water pumps were created to influence elephant movement.
As a first for Asia, radio collaring of matriarch was done to help predict movement of the herd.
IMPACT
By using an integrated approach, formulated by deep understanding of the landscape, factoring in insights on animal behavior and deploying technology to create 'out of the box' solutions, Tata Coffee has been able to effectively manage free movement of elephants inside the plantations and has been able to avoid several human-animal conflicts. The number of incidences of human-animal conflict have come down from 991 in 2014-15 to 310 in 2019-20. This multifaceted approach of Tata Coffee won the CII Industrial Innovation Award in 2017-18 for 'Safety at the Work place.'