Sri Lanka Faces Escalating Elephant-Farmer Conflict

Why this is here: Farmers are building makeshift treehouses—some 12 feet high and constructed of rough planks—to guard their fields overnight, a widespread practice across central Sri Lanka.

In Sri Lanka’s Matale district, farmer Gunasinghe Kapuga describes a worsening conflict between farmers and elephants. Rising fuel and fertilizer costs, linked to the Mideast war, are increasing tensions as farmers plant less and more aggressively defend their crops. Farmers now employ methods like firecrackers and, increasingly, illegal jaw bombs to kill elephants.

Data from Sri Lanka’s wildlife conservation authority shows elephant deaths rose from 255 in 2011 to 488 in 2023, while attacks on farmers more than doubled, reaching 188 in 2023. Changes in farming practices—specifically, multiple annual crops made possible by irrigation—attract elephants, intensifying encounters.

The government attempts to manage the conflict with elephant drives and electric fences, but elephants adapt quickly and forest food scarcity drives them toward farmland. Farmer Gaamini Disanaayake builds and repairs treehouses to watch his fields, while also making offerings to a local deity for protection—a practice reflecting both desperation and sympathy for the animals. Solutions remain elusive, and the situation demands long-term strategies.