The Hon. (Dr.) Dammika Patabendi
Hon. (Dr.) Dammika Patabendi addressed the human-elephant conflict, noting that both people and elephants are being lost and that reports had been received on the incident raised by the Member. He said the Government is implementing immediate measures in affected areas while developing longer-term solutions, despite staffing and logistical constraints faced by the Department of Wildlife Conservation and other agencies. He stated that adequate funding would be allocated in the forthcoming Budget, with inter-agency coordination and new research to support sustainable responses.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Member, this is a complex problem, as you recognize. Therefore, we are proceeding with both short-term and long-term solutions. Recently, in affected areas we engaged with stakeholders and implemented immediate remedies available at the time. This is a tragic situation where human lives as well as elephants, which we must conserve, are being lost. We have received reports about the specific incident you mentioned.
¶ 02 We will need some time for durable solutions, but we are providing short-term responses to immediate threats. As you said, the Department of Wildlife Conservation and other agencies do face human resource and logistical constraints. We are addressing these and have decided to allocate sufficient funds in the upcoming budget. We will also coordinate all relevant institutions and pursue new research to identify sustainable solutions.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Thursday, 6 February 2025 ·No. 1739271735020022 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. (Dr.) Dammika Patabendi. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 6 February 2025. No. 1739271735020022. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/664