Play store
The government will take effective and coordinated measures to ensure safe coexistence between people and elephants, Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Abdul Awal Mintoo has said.
“Elephant conservation is not merely about protecting the number of elephants. It is also linked to their habitats and movement corridors, ecological balance, and the safety and livelihoods of people living alongside elephants,” he said.
The minister made the remarks as the chief guest at a discussion titled “Elephant Conservation: Existing Challenges and Way Forward” at the Shailprapat Hall of the Tourism Building in Agargaon, Dhaka, on Saturday.
Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA), IUCN Bangladesh, Creative Conservation Alliance, Aranyak and Deep Ecology and Snake Conservation Foundation jointly organised the event.
Mintoo said wild elephants are an important part of Bangladesh’s natural heritage and ecosystem, but their survival is currently facing serious threats.
Wild elephants are mainly found in Sherpur, Jamalpur, Mymensingh, Netrakona, Sunamganj, Sylhet, Chattogram, the Chittagong Hill Tracts and Cox’s Bazar, he said.
According to data from the Forest Department, 146 elephants died in Bangladesh between 2016 and 2025. The minister said there were an estimated 268 elephants in the country in 2016.
He said human-elephant conflict was increasing due to shrinking habitats and movement corridors, deforestation, food shortages, road and railway construction, climate change and electric traps.
When elephants enter human settlements or agricultural land, both people and elephants face risks, he said.
“Alongside responding to conflicts after they occur, we will strengthen measures to protect elephant habitats and movement corridors, identify conflict-prone areas, and improve early warning and rapid response systems,” Mintoo said.
He also stressed the importance of involving local communities as key partners in conservation efforts.
The minister said Asian elephants require extensive areas for movement, while Bangladesh is one of the world’s most densely populated countries. Elephant conservation is therefore a complex task that cannot be handled by a single institution, he said.
Effective coordination among the Forest Department, law enforcement agencies, local administration, infrastructure authorities, conservation organisations, researchers and local communities is essential, he added.
Expressing concern over elephant hunting and trafficking in remote border areas of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Mintoo called for stronger coordination between the Forest Department and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) to enhance surveillance in those areas.
He also stressed that infrastructure projects, including border roads, should take traditional elephant routes into account at the planning stage and incorporate safe crossing facilities for elephants and other large wildlife.
Regarding captive elephants, the minister said proper records of their licences, numbers and conditions should be maintained and regularly monitored.
Allegations of keeping elephants chained, beating or abusing them in the name of training, and using them for commercial purposes, including circuses, should be examined seriously through appropriate legal and institutional processes, he said.
He also stressed the need to ensure proper veterinary care and responsible treatment of elephants kept under human supervision.
Outlining future priorities, Mintoo said the government would focus on protecting elephant habitats and movement corridors, reducing human-elephant conflict through local community engagement, regularly monitoring the number, location, licences and welfare of captive elephants, and strengthening coordination among government agencies, conservation organisations, researchers, legal experts and local communities.
Former adviser and BELA Chief Executive Syeda Rizwana Hasan chaired the discussion.
Sherpur-2 MP Mohammad Fahim Chowdhury, ornithologist and wildlife expert Mohammad Ali Reza Khan, and Additional Secretary (Administration) of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Shamima Begum attended the event as special guests.
Representatives of the organising organisations, officials from the ministry and Forest Department, representatives of public and private organisations, local and international experts, researchers, environmentalists, conservationists, legal experts, stakeholders involved in elephant and wildlife conservation, and journalists from print and electronic media also attended the discussion.