The possibility for developing a sustainable strategy to solve the conflict between local people and elephants in Hambantota District, Sri Lanka

Abstract

The emphasis on fostering state-community synergy for improving human well-being and sustainable development has been recognized in development circles and especially in Third World countries. This recognition is apparent to solve social as well as developmental problems. In the past thirty years, conflict has been a major challenge for the development process of Sri Lanka. Not only for the North and East, the conflict affected the entire country in several ways. Sustainable Development is the most important requirement to any country today. The authority should have a sustainable strategy when they are implementing the development projects to ensure both economical and environmental sustainability. The Hambantota District is located within the southern province of Sri Lanka. The sudden rise of the development activities under the President Rajapaksha`s government has being making a tremendous difference in the district. Six years ago the Hambantota District was a one of the major rural districts of the SriLanka. During the last few years the Human Elephant conflict has gone up abundantly in the Hambantota District. Therefore, this study seeks to explain the possibility for developing a sustainable strategy to solve the conflict between local people and Elephants in Hambantota District. Not only that, further from this study the researcher tries to explain the human elephant conflict in Hambantota District and whether, there are any relationships between the HEC and development projects in the Hambantota District. A qualitative research methodology, based on semi-structured in-depth interviews and focus group discussions provides the research framework of the study. I intend used following methods for data collection methods, Interviews, Observation, Focus group discussion, Snow ball sampling, Analyzing text and document. The environmental disorder if not sudden environment change can make a prominent disparity to the nature. The findings show that, there is lack of synergy between the process of development Hambantota district and consideration of the wild elephants in the area and which sidelined the energies of the society needed to complement state efforts to provide amicable solutions to the human-elephant conflict in Hambantota District.