The Nepalese village who told the war against the elephants: “Now we live in peace”

TO Bahundangia remote Nepalese village on the border with India, one is being written History of peaceful coexistence between men and elephants.

At one time, Bahundangi was the scene of a conflict without exclusion of blows. Asian elephants, gentle giants forced to raid the villages in search of food, and the inhabitants, exasperated by the destruction of the crops and the constant threat to their safety. Dead, wounded, destroyed houses: The chronicle of recent years is a war bulletin. Today, however, an unexpected peace reigns, the result of a radical change told by the journalist Deepak Adhikari In a reportage for Mongabay.

But how was it possible to transform a battlefield into an example of coexistence? The answer is a mix of ingenuity, perseverance and, above all, a change of perspective. It all started about ten years ago, when The inhabitants of Bahundangitired of fighting a lost war at the start, they decided to try to change the rules of the game. “We no longer fear the elephants nor are we angry with them,” he said Krishna Bahadur Rasailian inhabitant of the village. “When they arrive, we remain inside. If we don’t disturb them, they walk on their way“.

This new awareness is the result of a long and complex path, which involved the entire community. “Bahundangi has shown that coexistence with wild elephants is possible,” he says Narendra Man Babu Pradhanexpert elephant researcher. “Shows that simple awareness is not enough; We must actively change the attitude of people towards wildlife “.

At one time, the elephants wandered freely in the southern plains of Nepal. With the increase in the human population, the development of infrastructure and the reduction of forests, Their habitat has drastically reducedforcing them to raids in the villages in search of food. In Bahundangi, Between 2012 and 2022 there were on average 20 elephants deaths per yearin addition to several fatal accidents for the inhabitants. In 2010, Almost 100 houses and parmesan were destroyed and at least three people lost their lives.

The first step towards coexistence was the construction, in 2015, of an 18 km long electric fence. Although the elephants, notoriously intelligent animals, have learned quickly to circumvent it, the fence still contributed to reducing the damage. But the real turning point came with the‘Introduction of a compensation system for damages caused by wildlife. Shankar Luitelthe local environmentalist played a fundamental role in helping the inhabitants, often illiterate, to extricate themselves between the complex bureaucratic procedures to obtain compensation.

However, the key to success was the transition to “elephant proof” agriculture. The farmers, initially skeptical, gradually abandoned the traditional crops of corn and rice, very attractive for elephants, in favor of tea, bay leaves and lemons. “At the beginning it was difficult,” he said Diwakar Neupanea 65 -year -old farmer, “but now I have a stable income and I don’t worry anymore that the elephants eat my crops”. Today, the village sells tea for a value of about $ 158,700 a year. Many farmers also started raise beesa natural deterrent for elephants, which at the same time provides a further source of income thanks to the production of honey.

To complete the picture, A quick response team (RRT) was established Composed of volunteers, formed to remove the elephants safely from the inhabited areas, especially during the harvest season. “When the elephants arrive, only the RRT volunteers patrol the area,” he explains Sadesh Paudela 26 -year -old elephant observer.

Thanks to these joint efforts, The last fatal attack of an elephant in Bahundangi dates back to 2015. Since then, there have been no other deaths. Bahundangi’s story shows that coexistence between man and wild fauna is possible, even in complex contexts. A model that, according to experts, could be replicated in other areas of Nepal and the world, where the man-elephant conflict is still a tragic reality.