845 Elephant deaths in Kerala in 8 years: NGT initiates suo motu case

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued notice to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and Kerala forest department over 845 Elephant deaths in 8 years..Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava, judicial member Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi and expert member Dr A Senthil Vel determined that the issue concerns compliance with the environmental norms, especially compliance of Environment Protection Act of 1986 and the Biological Diversity Act..The Court took up the matter suo motu based on a news article in The Hindu titled, '845 elephant death recorded in Kerala in eight years'..As per the article, between 2015 and 2023, Kerala's forests recorded 845 elephant deaths, with studies indicating an increasing mortality rate, particularly among elephants under 10 years old.The article further said that approximately 40% of these young elephants succumb to Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesvirus-Haemorrhagic Disease (EEHV-HD).It referred to research showing that calves in larger herds, which share immunity, have better survival rates against EEHV-HD, suggesting that maintaining large herds can help mitigate the disease's impact.Furthermore, it highlighted that current threats to elephants include habitat shrinkage, fragmentation, climate change and competition from invasive plant species.The study has recommended adopting a protocol similar to Tamil Nadu’s Elephant Death Audit Framework (EDAF) for Kerala to systematically investigate elephant deaths..Based on this, the NGT determined that issue involves compliance with environmental norms, especially Environment Protection Act of 1986 and the Biological Diversity Act.Accordingly, it issued notice to MoEF&CC, Kerala Principal Chief Conservator of Forest and Chief Wildlife Warden.The matte will be heard next on September 30 by the Southern Zonal Bench of the Tribunal at Chennai..The Principal Chief Conservator of Forest was represented by advocate Alim Anvar.The Chief Wildlife Warden was represented by advocate Nishe Rajen Shonker..[Read Order]