What happened: Monitoring elephant reserves through evaluation and coordinated regional action

The Government of India is taking a landscape-level approach to elephant conservation. The Government is strengthening how Elephant Reserves are managed by scaling up a Management Effectiveness Evaluation framework and by developing Regional Action Plans for all elephant-bearing regions across the country.

What existed earlier: Elephant conservation requires more than population counting

The Government of India emphasises that estimating elephant populations is only one part of conservation. Long-term conservation success depends on safer habitats, stronger legal safeguards, and peaceful coexistence with communities. The Government’s conservation approach combines science, technology, infrastructure, and public welfare to protect elephants both inside forests and across shared landscapes.

What changed now: Management Effectiveness Evaluation for Elephant Reserves

The Government of India launched the Management Effectiveness Evaluation framework for Elephant Reserves in 2023. The Government tested the framework in four representative reserves: Shivalik, Kaziranga–Karbi Anglong, Mayurbhanj, and Nilgiri. After the pilot, the Government is taking this framework to Elephant Reserves across the country.

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