The “Kala Wewa Back to Elephants” project, organized in line with the Clean Sri Lanka initiative, was successfully carried out over the past three days in the floodplain areas of the Kala Wewa National Park.
Invasive plant species, including Japan Jabara, have spread across several tank beds in the North Central Province, reducing the growth of native grass varieties that are essential as fodder for wild elephants.
It is estimated that around 400 elephants live in the vicinity of Kala Wewa. Due to the lack of sufficient food sources, elephants have increasingly raided nearby villages, intensifying human-elephant conflicts in the region.
To address this issue, a project was launched on the 5th of this month to clear invasive plant species from the tank beds of Kala Wewa, its floodplain, and the adjoining Kalagama and Balalu Wewa areas.
The project continued successfully on the 6th and 7th as well, with over 20 acres of invasive vegetation, including Japan Jabara, being completely removed.
