Project Elephant was launched in 1992 by the Government of India

Government of India

The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...

 Ministry of Environment and Forests

Ministry of Environment and Forests

The Ministry of Environment and Forests is an Indian government ministry. The Minister of Environment and Forests holds cabinet rank as a member of the Council of Ministers...

  to provide financial and technical support of wildlife management

Wildlife management

Wildlife management attempts to balance the needs of wildlife with the needs of people using the best available science. Wildlife management can include game keeping, wildlife conservation and pest control...

 efforts by states for their free ranging populations of wild Asian Elephant

Asian Elephant

The Asian or Asiatic elephant is the only living species of the genus Elephas and distributed in Southeast Asia from India in the west to Borneo in the east. Three subspecies are recognized — Elephas maximus maximus from Sri Lanka, the Indian elephant or E. m. indicus from mainland Asia, and E. m....

s. The project aims to ensure long term survival of viable conservation reliant

Conservation reliant species

Conservation reliant species are endangered or threatened animal or plant species that require continuing species specific wildlife management intervention such as predator control, habitat management and parasite control to survive even when self-sustaining population recovery goals are...

 populations of elephants in their natural habitats by protecting the elephants, their habitats and migration corridors

Wildlife corridor

A wildlife corridor or green corridor is an area of habitat connecting wildlife populations separated by human activities . This allows an exchange of individuals between populations, which may help prevent the negative effects of inbreeding and reduced genetic diversity that often occur within...

.
Other goals of Project Elephant are supporting research of the ecology and management of elephants, creating conservation awareness

Conservation movement

The conservation movement, also known as nature conservation, is a political, environmental and a social movement that seeks to protect natural resources including animal, fungus and plant species as well as their habitat for the future....

 among local people, providing improved veterinary care for captive elephants .
Project Elephant (PE), a centrally sponsored scheme, was launched in February 1992 to provide financial and technical support to major elephant bearing States in the country for protection of elephants, their habitats and corridors. It also seeks to address the issues of human-elephant conflict and welfare of domesticated elephants. The Project is being implemented in 13 States / UTs, namely, Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...

, Arunachal Pradesh

Arunachal Pradesh

Arunachal Pradesh is a state of India, located in the far northeast. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south, and shares international borders with Burma in the east, Bhutan in the west, and the People's Republic of China in the north. The majority of the territory is claimed by...

, Assam

Assam

Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...

, Jharkhand

Jharkhand

Jharkhand is a state in eastern India. It was carved out of the southern part of Bihar on 15 November 2000. Jharkhand shares its border with the states of Bihar to the north, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to the west, Orissa to the south, and West Bengal to the east...

, Karnataka

Karnataka

Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...

, Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

, Meghalaya

Meghalaya

Meghalaya is a state in north-eastern India. The word "Meghalaya" literally means the Abode of Clouds in Sanskrit and other Indic languages. Meghalaya is a hilly strip in the eastern part of the country about 300 km long and 100 km wide, with a total area of about 8,700 sq mi . The...

, Nagaland

Nagaland

Nagaland is a state in the far north-eastern part of India. It borders the state of Assam to the west, Arunachal Pradesh and part of Assam to the north, Burma to the east and Manipur to the south. The state capital is Kohima, and the largest city is Dimapur...

, Orissa

Orissa

Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...

, Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...

, Uttranchal, Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...

 and West Bengal

West Bengal

West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...

 The initial modest Plan Outlay of Rs 23 crores in the 8th Plan  was enhanced to Rs 60 crores in the 10th Plan.

Objectives

The main goals of the Project are as follows:

• Ecological restoration of existing natural habitats and migratory routes of elephants.

In 2007, there were a total of 110000 square kilometres (42,471.2 sq mi) of elephant habitat of which 24580 square kilometres (9,490.4 sq mi) were in 64 protected areas

Protected areas of India

As of May 2004, the protected areas of India cover , roughly 4.95% of the total surface area.-Classification:India has the following kinds of protected areas, in the sense of the word designated by IUCN:-National Park:...

.

There were 138 intra-state corridors, 28 inter-state corridors and 17 international corridors. ;

• Development of scientific management planning for conservation of elephant habitats and viable elephant populations in India;
• Promotion of measures for mitigation of man elephant conflict in crucial habitats;
• Moderating impact of human and domestic stock activities in crucial elephant habitats;
• Strengthening of measures for protection of wild elephants from poachers and unnatural causes of death;
• Research on Elephant management related issues;
• Increase public conservation education and awareness programs about elephants;
• Eco-development
  Sustainable development
  Sustainable development is a pattern of resource use, that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come...
  
   of elephant habitats;
• Provide improved veterinary care for elephants.

Elephant Reserves

25 Elephant Reserves (ERs) extending over about 58000 square kilometres (22,393.9 sq mi) have been formally notified by various State Governments till now and consent for establishment of Baitarini ER & South Orissa in Orissa and Ganga-Jamuna (Shiwalik) ER in U.P has been accorded by MOEF. The concerned State Governments are yet to notify these ERs. Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary

Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary

Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary is 38 km. northwest of Chikmagalur town in Karnataka state.It extends between 13º 25' and 13º 50' N latitude to 75º 15' and 75º 50' E longitude. The elevation gradient...

 will be accorded Project Elephant status in financial year 2010/11. The list of Elephant Reserves with area and elephant population is as follows:

Elephant reserves of Project Elephant in India (2005)

	Range	Reserve Name	Date of notification	State	Total area (km²)	Population 2005 !! Population 2002
1	I Eastern India	Mayurjharna ER	(24.10.02)	W. Bengal	414	96	56
2	I Eastern India	Singhbhum Singhbhum Singhbhum was sometime a large district in the present-day Indian state of Bihar. Chaibasa was the district headquarters of the erstwhile Singhbhum district. Earlier this area was a part of Orissa's Gajapati Empire...  ER	(26.9.01)	Jharkhand	4,530	371	300
3	I Eastern India	Mayurbhanj ER Simlipal National Park Simlipal National Park is a national park and an elephant reserve situated in the Mayurbhanj district in the Indian state of Orissa. Simlipal National Park derives its name from the abundance of Semul or red silk cotton trees that bloom vividly....	(29.9.01)	Orissa	3,214	465	512
4	I Eastern India	Mahanadi ER Baisipali Wildlife Sanctuary Officially created on November 7, 1981, Baisipali Wildlife Sanctuary is located in Nayagrh, Orissa, India, adjacent to the Satkosia Gorge Sanctuary. It is 168.35 square kilometers of sanctuary land, home to bears, elephants, leopards, Sambar Deer, and spotted deer.-External links:*...	(20.7.02)	Orissa	1,038	464	204
5	I Eastern India	Sambalpur ER	(27.3.02)	Orissa	427	336	284
6	I Eastern India	Baitarni ER	#	Orissa	1,755	108	145
7	I Eastern India	South Orissa Orissa Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...  ER	^	Orissa	4,216	138	185
I	I Eastern India	Range I Total			15,594	1,978	1,650+
8	II North Brahamputra	Kameng ER Kameng Elephant Reserve Kameng Elephant Reserve is an Elephant Reserve established June 19, 2002 in the Himalayan foothills of West Kameng and East Kameng Districts of Arunachal Pradesh, India. The reserve headquarters are at .-Geography:...	(19.6.02)	Arunachal	1,892	NA	377
9	II North Brahamputra	Sonitpur Sonitpur Sonitpur is an administrative district in the state of Assam in India. The district headquarters are located at Tezpur. As of 2011 it is the third most populous district of Assam , after Nagaon and Dhubri.-Etymology:...  ER	(6.3.03) *	Assam	1,420	612	577
II	II North Brahamputra	Range II Total			3,312	612	954
10	III South Brahamputra	Dihing-Patkai Patkai The Pat-kai meaning to Cut Chicken in Tai Ahom language are the hills on India's North Eastern border with Burma. They were created by the same tectonic processes that resulted in the formation of the Himalayain the Mesozoic . They are not as rugged as the Himalayas and its peaks are much lower...  ER	(17.4.03)	Assam	937	295	457
11	III South Brahamputra	Deomali Deomali Deomali is a census town in Tirap district in the state of Arunachal Pradesh, India.-Demographics: India census, Deomali had a population of 6060. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Deomali has an average literacy rate of 62%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male...  ER	^	Arunachal	900+	129	150+
III	III South Brahamputra	Range III Total			1,837+	424	600+
12	IV Kaziranga	Kaziranga – Karbi Anglong Karbi Anglong District Karbi Anglong district is the largest amongst the 27 administrative districts of Assam state in north-eastern India. The district is bounded by Golaghat district on the east, Meghalaya state and Marigaon district on the west, Nagaon and Golaghat districts on the north and Dima Hasao district and...  ER	(17.4.03)	Assam	3,270	1,940	1,000
13	IV Kaziranga	Dhansiri Mora Dhansiri River Mora Dhansiri is a tributary of the Dhansiri River, the main river of Golaghat District in the state of Assam, India. It originates from Laisang peak of Nagaland and passes through Kaziranga National Park. It flows through a distance of 352 km from south to north before joining the Brahmaputra... -Lungding ER	(19.4.03)	Assam	2,740	275	430
14	IV Kaziranga	Intanki ER Intanki National Park Ntangki National Park is a wildlife park located in Peren district of Nagaland, India. Among the creatures that inhabit the park are the rare hoolock gibbon, golden langur, hornbill, palm civets, black stork, tiger, white-breast kingfisher, monitor lizard, python and sloth bear...	(28.2.05)	Nagaland	202	30	28
IV	IV Kaziranga	Range IV Total			6,212	2,245	1,458
15	V Eastern Dooars	Chirang-Ripu ER	(7.3.03)	Assam	2,600	658	807
16	V Eastern Dooars	Eastern Dooars ER	(28.8.02)	W. Bengal	978	300-350	165
V	V Eastern Dooars	Range V Total			3,578	1,045	972
17	VI E. Himalayas	Garo Hills Garo Hills The Garo Hills are part of the Garo-Khasi range in Meghalaya, India. They are inhabited mainly by tribal dwellers. Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya, is located in this range. It is one of the wettest places in the world. The range is part of the Meghalaya subtropical forests ecoregion.Garo Hills...  ER	(31.10.01)	Meghalaya	3,500	1,047	878
18	VI E. Himalayas	Khasi Hills Khasi Hills The Khasi Hills are part of the Garo-Khasi range in the Indian state of Meghalaya, and is part of the Patkai range and of the Meghalaya subtropical forests ecoregion...  ER	^	Meghalaya		383
VI	VI E. Himalayas	Range VI Total			|	1,430
19	VII Nilgiri–Eastern Ghat	Mysore ER Bandipur National Park Bandipur National Park is one of India's best known protected areas and is an important Project Tiger reserve. It is located in the Chamarajanagar district of southern Karnataka in South India,...	(25.11.02)	Karnataka	6,724	4,452	5,838
19.1	VII Nilgiri–Eastern Ghat	Bhadra ER Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary is 38 km. northwest of Chikmagalur town in Karnataka state.It extends between 13º 25' and 13º 50' N latitude to 75º 15' and 75º 50' E longitude. The elevation gradient...	#	Karnataka			220
20	VII Nilgiri–Eastern Ghat	Wayanad ER	(2.4.02)	Kerala	1,200	636	961
21	VII Nilgiri–Eastern Ghat	Nilgiri ER	(19.9.03)	Tamil Nadu	4,663	2,862	1,938
22	VII Nilgiri–Eastern Ghat	Rayala Kotturu, Srikakulam Kotturu is a village and a Mandal in Srikakulam district in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India.Kotturu is main road center and located close to border of Orissa.-Geography:Kotturu is located at...  ER	(9.12.03)	Andhra	766	12	74
VII	VII Nilgiri–Eastern Ghat	Range VII Total			13,335	7,962	8,811
23	VIII South Nilgiri	Nilambur ER	(2.4.02)	Kerala	1,419	281	886
24	VIII South Nilgiri	Coimbatore ER	(19.9.03)	Tamil Nadu	566	329	132
VIII	VIII South Nilgiri	Range VIII Total			1,985	610	1,018
25	IX Western Ghat	Anamalai ER	(19.9.03)	Tamil Nadu	1,457	179	680
26	IX Western Ghat	Anamudi ER Eravikulam National Park Eravikulam National Park is a 97 km² national park located along the Western Ghats in the Idukki district of Kerala in India, between 10º05'N - 10º20'N latitude and 77º0'E - 77º10'E longitude...	(2.4.02)	Kerala	3,728	1,547	750
IX	IX Western Ghat	Range IX Total			5,185	1,726	1,430
27	X Periyar	Periyar ER Periyar National Park Periyar is a protected area, and a nature reserve in the South Indian State of Kerala, set high in the mountains of the Western Ghats along the border with Tamil Nadu. It lies in the districts of Idukki and Pathanamthitta...	(2.4.02)	Kerala	3,742	1,100	1,268
28	X Periyar	Srivilliputtur ER]] (4.SER)	(19.9.03)	Tamil Nadu	1,249	638	223
X	X Periyar	Range X Total			4,991	1,738	1,491
29	XI Northern India	Shivalik ER	(28.10.02)	Uttaranchal	5,405	1,610	1,582
XI	XI Northern India	Range XI Total			5,405	1,610	1,582
XII	Project Elephant	GRAND TOTAL				21,300+	20,696+

Numeral	| Reserve group
I	Eastern India: South West Bengal West Bengal West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...  - Jharkhand Jharkhand Jharkhand is a state in eastern India. It was carved out of the southern part of Bihar on 15 November 2000. Jharkhand shares its border with the states of Bihar to the north, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to the west, Orissa to the south, and West Bengal to the east...  - Orissa Orissa Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
II	North Brahmaputra: Arunachal – Assam Assam Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
III	South Brahamputra: Assam - Arunachal
IV	Kaziranga: Assam - Nagaland Nagaland Nagaland is a state in the far north-eastern part of India. It borders the state of Assam to the west, Arunachal Pradesh and part of Assam to the north, Burma to the east and Manipur to the south. The state capital is Kohima, and the largest city is Dimapur...
V	Eastern Dooars: Assam - W. Bengal
VI	E. Himalayas: Meghalaya Meghalaya Meghalaya is a state in north-eastern India. The word "Meghalaya" literally means the Abode of Clouds in Sanskrit and other Indic languages. Meghalaya is a hilly strip in the eastern part of the country about 300 km long and 100 km wide, with a total area of about 8,700 sq mi . The...
VII	Nilgiri – Eastern Ghat: Karnataka Karnataka Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...  - Kerala Kerala or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions.... - Tamilnadu - Andhra
VIII	South Nilgiri: Kerala - Tamilnadu
IX	Western Ghat: Tamilnadu- Kerala
X	Periyar Periyar National Park Periyar is a protected area, and a nature reserve in the South Indian State of Kerala, set high in the mountains of the Western Ghats along the border with Tamil Nadu. It lies in the districts of Idukki and Pathanamthitta... : Kerala - Tamilnadu
XI	Northern India: Uttaranchal-Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
XII	Project Elephant Grand total

Under consideration of GOI. Yet to be notified by State.

Enumeration of Elephants

• The first exclusive exercise for enumeration of wild elephants in the ERs was during Feb-May 2005. This exercise also sought to experiment with two sampling methods, viz. Block sampling
  Blocking (statistics)
  In the statistical theory of the design of experiments, blocking is the arranging of experimental units in groups that are similar to one another. For example, an experiment is designed to test a new drug on patients. There are two levels of the treatment, drug, and placebo, administered to male...
  
  ; and Line transect
  Line-intercept sampling
  In statistics, line-intercept sampling is a method of sampling elements in a region whereby an element is sampled if a chosen line segment, called a “transect”, intersects the element ....
  
  -Dung Count (with Retrospective Method of Calculating Dung Decay Rate). PE arranged Training of Trainers and also issued detailed guidelines to the Chief wildlife wardens and the Field coordinators.
• Total population in 2005 was >21,200. Detailed 2005 census figures are given in the table above:Elephant reserves of Project Elephant in India (2005).
• The next All India Enumeration of Elephants will be carried out in 2007, while an ER-specific enumeration will be repeated in 2010.

MIKE

• Project Elephant has been formally implementing MIKE (Monitoring of Illegal Killing of Elephants) programme of CITES in 10 ERs since January 2004. These include Shiwalik (Uttaranchal); Eastern Dooars (West Bengal); Mayurbhanj (Orissa); Ripu-Chirang and Dehing-Patkai (Assam); Garo Hills (Meghalaya); Deomali (Arunchal Pradesh; Wayanad (Kerala), Mysore (Karnataka) and Nilgiri (Tamil Nadu).

Research & Consultancy Projects

• PE has initiated a 36-months research project (2003-04 to 2006-07) with the help of the Central Rice Research Institute
  Central Rice Research Institute
  The Central Rice Research Institute is situated near Vidyadharpur village on the Cuttack-Paradip Road, Orissa, India...
  
   (CRRI), Cuttack, for developing high yielding varieties of paddy not relished by elephants; developing elephant-proof storage bins for food grains; and developing elephant repellants. The project is being carried out at the CRRI's research stations in Orissa and Assam.
• PE has also initiated two 36 months research projects (2003-04 to 2006-07) with the help of the Assam Agricultural University
  Assam Agricultural University
  Assam Agricultural University was established in 1969 under the Assam Agricultural University Act 1968 January 2, 1969. The jurisdiction of the University extends to the entire State of Assam with regard to teaching, research and extension education in the field of agriculture and allied sciences...
  
   on "Disease management in captive elephants" and "Anatomical studies on the Asian elephant".
• PE has entrusted the WII with a small project (2004-05 to 2005-06) to study the impact of the relocation of the Gujjar on the flora and fauna of Rajaji National Park
  Rajaji National Park
  Rajaji National Park is an Indian national park that encompasses the Shivaliks, near the foothills of the Himalayas. It is spread over 820 km²., and three districts of Uttarakhand: Haridwar, Dehradun and Pauri Garhwal. In 1983, three wildlife sanctuaries in the area namely, Chilla, Motichur...
  
  .
• PE has also given a small consultancy project (February-July 2005) to the Indian Statistical Institute
  Indian Statistical Institute
  Indian Statistical Institute is a public research institute and university in Kolkata's northern outskirt of Baranagar, India founded by Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis in 1931...
  
  , Kolkata, to help the West Bengal Forest Department in carrying out a sample-based enumeration of elephants during 2005.
• PE has also imbibed the use of eco-tourism for generating extra revenue for the welfare of captive breeding programmes for elephants.

Training of Veterinarians

• PE has been organizing regular refresher courses for veterinarians dealing with wild and domesticated elephants at Kerala Agricultural University
  Kerala Agricultural University
  Kerala Agricultural University is the primary and the principal instrumentality of the Kerala state in providing human resources, and skills and technology, required for the sustainable development of its agriculture, defined broadly encompassing all production activities based on land and water,...
  
  , Trichur and Assam Agricultural University
  Assam Agricultural University
  Assam Agricultural University was established in 1969 under the Assam Agricultural University Act 1968 January 2, 1969. The jurisdiction of the University extends to the entire State of Assam with regard to teaching, research and extension education in the field of agriculture and allied sciences...
  
  , Guwahati.

Registration

• PE has initiated a progamme for registration of domesticated elephants by using microchips. More than 1000 elephants have been microchipped so far in Assam, Arunchal Pradesh, West Bengal, Andaman & Nicobar and Delhi etc. PE has organized necessary training for this purpose and also arranged for supply of standard microchips and readers to all the States known to possess domesticated elephants.

Popular culture

• PE has produced a 58 minutes video-documentary "Living with the Giants" on elephant conservation in India with the help of the noted film-maker Shri Ashish Chandola.