ELEFRIENDLY BUS

Since 2016, our EleFriendly Bus has been making sure local school children travel safely through the elephant corridor near Wasgamuwa National Park.

Project Overview

In a region where people and elephants share a vital corridor connecting Wasgamuwa National Park to essential water sources, daily human-elephant encounters have created ongoing conflict and danger—especially for schoolchildren and villagers commuting on foot or by bicycle. Fear and harassment of elephants have led to increased aggression, while recent incidents of armed violence have escalated the threat to both people and wildlife.

To address this, the Sri Lanka Wildlife Conservation Society (SLWCS) established the EleFriendly Bus—a safe, community-operated transport service through the corridor. This bus has reduced the risky encounters, protects elephants from harassment, and reduced the area’s carbon footprint by replacing motorcycles and tractors with shared transport.

In addition, the EleFriendly Bus serves as a unique ecotourism experience, offering economic opportunities to local communities while showcasing peaceful coexistence between people and elephants. This initiative aims to maintain hard-won harmony and promote sustainable human-wildlife coexistence in an once conflict-prone landscape.

SLWCS Presents the EleFriendly Bus

Watch the Video

Summary

The EleFriendly Bus project’s aim was to reduce human-elephant conflict in a critical wildlife corridor near Wasgamuwa National Park, where both villagers and elephants travelled daily. Fear and frequent encounters had led to unsafe conditions, especially for schoolchildren, and increased aggression from elephants due to harassment. The solution was a dedicated bus service to safely transport villagers, minimizing direct encounters and protecting both people and elephants. The project also promotes eco-friendly transport, reduces carbon emissions, and offers potential for eco-tourism, creating sustainable benefits for local communities and wildlife conservation.

Objectives

Enhance Human Safety:
Provide a safe and reliable mode of transportation for villagers—especially schoolchildren, women, and the elderly—who currently face daily risks from wild elephant encounters.
Reduce Human-Elephant Conflict:
Minimize direct interactions between people and elephants in the shared corridor, thereby preventing harassment, provocation, and aggressive behavior from elephants.
Protect Elephant Welfare:
Reduce stress and injury to elephants by preventing hostile encounters, including noise disturbances and attempts to drive them away with firecrackers or violence.
Promote Sustainable Transport:
Lower the community’s carbon footprint by reducing the use of motorcycles, tuk-tuks, and tractors through a shared public transport system.
Support Conservation Efforts:
Strengthen the coexistence model developed by SLWCS and maintain the progress made in transforming a high-conflict area into a zone of peaceful human-wildlife interaction.
Encourage Eco-Tourism and Community Development:
Create opportunities for eco-tourism by offering tourists a unique experience of traveling through an elephant corridor, and empower local communities to benefit economically through tourism-linked services.
Foster Long-Term Coexistence:
Build awareness and understanding among local residents about the importance of elephant conservation and promote long-term behavioral change to support coexistence.

Stakeholders & Collaborators:

Outcomes and Results

Improved Safety for Communities
- Reduced risk of human injury or death from wild elephant encounters, particularly for schoolchildren and daily commuters.
- Enhanced sense of security among villagers traveling through the elephant corridor.
Decreased Human-Elephant Conflict
- Fewer incidents of harassment and provocation of elephants by villagers.
- Reduction in aggressive elephant behavior triggered by human interference.
Better Protection for Elephants
- Decline in retaliatory violence, including shooting and other harmful actions against elephants.
- Less disruption to natural elephant movement patterns within the corridor.
Environmental Benefits
- Reduced fossil fuel consumption through decreased use of individual vehicles like motorcycles, tuk-tuks, and tractors.
- Lower carbon emissions and minimized environmental impact from rural transport.
Increased Conservation Awareness
- Strengthened community understanding of elephant behavior and the importance of coexistence.
- Greater support for wildlife conservation initiatives led by SLWCS.
Eco-Tourism Opportunities
- Introduction of a unique tourism experience through the elephant corridor.
- New income-generating opportunities for villagers through tourism-linked services such as food, crafts, and cultural experiences.
Key Results:
- A fully operational, community-supported bus service through the elephant corridor.
- Documented reduction in human-elephant conflict incidents within the project area.
- Increased number of villagers using the EleFriendly Bus for daily travel.
- Positive feedback from community members and tourists on safety and experience.
- Enhanced collaboration between SLWCS, local authorities, and community leaders in sustaining coexistence.

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