UNHCR working to protect Rohingyas from elephants

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has joined up with International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in Bangladesh to reduce human-elephant conflict in and around the world's largest Kutuplang and Balukhali Rohingya refugee camps in Cox's Bazar area.

As immidiate mitigation measrues, they are installing watch-towers at key points aroud the refugee settlement and setting up elephant response teams (ERTs), said a press release. 

They will mark the elephant routes and corridors clearly, so that people will know which areas to avoid. They will conduct awareness campaigns among the refugees and host community.  

So far 10 people were killed since Rohingya influx started and they started settling camps in the traditional elephants migratory routes in Ukhia, Cox's Bazar six months ago. 

The IUCN is consulting with elephant experts to look at creating an elephant corridor, so the animals can travel safely on their migratory routes and avoid encounters with people living nearby.