WORLD ELEPHANT DAY 2026

Celebrated in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh

13 August 2026

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), with technical support from the Andhra Pradesh Forest Department and the Elephant Cell of the Wildlife Institute of India, celebrated World Elephant Day 2026 in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, on 13 August 2026. The event was inaugurated by Shri Kirti Vardhan Singh, Hon’ble Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and was graced by the presence of Shri Konidala Pawan Kalyan, Hon’ble Deputy Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. The celebration was held under the theme “Human-Elephant Conflict-Varying Scenarios Across India.”

The celebration brought together senior government officials, forest officers, scientists, conservation practitioners, community representatives, students and other stakeholders to deliberate on emerging challenges in human-elephant conflict and explore collaborative approaches to elephant conservation. In his address, Shri Kirti Vardhan Singh emphasized that India’s commitment to elephant conservation is not merely a policy choice, but a reflection of the country’s civilizational values and ecological responsibility. He underscored the need to secure elephant corridors and critical railway stretches, strengthen community participation, promote technology-based conflict mitigation, enhance field-level capacity and adopt landscape-level approaches to elephant conservation.

Addressing the gathering, Shri Konidala Pawan Kalyan, Hon’ble Deputy Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, highlighted the State Government’s approach to human-elephant conflict, emphasizing that “Conflict to Coexistence” is the motto of the State Government in addressing human-elephant conflict cases. He also highlighted the importance of community participation, effective field-level interventions and collaborative efforts to promote harmonious coexistence between people and elephants. The HANUMAN initiative of the Government of Andhra Pradesh, along with the active participation of schools and students, was also highlighted as an important step towards strengthening awareness and community engagement in elephant conservation.

The celebration also marked the release of several important publications, including Project Elephant: 30 Giant Steps, the Regional Action Plan for Comprehensive Understanding & Management of Human-Elephant Conflict in South India, and a special issue and monograph of the Journal of Wildlife Science. The Gaj Gaurav Awards were presented to frontline personnel and community members in recognition of their significant contributions to elephant conservation, habitat protection and efforts towards mitigating human-elephant conflict.

Extending the message of elephant conservation beyond the central celebration, Project Elephant, in coordination with the National Museum of Natural History, organized a nationwide mass awareness campaign involving more than 20 lakh students from 21,450 schools. A range of activities, including painting and mask-making competitions, rallies, nukkad nataks, awareness programmes and pledge-taking ceremonies, were organized to sensitize children to the ecological and cultural significance of elephants and the importance of protecting their habitats. Students across the country also took a pledge to protect and conserve elephants, reaffirming their commitment to becoming young ambassadors for wildlife and environmental conservation.

The celebration concluded with the felicitation of dignitaries and a vote of thanks delivered by Dr. Vaibhav C. Mathur, Inspector General of Forests (PT&E), MoEFCC. Overall, World Elephant Day 2026 reaffirmed India’s commitment to coordinated, science-based and landscape-level approaches to elephant conservation, while emphasizing stronger community participation, improved field-level interventions and collaborative efforts to secure elephant habitats and promote harmonious coexistence between elephants and people across the country.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

23^rd Steering Committee Meeting of Project Elephant

The 23^rd Steering Committee Meeting of Project Elephant was convened at Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, as part of the World Elephant Day celebrations on 13 August 2026, under the chairmanship of Shri Kirti Vardhan Singh, Hon’ble Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The meeting provided a platform to review ongoing elephant conservation initiatives and deliberate on key issues related to elephant conservation, human-elephant conflict mitigation and captive elephant welfare.

The Committee deliberated on current priorities in elephant conservation and management, including human-elephant conflict mitigation, protection of elephant habitats and corridors, landscape-level conservation and welfare of captive elephants. The meeting also highlighted the importance of strengthening scientific knowledge, field-based interventions and coordination among elephant range states and other stakeholders.

On this occasion, several important Project Elephant publications and knowledge resources were released:

• The TRUMPET – Quarterly Journal (Vol. VI, Issue 01), June 2026
• Model Elephant Conservation Plan for the Nilgiri Elephant Reserve
• Captive Elephant Husbandry: Science, Welfare and Practice (2026)
• Phase II of Human-Elephant Conflict Studies covering Keralam, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Odisha and West Bengal

These publications provide scientific insights, field-based experiences and practical management approaches to strengthen elephant conservation, human-elephant conflict mitigation and captive elephant welfare across India.