Aug 09, Colombo: Sri Lanka government has initiated to set up an Elephant Conservation Trust Fund to save the country’s dwindling elephant population.

The cabinet has decided to allocate Rs.100 million from the Treasury as the seed capital that will be refunded upon generating adequate funds into the Trust Fund. Environment and Natural Resources Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka submitted the memorandum on the establishment of an Elephant Conservation Fund.

Sri Lanka’s nearly 2,000 wild elephant population is under severe strain due to man-elephant conflicts that cause over 100 elephant deaths annually. Last week two wild jumbos were run over by a goods train that was crossing a jungle area in the Eastern province of the country.