Context: Recently, Union environment ministry has proposed an amendment to the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 to accord legal status to elephant reserves and corridors on the lines of tiger reserves.
Background

• Under the Wildlife Protection Act, state forest departments have to prepare a tiger reserve management plan with an adequate number of forest staff and strategies in place to protect the big cats. 
• The law also says that no mining or industrial activity will be allowed in the vicinity of the reserves and that their boundaries cannot be changed without approval from the National Board of Wildlife.
• The law also gives legal status to the National Tiger Conservation Authority, the regulatory body for around 50 tiger reserves in India.
• With the proposed amendment, the ministry proposes to have a similar legal framework for 30 elephant reserves across 15 states and statutory status for Project Elephant.
• India is home to about 30,000 elephants, or 60% of the global Asian elephant population.

Benefits

• Elephant conservationists have been fighting for legal status to elephant reserves for more than a decade. 
• But no state is ready for this. Once the legal right is given, several restrictions would come into place.

Reasons

• Reduce conflict through mitigation measures in elephant corridors.
• Address the problem of rising human-elephant conflict.

Project Elephant

• Project Elephant (PE), is a centrally sponsored scheme, and was launched in February 1992 for the protection of elephants, their habitats and corridors.
• It also seeks to address the issues of human-wildlife conflict and welfare of domesticated elephants.
• The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change provides the financial and technical support to major elephant range states in the country through Project Elephant.

Objective

• To protect elephants, their habitat & corridors
• To address issues of man-animal conflict
• The welfare of captive elephants

Key Facts

• India is home to about 30,000 elephants or 60% of the global Asian elephant population.
• India’s first elephant reserve was created in Jharkhand in 2001 under Project Elephant
• According to data shared with the Lok Sabha on September 23, close to 2,300 people were killed by elephants in the past five years until 2019, which was 10 times the number killed by tigers.
• Also, 400 elephants were killed by poachers or through poisoning by residents.
• Indian Elephant has also been listed in the Appendix I of the Convention of the Migratory species.
• Elephant is the Natural Heritage Animal of India.

Also Read: https://abhipedia.abhimanu.com/Article/IAS/MjAzNzc1/World-Elephant-Day---Talking-Conflicts-Environment-and-Ecology-IAS