Elephant corridors — UPPSC current affairs 20 August 2026

The Supreme Court ruled that no State government can construct physical blockades along inter-state traditional elephant pathways.

A three-judge bench headed by the Chief Justice of India held that wildlife corridors are inherently multi-state pathways driven by natural animal instinct.
The court observed that erecting physical barriers or fences increases human-wildlife conflict rather than mitigating it.
The apex court directed the Union Government to conduct a comprehensive nationwide survey of traditional elephant corridors.
The decision reinforces the ecological doctrine of landscape-level wildlife protection under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

Elephant Corridor

A narrow strip of habitat that connects larger habitats of elephants, facilitating their seasonal movement.

Landscape-level Conservation

An environmental management approach that considers entire ecosystems and species movement across administrative boundaries.

Asian elephants are listed as Endangered in the IUCN Red List and under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
Project Elephant was launched in 1992 as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme to protect wild elephants and their corridors.

Examine the challenges of balancing linear infrastructure development with the preservation of contiguous ecological corridors in India.

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