The ‘Kerala Model’ has shown India the way when it comes to achieving success in education and healthcare. The state, it now seems, has come up with a solution for what is believed to be an intractable problem — man-animal conflict. A report by the Wildlife Trust of India has shown that four years after the Thirunelli-Kudrakote elephant corridor — it is spread across 2,200 acres — was accorded State protection, it has facilitated unhindered movement for pachyderms, raised the presence of other species and — this is very significant — augmented the incomes of families that have been relocated. The success of this project — Kerala has announced that it would secure the remaining elephant corridors in the state — reiterates several important facts. First, conservation is not merely about numbers or the elimination of poaching; it is a holistic enterprise where the survival of species, great or small, is predicated upon the protection of their habitats. Corridors that ensure movement and, consequently, a healthy dispersion of species are a critical element. Second, man-animal conflict will not abate unless the welfare of forest-dwelling communities is taken into consideration. Kerala, hearteningly, has kept this principle in mind. The relocation of the settlers was seamless because the government ensured that they were resettled not only with proper accommodation, education and healthcare but also had better access to market facilities and employment. Alternative livelihood reduced their dependence and depredations on the forest.

The question is whether Wayanad’s achievements can be replicated in the rest of India. There are serious obstacles in the path of such implementation. The topography of India’s wilderness varies greatly. Neither can every state boast of Kerala’s achievements in establishing a formidable network of schools and hospitals in the hinterland. There is also the thorny issue of the rehabilitation of forest communities, a process that is, more often than not, marked by coercion rather than consensus. But what can be emulated from this experiment is the spirit of political and administrative will. At a time when successive elected governments have been accused of bartering India’s biodiversity for profit with marauding industry, Kerala has shown that a conscientious government can still make a difference to the lives of men and animals.