The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) is considering launching a wildlife insurance scheme to compensate people affected by wild elephants.
DNP director-general Yongyut Nakawiroj on Wednesday chaired a meeting to discuss measures to address wild elephants straying outside protected areas. The issue is a key priority under the department’s “Quick Win” measures, which aim to protect people’s lives and property while ensuring the long-term welfare of wildlife.
Mr Yongyut said wild elephants leaving protected areas directly threatened public safety, damaged property, disrupted farmers’ livelihoods and exposed officials and volunteers to risks while carrying out their duties.
Figures for the period from 2012 to Oct 26, 2026, recorded 284 injured people and 305 deaths. The figures showed that a reactive approach was no longer sufficient, requiring a shift from simply driving elephants back into forests to systematic, proactive management.
“The response must strike a balance between protecting people’s lives and property and conserving wild elephants while safeguarding their welfare,” Mr Yongyut said.
The department has appointed deputy director-general Prateep Hoemphayak to lead a working group.
Mr Prateep said compensation payments to people affected by wild elephants had reached 70 million baht, with the number still rising.
The department is considering working with the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) and the Office of Insurance Commission (OIC) to study the feasibility of a wild elephant insurance programme modelled on the national catastrophe insurance scheme.
The proposed programme aims to establish a faster and more comprehensive compensation mechanism backed by sufficient funding.
Moving forward, the DNP will push for six measures, including organising protected forests to provide suitable habitats to wild animals, developing elephant barriers, supporting elephant monitoring teams, providing compensation to affected residents, establishing sustainable areas to accommodate wild elephants and controlling elephant populations through contraceptive vaccines.
The department aims to boost cooperation with the Interior Ministry through a memorandum of understanding to expand surveillance networks at provincial, district, subdistrict and village levels.