Kesang Wangchuk and Sanjeeb Pradhan

ICIMOD |  August 21, 2025

Lying on opposite banks of the Mechi River, the Naxalbari block (of West Bengal) in eastern India and the Jhapa district of eastern Nepal are en route to the Mahananda-Kolabari-Mechi transboundary passage for elephants in the eastern Himalayan foothills. Both locations witness regular elephant incursions damaging properties and destroying crop fields. The latter is a matter of grave concern, especially for the smallholder farmers on both sides of the river.