Elephant Early-warning System in China: Leveraging Information Superiority to Mitigate Human-elephant Conflict

Human-elephant conflict (HEC) poses a major socio-ecological challenge across elephant range states. Since 2015, the National Forest Ecosystem Research Station of China based in Xishuangbanna has developed the Elephant Early-warning System (EEWS), a novel approach that has demonstrably reduced the risk of HEC incidents—particularly those involving direct encounters between people and elephants. By dynamically maintaining safety buffers, this system safeguards endangered elephants while mitigating human safety risks during livelihood activities and ensuring uninterrupted elephant movement. Building upon the C4ISR framework (Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance), EEWS integrates key technological and institutional innovations—including the widespread adoption of mobile internet, deployment of camera traps, use of drones, and cross-sectoral governance reforms. The EEWS’s conceptual framework and technical architecture have been already recognized by local government and are now being scaled up from Xishuangbanna to the entire Asian elephant range in China, establishing a replicable “China model” for achieving harmonious human-elephant coexistence. This study reviews the conceptual foundations, development, and field implementation of EEWS, and offers recommendations to guide future refinement and broader application.