Sri Lanka, June 7 -- Plans are under way to develop the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage into an elephant research and breeding centre, Minister of Environment Dr. Dammika Patabendi said.

He was delivering the keynote address at the World Environment Day 2026 State ceremony at Temple Trees on Friday (5) under the patronage of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.

The Minister said that although a mechanism to address the Human-Elephant Conflict was introduced in 2020, the legal reforms were not fully implemented. He said the Government has now informed the Supreme Court of its intention to update and strengthen the framework.

An expert committee will be appointed for this purpose, with Cabinet approval to be sought, he said.

Dr. Patabendi s...