Our mandate
The Asian Elephant Specialist Group (AsESG) is an integral part of the Species Survival Commission (SSC) of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The AsESG shall provide the best available scientifically grounded evidence to the abundance, distribution, and demographic status of Asian elephant populations in all 13 range states. It shall periodically compile range-wide assessments which shall be publicly disseminated via the AsESG website and other outlets.
Call for Rapid Response Grant Applications
The Center for Species Survival (CSS): Asian Elephant is excited to offer a small grant opportunity to complete work associated with Asian elephant conservation. This is the initial start of what the CSS hopes will grow and allow conservationists, NGOs, and governments to apply for to receive much needed funds, quickly. For 2025 grants of up to $5000 can be applied for at any time and be used for any of the priorities laid out in the 2022 Kathmandu Declaration for Asian Elephants and the priorities that will be identified during the upcoming Range States meeting in February 2025 in Siem Reap, Cambodia. CSS: Asian Elephant recognizes that a future for wild Asian elephants depends on human-elephant coexistence. This includes reducing HEC to save human and elephant lives, property, and economic losses. For more details, please refere to the application and factsheet below.
Please find the application materials below:
News & Calendar of Events
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- Fourth Asian Elephant Range States Meeting organised in Siem Reap, Cambodia, 5th to 7th February, 2025
- Borneo Elephants Now Classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List
- Global Conservation Powerhouses unite to launch the first Center for Species Survival for asian elephants in India
- 11th meeting of the IUCN SSC Asian Elephant Specialist Group held in India
- IUCN SSC Asian Elephant Specialist Group host side event for the conservation of Asian Elephants at CITES CoP19 at Panama City
- 2022 Kathmandu Declaration for Asian Elephant Conservation
Message from the Chair
The Asian Elephant

The Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), the lone survivor of Genus Elephas, originated in Africa in the early Pliocene, over 5-6 million years ago and migrated to Eurasia... Read more
Gajah is the bi-annual journal of the IUCN/SSC Asian Elephant Specialist Group (AsESG). The journal is intended as a medium of communication on issues that concern the management and conservation of Asian Elephants both in the wild and in captivity. It is a means by which members of the AsESG and others can communicate their experiences, ideas, and perceptions freely... Read more