117NATURAL FOREST MANAGEMENT WITH REFERENCE TO BAMBOOSElephant habitat conservation and human- elephant conflict management are major issues for natural forest management. Elephant require large undisturbed mosaic habitats and used abundant foraging materials and water for survival. The forests are originally mixed evergreen and semi-evergreen forests, supporting the types of habitat required for elephant. However, fragmentation of elephant habitat, scarcity of fodder species, especially bamboos which are not harvested periodically owing to policies. The grown up, natural bamboos are to be removed systematically to facilitate new growth, new shoots, young culms which are relished by elephant population and increase of human activities within the natural forests and around the natural pose serious challenges for habitat conservation and human-elephant conflict management. As a large herbivorous mammal, elephant require abundant foraging material and water for drinking and bathing. They prefer a mosaic of habitat types with patches of forest, succulent grass lands intermittent open spaces, bamboo forests, riparian forests. Long-term sustainability of these types of habitat and conservation of such habitats are to be ensured. The fragmentation of forestland in and around the natural forests, the associated scarcity of elephant fodder species, and the increase of human activities together pose significant challenges for elephant habitat conservation. Activities such as illegal harvesting, forestland encroachment, forest fires and grazing is not possible without the active involvement of local people. Therefore, it is necessary to involve local people in natural forest management through co-management initiation and institutions, including sustaining their motivation and engagement through alternative income – generation activities.aarubot@gmail.comResearch482014Elephant conflict,Human activities,Fodder,BamboosElephant migration,Elephant migration,Co-managementRahmath Nisha Begam,Arumugam M,Karthikeyan S H.H.The Rajah’s College, Pudukkottai, Tamil Nadu, India,Department of Biotechnology, J.J.College of Arts and Science, Pudukkottai, Tamil Nadu, India., Principal, Govt. College of Education, Pudukkottai, Tamil Nadu, India.