Jilin's government paid 38 million yuan ($6 million) to reimburse costs from 13,811 wild animal incidents between 2006 and 2012.

The IFAW has complemented the government's efforts in Xishuangbanna with programs to develop alternative economies less dependent on crops, create monitoring networks to alert villagers to elephants' movements and research alternative food sources for the animals.

It has initiated a micro-credit scheme to help villagers shift to different livelihoods to reduce their dependence on the land they share with the pachyderms.

"Our project further motivated local governments and the private sector support to explore other ways of mitigating human-wildlife conflict," the IFAW's Asia regional director Grace Ge Gabriel explains.

"For example, in many communities in Yunnan, the government buys insurance for farming communities to insure their crops."

The government started purchasing insurance in 2011, when residents received 3.24 million yuan in compensation for losses from elephants, Simao district's forestry bureau head Li Yichuan explains.

There were 231 reported instances of damage caused by elephants in 2012, when compensation reached 4.2 million yuan.

Ge Gabriel also voices hope for the canteen.

Investment will total 2.6 million yuan, the forestry bureau says.

About 26.7 hectares each of bananas and bamboo will be planted in the first stage.

Li says: "This way, we can make sure elephants have enough to eat and they will interfere less in local people's lives."

Xinhua contributed to this story.