Officials 'complaint' in ivory trade: Activists<\/p>\n
Oyos Saroso H.N., Bandarlampung<\/p>\n
The trade in elephant tusks has been thriving, as can be seen
\nfrom unchecked poaching and trade over the past two years in the
\nSouth Bukit Barisan (TNBBS) and Way Kambas (TNWK) national parks
\ndue to park authorities turning a blind eye to the illegal
\npractice, say environmental activists.<\/p>\n
The TNBBS, spanning 360,000 hectares from Tanggamus and West
\nLampung regencies to Bengkulu province, is said to be a haven for
\nelephant poachers, as is the TNWK, comprising 180,000 hectares in
\nEast Lampung province.<\/p>\n
The two are home to an abundant variety of rare flora and
\nfauna, and the lax protection of species and monitoring of the
\nparks by authorities have made the parks a haven for poachers,
\nsay activists of environmental non-governmental organizations
\n(NGOs). They have also cautioned that dishonest park officials
\nhave even tolerated poachers' activities.<\/p>\n
Surveys by the Wildlife Crime Unit (WCU), founded by
\nenvironmental NGOs and journalists' organizations, show that in
\naddition to poachers who live around the parks, a syndicate
\ninvolved in elephant tusk trade is present at the Elephant
\nTraining Center in Way Kambas.<\/p>\n
Strangely, most local residents are aware of the illegal
\npractice, but have done nothing about it.<\/p>\n
\"If you happened to visit the elephant center in Way Kambas,
\nan employee would most likely offer you an ivory pipe, even an
\nentire, intact tusk,\" said an activist. \"This corresponds with
\nthe number of ivory craftsmen who have admitted that they get
\ntheir supply from poachers and insiders (at Way Kambas).\"<\/p>\n
A manager of Way Kambas National Park, Mega Haryanto,
\ndisagreed the park was involved, even to the point of claiming
\nthat poaching no longer occurred there.<\/p>\n
His claim contradicts the finding of a number of park wells
\nfull of elephant carcasses only a couple of years ago. The find
\nseemed to indicate that the park area was a killing field for
\npoachers, allegedly involving park employees.<\/p>\n
When asked as to the significance of the find, Mega said: \"The
\nwells were previously owned by residents. There were many houses
\nhere before. The wells have been abandoned since we relocated the
\nresidents.\"<\/p>\n
The executive director of the Indonesian Forum for the
\nEnvironment (Walhi) in Lampung, Mukri Friatna, said it was to be
\nexpected that underpaid park employees were involved in the
\nillegal ivory trade. \"Their monthly salaries range from Rp
\n350,000 (US$36.80) to Rp 450,000 and a few months ago, their
\nsalaries were not paid on time,\" he said.<\/p>\n
That the poaching and ivory trade is thriving is evident from
\nLampung WCU data recording the extensive use of ivory pipes by
\nlocals, even state officials and law enforcers. At the Lampung
\nlegislature alone, at least two councillors smoke large ivory
\npipes.<\/p>\n
Apparently, an ivory pipe is a symbol of prestige and
\naccording to smokers, boosts self-esteem.<\/p>\n
Siswoyo, 73, a former syndicate member who hails from Kemiling
\nsubdistrict, Bandarlampung, was arrested in possession of 112
\nivory pipes, a set of pipe-making tools and a stuffed anteater
\nand turtle. He confessed he had been in the business since the
\n1950s, and could not recall the number of tusks he had used nor
\nthe number of elephants killed to provide the raw materials for
\nhis handicraft business.<\/p>\n
It is difficult to imagine the number of elephants that have
\nbeen killed to support the demands of Lampung ivory craftsmen and
\ntheir clients. In addition, considering that elephants have only
\na pair of tusks each, the increase in elephant poaching is,
\nsadly, not surprising.<\/p>\n
The rapidly dwindling elephant population is even more
\ndisconcerting, as their numbers are falling from day to day.
\nAccording to Way Kambas records, only between 250 to 300
\nelephants are left in the 180,000-hectare park, of which 72 live
\nat the training center.<\/p>\n
Way Kambas rangers found four elephant carcasses in August
\n2003 within close proximity to each other in the Way Kanan area
\nof the park. They all belonged to bulls, or male elephants, and
\ntheir tusks had been completely extracted.<\/p>\n
A month later, Biha Police in West Lampung and South Bukit
\nBarisan rangers arrested First Sgt. JP (his full name was not
\nreleased) for poaching in Talang Bambang forest along the south
\ncoast of West Lampung. He confessed to shooting an elephant and
\ntaking its tusks.<\/p>\n
In mid-January this year, four elephants were found killed in
\nthe TNBBS near its Way Canguk research station. Their tusks were
\nmissing. Fortunately, park authorities and Lampung Rhino
\nProtection Unit personnel moved quickly and arrested five
\npoachers in February.<\/p>\n
Mega said on Thursday that Way Kambas rangers had just found
\nthe eight more elephant remains in the Kali Biru and Kali Jero
\nareas of the park.<\/p>\n
As of Thursday, rangers were evacuating the remains of the
\nelephants, aged between 20 to 40 years, all missing their tusks.<\/p>\n
They were likely shot by live bullets -- not tranquilizer
\ndarts, which is the usual method -- as they had gunshot wounds in
\ntheir legs and heads. The caliber of the weapons used is not
\nknown.<\/p>\n
\"The area the national park covers is very wide, so we can't
\noversee every corner of it,\" said a park authority.<\/p>\n
According to the Convention on Illegal Trade in Endangered
\nSpecies (CITES), the Asian elephant population is more at risk of
\nextinction than the African, particularly those in Southeast
\nAsia.<\/p>\n
Indonesia has been a signatory to CITES since 1978.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/officials-complaint-in-ivory-trade-activists-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }