Aceh builds 80 km of electric fence to deter elephants

Authorities in East Aceh District have built nearly 80 kilometers of electric fencing in remote areas to reduce escalating conflicts between wild elephants and villagers, an official said. Muhammad Ishak, head of Peunaron Subdistrict, said 79.92 kilometers of low-voltage “elephant shock” fencing has been installed across six villages in Peunaron and neighboring Serbajadi Subdistricts. The project is a collaboration between the East Aceh district government, the Natural Resources Conservation Agency and the Leuser Conservation Forum, he said in East Aceh on Friday. In Peunaron, fencing spans Sri Mulya Village for 11.5 kilometers and Arul Pinang for 30.71 kilometers. Additional sections cover Peunaron Village for 9.26 kilometers and Peunaron Baru for 5.63 kilometers. In neighboring Serbajadi, fences extend 9.72 kilometers in Bunin village and 13.37 kilometers in Arul Duren Village, Ishak said. The fencing is intended to mitigate negative interactions between residents and the protected Sumatran elephants that frequently enter farmland and plantations in the forested region. Authorities have also opened a wildlife conflict complaint post at the Peunaron subdistrict office after prolonged reports of elephant incursions into residential and agricultural areas. In addition to elephants, villagers have reported tigers preying on livestock, prompting broader mitigation efforts to prevent casualties among residents and protected wildlife, Ishak said. He urged community members and local stakeholders to support the complaint post as a central reporting hub and an early response mechanism to manage wildlife encounters. Ishak expressed hope the electric fencing would serve as a boundary to deter elephants from damaging crops and plantations while minimizing harm to the animals. Human-wildlife conflict is a recurring issue in parts of Aceh Province bordering the Leuser Ecosystem, one of the last habitats of critically endangered Sumatran elephants and tigers. The Indonesian government has listed Sumatran elephants among the critically endangered mammals in the country. As per figures published on the official website of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the population of Sumatran elephants is estimated to be about 2,400–2,800 individuals. The WWF has noted that poaching for the illegal ivory trade remains a serious threat to the lives of wild elephants in several countries.