Conservationists fight to save elephants

MEDAN, North Sumatra (JP): In Aceh, another battle is being fought, but this time it is between elephants and people.

As a result of excessive deforestation and land clearing, elephant habitats are shrinking. Increasingly, they find that land on their migration paths has been converted to gardens or plantations, presenting them with a choice of good food.

Villagers' crops and houses are damaged, and in their efforts to drive the elephants away, people sometimes also get hurt. Eventually, the elephants return, risking injury and even death.

The conservation NGO Flora and Fauna International (FFI) started their Conservation of Elephant Landscapes in Aceh (CELA) project last year, and are assisting the government in trying to address elephant conservation problems.

Using land-use data and records of elephant presence, potential elephant conservation areas and corridors are being identified and mapped.

With the support of local government, NGOs, and village heads, the local field staff conduct surveys to track the movements of elephant herds, and the resulting maps are provided to land-use planners. Project staff regularly meet with community leaders to discuss conservation issues, and give talks to local schools. The elephant is a well-known animal that serves as a powerful symbol for conservation awareness campaigns.

Once, elephants were an integral part of Acehnese culture. Older villagers still call them Po Meurah; the old, respectful name for the elephant. The concept of penebangan haram (that cutting the forests is not only illegal, but is also against God's will) is becoming widely accepted as a strong reason to conserve the environment. Some village leaders have expressed their interest in taking small numbers of trained elephants and their mahouts to work in their villages, thus helping to revitalize the old "elephant culture".

Villagers who are in regular conflicts with elephants are being encouraged by FFI staff to review the kinds of crops they grow. Crops that are not eaten by elephants, but which have a significant market value, are one option, although this must not entail the opening up of further forested land.

Assistance will then be provided in equipping the villagers with the skills and resources necessary for making the necessary changes to their agricultural practices. Traditional methods of scaring away elephants, such as horn trumpets and damar resin torches, are being revived and taught to villagers in other areas.

Project staff have also distributed simple battery-operated searchlights, as these are proving to be a useful, cost-effective method of scaring away elephants.

The government authorities responsible for the protection of wildlife and conservation areas are also given technical support by the project, but they cannot solve these problems alone. The private sector, including logging and plantation companies, can also play their part in elephant conservation. Provision by them of strategically-placed barriers in areas prone to elephant conflicts would also help to protect neighboring village gardens.

Companies might also be made legally responsible for providing compensation if elephants still raid the villagers' gardens. The success of this will depend on the willingness of the companies concerned to acknowledge some responsibility for causing at least some of the conflict problems. They might then be encouraged to allow elephant corridors to be established in their plantations, so that elephants can still safely migrate from one area of forest to another.

Lastly, the law enforcement agencies can do much more to reduce the incidence of illegal logging and encroachment.

Review of regulations

In this new era of decentralization, there is an opportunity to review the existing regulations pertaining to the issuance of permits for land conversion.

Furthermore, programs are needed at village level, to clarify villagers' legal rights and responsibilities, and provide them with a stronger basis with which to negotiate land-use and crop damage issues.

Failure to take this opportunity for positive change will increase the chances of tensions arising between people and elephants. Throughout Sumatra, villagers are threatening to poison and kill any elephants that stray onto their farms, and in some cases, these threats have already been carried out, using poison and wire snares. Recently, a baby elephant was reported to have been hacked to death after being left behind when the herd was driven away.

A recent report from India suggests that the long-term economic gains from the use of tame elephants in supporting activities such as ecotourism far outweigh the profits made from destruction and conversion of their habitat.

Treks for viewing wild elephants and other wildlife from elephant back are successful in other countries, such as Nepal and Thailand. The hundreds of tame, captive elephants wasting away in the training centers throughout Sumatra could be used for this and other purposes, provided that they are treated humanely and there is strict management.

While this has yet to be tested in Indonesia, FFI-CELA sees it as an option that is well worth exploring. The elephants certainly deserve a better fate than the one that currently awaits them. (Ron Lilley)