Conservationists fight to save elephants

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)