If you can't beat them, employ them
If you can't beat them, employ them
JAKARTA (JP): The government is proposing the employment of
elephants at plantation and forest estates in the hopes that this
will balance the protection of the species against stopping the
recurrent elephant attacks on villages -- which are the cause of
costly, and sometimes lethal, damage.
The Ministry of Forestry said in a statement yesterday that
the strength of the elephants, given proper training, could be
channeled for productive uses such as in transporting logs and
other bulky goods.
It suggests the involvement of neighborhood organizations to
bring this idea to fruition.
The proposal came amidst suggestions by some people to kill
the elephants which have repeatedly attacked villages in Sumatra,
devouring their plants and fields and wreaking havoc on
villagers.
At least 14 people have been killed in various elephant
stampedes in Sumatra since 1989.
President Soeharto reportedly agreed to the proposal to shoot
the elephants this week, when it was put to him by Minister of
Transmigration Siswono Yudohusodo.
The Ministry of Forestry, in a statement attributed to
Minister Djamaloedin Soeryohadikoesoemo, stressed that the
elephants are a protected species under Indonesian laws.
The ministry, one of whose tasks is the protection of
endangered species, said that its concern was more with the
protection of the species and not of individual elephants.
The statement suggested several ways of managing the
elephants, including their employment at plantation and forestry
estates.
It virtually ruled out exporting the elephants on a large
scale because the animals are not a commercial commodity; by law,
they could be exported solely for the purpose of zoos, for
scientific purposes or as pets.
Herds
It estimates that some 4,000 elephants roam 44 different
locations in Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, Lampung and Bengkulu.
About 700 of these are roaming outside the habitat and it is
these herds which have been raiding villages.
The ministry said that, as the elephant population increases,
their habitat is shrinking as land and forest are being cleared
to make way for agricultural and settlement areas. Over the last
nine years, a total of 2.6 million hectares of forests in Sumatra
were cleared chiefly to make way for resettlement areas.
An appropriate recording system on elephants and their
habitats is needed to support the legality of the utilization of
the animals based on the conservation principles, the ministry
said.
The government will form mobile teams with special equipment
to handle the roaming elephants, it said.
It also proposes taming and training the elephants to patrol
villages against future elephant raids.
Experts on elephants from Indonesia and Thailand, as well as
international organizations like the World Wide Fund for Nature,
will meet in a conference on how to cope with the elephant-
related problems in Pekanbaru, Riau on Sept.18.(sim)