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)