What needs to be done
What needs to be done
uccessful conservation of elephants will inevitably
result in conservation of biodiversity over their vast range.
The key to securing the elephant's survival and resulting biodiversity
conservation in Asia is entirely in human hands. Conservation
programmes which reconcile the needs of elephants and people are
of the utmost priority. The escalating and fierce competition
between Asia's growing human population and elephants - who are
battling for the same living space - will inevitably increase
unless the problem is assessed and dealt with on a systematic
basis. Conservation of the elephant's traditional habitat - tropical
forests - is critical not only for the elephant and its very important
role of maintaining biological diversity, but also for the people
themselves, who depend on the woodlands as a watershed as well
as a source of wood, fuel, food, and other forest products. In
many cases the forest has already been cleared, irrigation schemes
introduced, dams built, crops planted, or grazing introduced.
Elephants often find themselves migrating through an area formerly
covered in vegetation and now occupied by people, farms, or even
concrete. Confrontation, often resulting in death on both sides,
is inevitable - but avoidable.
Scientists who have worked for WWF and
IUCN in elephant conservation for years, including the Executive
Officer of IUCN/SSC's Asian Elephant Specialist Group, Dr Charles
Santiapillai, and Mangala de Silva, of the University of Peradeniya
in Sri Lanka, point out in the introduction of their country's
recently published Elephant Action Plan, that "without timely
action, backed by strong political will and local understanding
and financial support, the elephant population is at risk of becoming
locally extinct in a number of areas in Sri Lanka...the emphasis
is...on accommodating elephants and human beings rather than simply
protecting the elephants in their habitat. Man and elephant in
Sri Lanka have to live together by mutual adjustment".
This philosophy underpins and exemplifies the approach that needs
to be taken as the highest priority throughout Asia and one which
has been taken by India and is expected to be undertaken as part
of Vietnam's Elephant Action Plan.
However, the current international economic situation places stress
on countries with elephants or range states which have little
capacity (small or shrinking conservation budgets) to manage resources
in their borders or to enforce national and international legislation.
Often, the political will to conserve elephants in range states
exists, but financial support is inadequate. In order to combat
these problems and to ensure harmony between humans and elephants
the following steps must be carried out immediately:
1. Assessing, controlling and reducing human/elephant conflicts
Surveys and sociological studies need to be carried out throughout
the elephant's range to document recent humanelephant conflicts,
notably deaths and injuries on both sides. Methods and techniques
to minimize these often deadly encounters need to be tested and
implemented. Where they are not effective, alternatives must be
developed. A variety of options suitable to each geographic area
need to be examined.
2. Setting priorities and developing strategies
The Asian Elephant Action Plan prepared by the Asian Elephant
Specialist Group aims at conserving as many elephants as possible,
throughout their range, while minimizing conflict with people.
Because of the continued increase in human populations and the
need for land for agriculture and settlement, the action plan
recognizes that it will not be possible to save all Asia's wild
elephants, but losses can be minimized if economic development
takes into account the needs of elephants, and elephant conservation
plans take into consideration the needs of local people. To this
end, the action plan calls for national conservation strategies
to include provision for elephants, and for the development of
specific National Elephant Conservation and Management Strategies.
Existing national elephant action plans should be reviewed and
revised as appropriate and necessary.
3. Scientific status surveys to establish elephant presence
and numbers using standardized methods
Scientific surveys are necessary throughout the elephant's
remaining range. Such surveys should note the condition of the
habitat, including important food sources and water availability.
Monitoring should follow to establish trends in elephant numbers
and habitat condition. Reviews of completed and ongoing surveys
should be carried out, and priorities established for future study.
These studies should result in management plans and local policies,
with mechanisms and means for implementation.
4. Networks of protected areas linked by corridors
Ideally, every country in Asia should develop a network of
protected areas for elephants, linking them, whenever possible,
by corridors which provide for migration. However, it must be
recognized that in many countries elephants live in isolated patches
of forests which cannot be linked because of forest loss and agricultural
settlement. Because many of the surviving elephants live in forests
which protect water supplies for large regions of human settlement,
the protected areas can make an important contribution to human
welfare. The protected forests around reservoirs can serve as
elephant refuges, while the presence of the elephants serve as
indicators of these forest catchment areas. Local and national
governments should recognize the mutual benefit of maintaining
watersheds and conserving elephants and other species in these
lifesustaining, productproviding forest habitats.
5. Managed Elephant Ranges (outside protected areas) and land
use planning
Elephants are wideranging animals, and it is not possible
in present circumstances to set aside sufficiently large reserves
for them. A compromise is needed by which "Managed Elephant
Ranges", shared by people, are established. In these areas,
human activities compatible with elephant conservation could be
allowed, but priority would be given to managing and protecting
the area for the elephants. Where elephant range is fragmented,
former links should be rehabilitated to provide corridors through
which herds may travel. Wideranging environmental education
programmes should be carried out in "Managed Elephant Reserves".
Particular outreach should be to settlers who have never before
coexisted or lived in close proximity with elephants.
6. Mapping - Geographic Information Systems/Groundtruthing
Maps using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) should be
used to determine amount, quality, and type of remaining forest
cover. Information should be groundtruthed and made use
of in planning elephant reserves and corridors. GIS is a useful
tool that can help identify potential areas of human/elephant
conflict through examination of satellite imagery of land use
patterns and density.
7. Protect people and crops and compensate for losses
Assistance should be given to agricultural communities to
protect their crops when elephants are in the area. A belt of
crops which are unattractive to elephants, such as tea, can serve
as a barrier, particularly if it lacks the water they crave. Trenches,
steepsided canals and highvoltage electric fencing
can also keep elephants away. Special teams can play an important
role by monitoring herd movements and organizing crop protection.
Compensation for damage can be provided on a limited basis, but
is not a satisfactory longterm solution to problems of elephant
depredation. Existing compensation plans should be regularly reviewed,
and where possible crop insurance schemes established.
8. Elephant drives or cautious translocation
Translocation can in some circumstances save elephants pocketed
in unsuitable areas, provided suitable habitat is available elsewhere.
Herds have been successfully driven overland to other habitats
in India, Sri Lanka, and Sumatra. In Malaysia, translocations
have been successful. However, in most instances, elephants have
returned to their original habitat. In Sumatra, ThaiIndonesian
cooperation has resulted in the translocation of rogue elephants
to an Elephant Training Centre. However, translocation is costly
and has sometimes resulted in the death of elephants and humans.
9. Antipoaching
Elephants, especially tuskers, need to be protected from poachers
by wellequipped teams which continually monitor the movements
of vulnerable animals. Undercover intelligence networks, in collaboration
with police and other civil authorities, can assist in tackling
poaching threats by obtaining information about poachers' activities
and illegal trade networks. Appropriate technology and radiotelemetry,
wireless communications and village policing informant units can
improve protection of wild elephants inside and outside protected
areas.
10. Enforcing CITES and internal legislation
All countries with elephants should enforce the regulations
of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The Asian elephant has been on
Appendix I, which bans international commerce, ever since the
convention's inception in 1975. Existing national legislation
should be reviewed, and strengthened where necessary. Special
undercover investigation and monitoring of illegal trade in elephant
products should be undertaken in close cooperation with TRAFFIC
offices in Asia. Exit points such as airports and border crossings
should be reviewed and monitored closely. Penalties should be
strong enough to deter smuggling, and all customs officials should
be trained in identifying wildlife and wildlife products.
11. Captive breeding, not wild capture, for domestication
Domesticated elephant populations should be maintained, as
far as possible, by captive breeding. Where capture of wild elephants
is necessary, improved methods which minimize risks to the elephants
should be used. Data should be maintained and analyzed on the
biology of elephants in captivity in order to support conservation
of elephants in the wild. Exchange of elephants and expertise
between countries such as the successful cooperation between Thailand
and Indonesia should be encouraged.
12. Improving census and monitoring techniques
Scientific research must be carried out on census techniques;
monitoring of sex and age ratios in the wild; effectiveness of
protected areas and the corridors linking them; habitat evaluation;
the effects of translocation; and improved methods of distinguishing
Asian and African ivory.
The two standard census methods endorsed by the Asian Elephant
Specialist Group should be used to enable repeatability and comparability.
Determination of home ranges on an annual basis using radiotelemetry
is another option.
13. Environmental impact assessments
Evaluation of the environmental impact of economic development
projects in elephant ranges should be carried out well in advance
so that adverse impacts can be avoided and the interests of elephants
and people provided for.
14. Conservation awareness, education, and campaigns
Public education programmes should disseminate factual and
reliable information about elephants, and, in particular, increase
the understanding of elephant behaviour and needs in areas where
elephants and people coexist. This includes communicating the
tangible benefits of elephant conservation, provision of employment
in firecontrol, enlisting villagers to manage and utilize
forests in a sustainable way, and to restore and replant when
possible. Wildlife clubs, schools, local NGOs, community based
organizations should be enlisted to develop and participate in
publicity campaigns aimed at households, decision (policy) makers,
police, nonwildlife forest managers, the business community,
and developers.
15. Coordination of Asian elephant conservation
Elephant conservation units could be established in regions
determined to be of highest conservation priority. These could
include rangers or wildlife officers, veterinarians experienced
in tranquillization or translocation techniques, elephant trainers
experienced in elephant drives or elephant warding off techniques,
communication or education officers, wildlife biologists or scientific
officers, and administrative staff.
16. Community development - return of revenue
Communities living in proximity to elephants should ideally
benefit from their presence. Where protected areas exist, longterm
residents can be hired as trackers, rangers, elephant drivers,
and trainers at fair pay scales comparable to those employees
hired from outside the region. Furthermore, longterm residents
could also be trained and employed in protected area management,
thus providing the opportunity of combining traditional knowledge
and modern and sound conservation methods. If tourism generates
income, this revenue could be shared among the communities through
a direct percentage of return or through employment in the tourist
industry. Revenue generated from ecotourism or other smallscale
businesses could provide some, but - realistically speaking -
probably not all of the following: improvements in drinking water
quality (provision of wells and sanitation), health care centres,
establishment of schools and conservation clubs, alternative energy
sources, improved agricultural methods and training in these,
replanting schemes, regulated grazing or use of forest products,
and classes or village workshops in understanding elephant behaviour.
The former could be paid for through revenues from wildlife recreation
or nature tourism or through local or national agencies committed
to the survival of the Asian elephant as a necessary and integral
part of the country's biological and cultural diversity. Elephants
will have increasing difficulty surviving in areas of rapidly
growing human population, particularly in close proximity to communities
that are impoverished and that are constantly threatened by crop
depredation and death. Villagers will understandably poach elephants
for their tusks, hide, or meat if the above conditions are not
improved. Elephants are poisoned or shot by disgruntled villagers
in order to prevent crop damage or trampling of family members
and homes.
If the elephant is seen as a source of income and welfare, a symbol
of what the forest has to offer in terms of what products and
uses it can yield, only then will it survive. Its future on the
planet is in the hands of the people with whom it has lived side
by side for thousands of years.
September 1995
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