Introducing the Elephant Conservation Unit
Towards the end of last year I was fortunate enough to visit the Elephant Conservation Unit of the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary in Sabah, Malaysia. This team of six are working on the frontline of conservation to protect one of the most important remaining populations of the Bornean elephant, and retain the good will of the local communities towards them.
The Lower Kinabatangan is a biodiversity hotspot of global importance, famed for its orangutans and proboscis monkeys, as well as its elephants, which have increased to approximately 200 in recent years. However the rapid conversion of forest to agriculture throughout Borneo, particularly for palm oil, has broken up elephant habitat on either side of the Kinbatangan River, disrupting their movements and isolating groups from each other. Boxed in like this, the elephants have resorted to raiding the palm oil plantations or passing through fields and villages, creating conflict with the local population that have occasionally killed elephants in retaliation. Many of the commercial plantations are now bordered by electric fences, but the local smallholders can’t always afford these, and besides, unless properly maintained elephants will soon cross faulty fences. So other solutions are required to limit the ongoing struggle between people and elephants.
In 2002 the organisation Hutan therefore established the Elephant Conservation Unit, and Elephant Family has been a project partner since 2007. Sulaiman bin Ismail (pictured above checking an electric fence) heads up the unit with support from Ahmad Sapie Kapar, while Azman, Eddy, Hasbollah and Mohamed complete the six-strong team. Their activities include daily patrols for crop-raiding animals and illegal activities, conducting research, and raising awareness within their communities. The elephants tend to raid crops during the night, as I witnessed during my visit when one of the groups came right to the edge of Sukau, the main village. As a result the team are often required to work through the night, having already worked solid days, and they use a variety of means to repel the elephants back, the most common of which for now is sound cannons. These get filled with carbide gas that when ignited makes a sufficiently loud bang to drive the elephants back into the forest. This approach does not significantly stress the elephants, so much so that they are not repelled for long and soon come back. Since many of the plantations now also have sound cannons and are using them more frequently than is necessary, there are concerns that this technique will not remain effective for much longer. Indeed the Elephant Conservation Unit is having to keep elephants away from the plantations and other crops on an almost nightly basis. But for now it has been incredibly effective in reducing incidents of conflict by 90%.
Key to their success is the fact that they are all members of the local community, leaving them best placed to understand the issues and work with the local farmers to get them on their side. They also have a real passion for their work, and when asked how he became involved with the project, Sulaiman explained that it had been his lifelong desire to learn more about elephants. He used to see them as a child when travelling along the Kinabatangan River in his father’s boat, and would enquire as to why they were increasingly venturing near the village. He resolved to find out about more about elephants and protect them after completing his studies, and was therefore destined to work for the Elephant Conservation Unit when Hutan were establishing it. His dedication was clear to see, and the world needs more people like Sulaiman to secure a future for Asian elephants.
written by Dan Bucknell on 08th February 11
