Protected land in Sumatra does not cover prime elephant habitat. Around 85% of Sumatra’s 2,000-2500 elephants live outside these protected areas.
In addition, unprotected forest is being progressively fragmented by human activity, creating a high potential for incidents of human-elephant conflict. Years of conflict have eroded the local community’s support for the elephant. With tolerance at an all-time low, the elephant is more than ever at risk of being killed or captured.
A community-based project has been developed to address this and mitigate human-elephant conflict. The project includes a training and education programme to secure the participation of the Sei Lepan community, who live at the edge of the Gunung Leuser National Park, and then involving them in a comprehensive strategy that works for them. The mitigation measures include the use of natural and artificial barriers and the use of alternative crops to prevent crop-raiding by elephants. The neighbouring Tangkahan community are also benefitting.
Elephant Family is working on this project with VESSWIC.
Capacity Building for Elephant Conservation
Aim:
To strengthen community participation in efforts to reduce human-elephant conflict in the Tangkahan-Lepan area, and in the process develop models for conflict mitigation that can be replicated elsewhere in Sumatra.
Results:
As a result of their patrols, the conservation response unit and members from the local community have developed a much greater understanding of the patterns of human-elephant conflict in the area.
With this knowledge the project is able to develop and test measures to prevent conflict between the community and elephants. Harmless methods that are being tested to drive elephants back into the forest include bamboo cannon’s using carbide, fireworks and spotlights and lemongrass – a scent known to repel elephants. No people or elephants have been killed in the area since these measures were introduced. The frequency of human-elephant conflict has also been reduced.
There are now 35 villagers from Lepan that are directly involved in the project and have formed their own community-based organisation. A strong partnership has developed between the local organisation and the conservation response unit, which are closely integrated.
Status:
Supported since 2008
