Government Plan Aims to Save Vietnam's Declining Elephants

Government plan aims to save Vietnam's declining elephants
VietNamNet Bridge September 13, 2006

The number of elephants in Vietnam has plummeted from 2,000 to 130 over the past 30 years. To counteract this alarming trend, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development launched a national action plan for elephant conservation last week in Hanoi.

The Vietnam National Elephant Action plan, developed by the Ministry's Forest Protection Department (FPD), aims to conserve and develop wild and domestic elephant populations in the country in a sustainable way. The plan, which will extent through 2010, also includes provisions for the conservation of elephant habitats.

According to Tran The Lien, a representative from the FPD, a statistically documented drastic drop in the number of elephants in Vietnam prompts action. Areas that once were home to large herds currently have few if any elephants. "In Vietnam, wild elephants are confronting a high possibility of extinction if there are no effective conservation solutions," Lien said.

Lien attributes the decrease in the number of wild elephants to illegal hunting for ivory and trapping for domestication, the destruction of elephant of habitats and increasing contact between humans and elephants. The new plan will include methods to minimise human-elephant contact using electric fences and trenches to prevent elephants from raiding agricultural areas, in addition to the use of noise and smells that elephants dislike to drive them away from roads and people's property.

In locations inhabited by both people and elephant, farmers will be encouraged to reconsider their crop choices so as not to attract elephants. To handle situations which human-elephant contact does occur, detailed plans will be drawn and implemented. In addition, the new plan will entail the protection of elephant habitats and efforts to ensure adequate production of food for elephants.

Elephant sanctuaries will be built in Dac Lac, Dong Nai and Nghe An provinces, regions that contain large elephant habitat areas and well-populated herds. In areas with smaller elephant populations, habitats will be examined to create optimal conditions for the elephants' long- term survival. When all other options have been exhausted without success, the possibility of relocating elephants will be considered.

Provisions for the domesticated elephant population will also be put into motion, with a new control and management system that includes placing tracking devices on domesticated elephants. With this system, domestic elephant populations will be able to be more easily monitored for their protection and for research their reproduction, facilitating the conservation and development of domestic elephant populations.

A publicity campaign will encourage people to participate in forest protection and remind them that elephant poaching is strictly prohibited in Vietnam. The campaign also aims to increase awareness about elephant conservation and its importance to local communities, especially those in the areas containing elephant herds.

To prevent illegal poaching and the international trade of elephant products, the plan will fine-tune the current law enforcement system to ensure its effectiveness. At the launching ceremony last week, representatives from the provinces of Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Nam, Dac Lac and Dong Nai gave presentations on the implementation of the plan.

http://english.vietnamnet.vn/tech/2006/09/611584/