A JOINT EFFORT TO PROTECT BORNEAN ELEPHANTS
Kalimantan is the third largest island in the world, after Greenland and Papua. With its many rivers and dense tropical forests, it is home to the smallest species of elephant, which has a maximum height of 2.5 meters. This elephant is known as the Borneo pygmy elephant. Borneo elephants are found in the Sabah region of Malaysia and in the northern part of Borneo. The elephant population in Sabah is very large ranging from 1,500 - 2,000 individuals, while the population in North Kalimantan is very small ranging from 30 - 80 individuals.
In Indonesia, WWF strives to protect endangered species that are important to ecosystems, food chains, species that contribute to ecosystem stability and habitat regeneration, and species that represent broad-scale conservation needs. One of these species is the Borneo elephant.
North Kalimantan, Indonesia and Sabah, Malaysia, where elephants live, are also included in an important conservation management area in three countries known as The Heart of Borneo. The presence of elephants in the region also signifies the availability of resources to support other animals.
Although there have been no cases of elephant poaching in North Kalimantan, the small population of Bornean elephants could pose a threat if strong management is not in place. Based on a survey conducted by WWF-Indonesia in 2012, the Borneo elephant population is around 30 - 80 individuals and is included in the IUCN Red List. Therefore, it is important to make various conservation efforts so that elephants in North Kalimantan and their habitats remain sustainable.
To encourage Bornean elephant conservation efforts, WWF together with Toyota Motor Corporation since 2016 through the "Living Asian Forest Project" program has committed to supporting Bornean elephant conservation activities in the province of North Kalimantan.
In 2017, WWF-Indonesia in collaboration with the Provincial Government of North Kalimantan organized a workshop "Evaluation of the Strategy & Action Plan for Borneo Elephant Conservation (SRAK-GK) 2011-2017 and Plan for the Preparation of SRAK-GK Documents for the period 2018 - 2028. As many as 36 participants attended this workshop and came from various groups including the government, NGOs, private sector, media and others.
On the occasion, Agus Suyitno, Human-Elephant Conflict Mitigation Officer of WWF-Indonesia said that although the target of elephant conservation has not been maximized, the population and habitat of elephants in North Kalimantan can still be saved. Furthermore, Agus also explained the future challenges for elephant conservation in Kalimantan, namely Protection and Management of Habitat Populations as well as Law Enforcement, Surveys and Monitoring, Cross-Border Cooperation between Indonesia and Malaysia, Handling Human-Elephant Conflict, Synergy Involvement of Various Parties, Economic Improvement for Communities around Elephant Habitat and Government Budget Support from APBP and APBN funds, as well as other sources of funds from environmentalists for elephant conservation in Kalimantan.
From these challenges, there have been several efforts that WWF-Indonesia has made, namely collaborating with various partners, one of which is habitat survey and monitoring. This activity was carried out on February 13 - 23, 2018 in Tulin Onsoi District, Nunukan Regency, North Kalimantan and has been continued again in April-June 2018. This survey aims to update elephant survey data in North Kalimantan in 2012, the survey that has been carried out has only reached 43% of the target that has been set and will continue the survey until 2019 to reach the target of 100%.
The survey activities were carried out collaboratively by involving parties including the East Kalimantan Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA), Nunukan Environmental Agency (DLH), Gapeta Borneo Nunukan Nature Lovers, Mulawarman University Samarinda Faculty of Forestry Students, Tulin Onsoi Elephant Conflict Task Force and the local community.
During the survey, the team was still unable to meet the elephants directly but found tracks, dung, rubbing marks and puddles. This is because the Bornean elephant population is quite small and the habitat is vast. However, all these indirect findings are a good sign that Bornean elephants still exist and breed in the area.
There are also efforts to deal with conflicts between humans and elephants. This often occurs due to forest conversion, which causes elephants to lose part of their habitat. Since 2003-2010, about 16% of elephant habitat areas have become oil palm plantations, 84% of the remaining habitat can still be maintained today. Some of the forests where elephants used to walk, find food and drink are now turned into oil palm plantations, community plantations and company areas. This has caused elephants to enter the area, leading to conflicts.
This activity was made possible through the collaboration of WWF-Indonesia with the Nunukan Environmental Agency, the Elephant Conflict Task Force of Seimanaggaris District. Although the intensity is relatively rare, conflict mitigation such as blocking or driving elephants back to the forest area continues to be encouraged. On December 14, 2017, the elephant conflict task force team reported that there were about 3 individual elephants that entered the community's oil palm plantation. The method of driving the elephants was using a carbide cannon that made a sound like an explosion that made the elephants disturbed and finally left the area and returned to the forest.