In the mid 1980s, Asian elephant populations were believed to persist in 44 populations on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Twelve of these populations occurred in Lampung Province, but WCS/GoI surveys revealed that only three were extant in 2002. Nevertheless, our surveys in the Province’s two national parks, Bukit Barisan Selatan and Way Kambas, produced population estimates of 498 and 180 elephants, respectively. These are the first estimates for Southeast Asian elephant populations based on rigorous sampling-based methods, and they suggest that elephant numbers in these parks are of international importance. Our results indicate that Sumatra’s remaining elephant populations may be larger than expected; however they also suggest that without protection the future for these animals is bleak. Human–elephant conflict was reported around both National Parks in Lampung and their elephant populations are currently threatened by habitat loss and poaching.
The Human Aspect
Lampung province has the highest human population density of any Sumatran province, and many people live in or close to the remaining areas of elephant habitat. Elephants raid peoples’ crops, destroy their houses, and sometimes kill or injure people. In response, elephants are killed and local communities persuade the government to catch and remove elephants from the wild.
Threats
The main threats to Sumatra’s elephants are forest loss, illegal hunting, and the elephant capture operations that result from human–elephant conflict. WCS believes that habitat loss will be the main threat to Lampung’s elephants over the next decade. Work by WCS suggests that by 2010, 70% of BBSNP will be under agriculture, while in WKNP, ongoing loss of forest to illegal logging and fires has been compounded in recent years by agricultural encroachment.
WCS Activities
WCS has been directly involved in elephant conservation in Lampung province since late 1999. WCS scientists work with the Ministry of Forestry, Indonesian students, and local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to enact the following initiatives:
· Developing and implementing survey and monitoring techniques that will provide baseline data for the design of elephant management plans.
· Gathering data on human–elephant conflict in and around BBSNP and WKNP. This work focuses on the extent and distribution of crop damage, and has enabled WCS to work with local farmers and the Indonesian authorities to implement a human–elephant conflict mitigation strategy in Lampung.
· Conducting a Lampung-wide survey to locate all remaining elephant populations and assess their size and likely viability. The first survey was completed in 2002, and showed that only 3 of the 12 areas that had contained elephants in the early-1980s still contained them in 2002. Encouragingly, WCS’s surveys showed that BBSNP and WKNP support some of the most important populations of elephants outside of India.
· Investigating the illegal killing of elephants and assisting the authorities in prosecuting elephant and other wildlife poachers through the work of WCS’s Wildlife Crimes Unit.
Important Next Steps
Building on the work described above, WCS will carry out the following activities:
· Continue to focus on practical attempts to reduce human–elephant conflict in Lampung through the activities of WCS’s Crop Protection Units (CPUs). These CPUs are a collaborative effort involving WCS staff, farmers, Indonesian authorities, and local NGOs.
· Monitor Lampung’s elephant populations and the threats to those populations, and initiate province-wide surveys elsewhere on Sumatra.
· Improve the management of BBSNP and develop alternative financial mechanisms to support park management.
· Continue to train local NGOs and protected area staff in conservation techniques and community outreach.
