Indonesia: Jambi to develop elephant habitat

The Jakarta Post 6 Jun 11;

The Jambi administration has announced plans to develop a special area of elephant habitat in its latest attempt to end years of conflicts between elephants and the local population.

“We're trying to find the best way to preserve the elephants and end their conflicts with humans, especially in Sarolangun and Batanghari regencies,” Jambi Natural Resources Conservation Agency chief Trisiswo said in Jambi on Tuesday.

He added the administration had chosen a site inside a 101,000-hectare plot of forest owned by conservation firm PT Restorasi Ekosistem Konservasi Indonesia (REKI).

“I've talked about it with PT REKI and they have agreed [to provide the land for the elephant habitat],” Trisiswo said, as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

The move comes after a number of villagers in Pauh district, Sarolangun, complained that 17 elephants had ransacked their 200-hectare rubber tree plantation in January. Similar incidents, some of which led to the killing of elephants, have been occurring for years.

“Upon visiting the location, [I saw] that the elephants live far from people's settlements and the plantation is in a production forest area,” Trisiswo said.