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Human-elephant relations in Peninsular Malaysia

Authors:
  • Resource Stewardship Consultants Sdn Bhd

Abstract

In the Malay Peninsula, people have lived alongside Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) for around 55,000 years but our expansion now endangers the species. With the aim of gaining knowledge on how to we can live together in future, I reviewed the ecology, history, and management of human-elephant relations in the Peninsula. I found that indigenous people (Orang Asli) occupied many of the same landscapes as elephants and, despite a degree of ecological overlap, managed to enjoy a convivial coexistence by following the pathways elephants created through the rainforest, and by subsisting off wild yams. Around 6500 years ago, a swidden-farming culture arrived and crop-raiding elephants were killed and occasionally eaten. Around 2500 years ago, new settlers arrived and elephants came to be sought for ivory, to be captured, tamed, and even exported. Aspects of the traditional forager and swiddener cultures remain in Belum-Temengor, a priority elephant conservation site in the north of the Peninsula. Here, I surveyed 37 villages to examine beliefs, attitudes, and behaviour towards elephants. I found that tough elephants were the main source of human-wildlife conflict, most respondents considered the animals to be worthy of respect. Thre were some indications that younger respondents tended to have less tolerant attitudes. To get a clearer idea on how to manage elephants in this landscape, I mapped the villages and monitored the movement of four elephants using satellite collars. I found that governement-sponsored rubber plantations, exposed villagers to elephant raids despite the construction of electric fences. Based on these findings I propose a five-phase strategic intervention approach to elephant conservation: (i) land-use planning; (ii) barriers to protect people (including electric fences); (iii) compensation for losses; (iv) education and engagements; and (v) removal (killing or capture).
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... In the Malay Peninsula, Lye [52] notes that the Batek people preferred living in standard lowland forest (h@p l@y) as it was the easiest kind of forest to travel in "simply because elephants also use h@p l@y and they open up passageways that people can then use". Indeed, we found that most groups of Orang Asli appreciate the fact that elephants keep paths through the forest accessible [64]. ...
... In Belum-Temengor, a recent study by Hii [86] placed camera traps next to a salt lick where human visits peaked from 10:00 to 12:00 and found that elephants were most active from 20:00 to 06:00. Similarly, using GPS telemetry from 17 collared elephants we found that 81% of the elephant road crossing in this landscape happened at night [59] and that the activity of a crop-raiding elephant peaked between 21:00 and 23:00 when she was moving near human settlements [64]. This is consistent with findings from Asian elephants in Sri Lanka [87] and Assam [88], where crop-raiding occurred almost exclusively at night. ...
... However, in the Peninsula, the hives of bees such as A. dorsata are usually out of reach of elephants, and even the lower-nesting A. florea are probably not attractive due to the aggressive stinging behaviour of Apis bees, which King et al. [124] have shown to be a deterrent of elephants in Sri Lanka. By comparison, there is a genus of stingless bees (Trigona spp.) that are found in crevices that are often low enough for elephants to reach, and we found that in Belum-Temengor the elephants attack the hives and eat the honey of these stingless bees when the opportunity arises [64]. ...
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Understanding the relationship between humans and elephants is of particular interest for reducing conflict and encouraging coexistence. This paper reviews the ecological relationship between humans and Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) in the rainforests of the Malay Peninsula, examining the extent of differentiation of spatio-temporal and trophic niches. We highlight the strategies that people and elephants use to partition an overlapping fundamental niche. When elephants are present, forest-dwelling people often build above-the-ground shelters; and when people are present, elephants avoid open areas during the day. People are able to access several foods that are out of reach of elephants or inedible; for example, people use water to leach poisons from tubers of wild yams, use blowpipes to kill arboreal game, and climb trees to access honey. We discuss how the transition to agriculture affected the human–elephant relationship by increasing the potential for competition. We conclude that the traditional foraging cultures of the Malay Peninsula are compatible with wildlife conservation.
... The ongoing transition of these communities into cash-based economies increases their risk of severe conflict with elephants (e.g. Lim, 2020). The exposure and vulnerability to HEC of smallholder communities tend to be very heterogenous, making them difficult to engage and coordinate. ...
... Our impression from interactions in the past 10 years is that HEC tolerance is high but declining among Orang Asli communities, rapidly increasing among commercial plantations and generally low among the smallholder communities (e.g. Tan et al. 2020, Lim, 2020. ...
... After more than six decades of independence, Malaysia has managed to reduce her poverty level to 3.8% in 2009 (Hatta and Ali, 2013), however many indigenous communities are still living below National hardcore poverty line (Saifullah et al., 2021). These communities often face crop depredation and other types of conflict with wild elephants, although most are still influence by their ancestor's culture that imbued respect for the elephants (Lim, 2018). By applying systems thinking on the problem tree, which helps to visualize the intricacies of interrelationships between factor (Mahajan et al., 2019), we recognized that with reduction of the poverty rate and as the larger society becomes more affluent (with an increase in profit), there are opportunities to shift the society's focus on human-centric development toward balanced development that supports wildlife conservation (Guérin et al., 2017;Tan et al., 2020) or toward a more eco-centric mindset (Taylor et al., 2020). ...
... Increase in tolerance and willingness to live alongside elephants Number or % of people willing to live alongside elephants increased. Based on comparison of baseline data and after intervention data.Ponnusamy et al., 2016;Tan, 2016;Lim, 2018;Tan et al., 2020.Smallholders1. Increase in wildlife-friendly practices on estates (i.e., setting aside movement corridors, removing snares, and stopping poachers)Number or % of people calling for translocation as HEC mitigation method reduces. ...
Article
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Theory of Change (ToC) and Social Return of Investment (SROI) are planning tools that help projects craft strategic approaches in order to create the most impact. In 2018, the Management & Ecology of Malaysian Elephants (MEME) carried out planning exercises using these tools to develop an Asian elephant conservation project with agriculture communities. First, a problem tree was constructed together with stakeholders, with issues arranged along a cause-and-effect continuum. There were 17 main issues identified, ranging from habitat connectivity and fragmentation, to the lack of tolerance toward wild elephants. All issues ultimately stemmed from a human mindset that favors human-centric development. The stakeholders recognize the need to extend conservation efforts beyond protected areas and move toward coexistence with agriculture communities for the survival of the wild elephants. We mapped previous Human-Elephant Conflict (HEC) management methods and other governmental policies in Malaysia against the problem tree, and provided an overview of the different groups of stakeholders. The ToC was developed and adapted for each entity, while including Asian elephants as a stakeholder in the project. From the SROI estimation, we extrapolated the intrinsic value of the wild Asian elephant population in Johor, Malaysia, to be conservatively worth at least MYR 7.3 million (USD 1.8 million) per year. From the overall calculations, the potential SROI value of the project is 18.96 within 5 years, meaning for every ringgit invested in the project, it generates MYR 18.96 (USD 4.74) worth of social return value. There are caveats with using these value estimations outside of the SROI context, which was thoroughly discussed. The SROI provides projects with the ability to justify to funders the social return values of its activities, which we have adapted to include the intrinsic value of an endangered megafauna. Moreover, SROI encourages projects to consider unintended impacts (i.e., replacement, displacement, and deadweight), and acknowledge contributions from stakeholders. The development of the problem tree and ToC via SROI approach, can help in clarifying priorities and encourage thinking out of the box. For this case study, we presented the thinking process, full framework and provided evidences to support the Theory of Change.
... There are no easy solutions to stop elephants from raiding crops once agriculture becomes the principal land use in the vicinity of elephant reserves (Santiapillai and Ramono, 1993). The five strategic phases of intervention suggested for mitigating human elephant conflicts (Lim, 2018) are: Overall, we found that the plantation industry did not develop species-specific policies. ...
Thesis
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The research provides a scientific synthesis of information on HEC encountered by SDPB Malaysia operations for the duration of 2011-2018. This research suggested that elephant depredation mostly occurs when the oil palm trees are below five years old, and the most damage takes place when the tree is one year old. The spatial distribution of highest HEC intensity and damage frequency occurred mostly in the area of entry point at estate borders and some were reduced with the application of mitigation. The temporal pattern of HEC in SDPB suggested that some estates showed a clear reduction in HEC when comparing HEC incidents before and after the year of electric fencing is in place but not for all. This concurred that an electric fence is useful when applied in the right conditions, but it may not be a solution for all HEC. Further research and observation are needed at respective estates of SDPB. The HEC pattern is not correlated with monthly rainfall. The total economic loss for the 8 years duration is RM24 million.
... For both these groups of Orang Asli, elephants are sentient beings and should only be killed when absolutely necessary (Lim 2019). Some Temiar do occasionally kill and eat crop-raiding elephants, but many communities have taboos related to hunting elephants and eating elephant meat (Bolton 1972). ...
Article
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This paper highlights the recent history of human-elephant relationships in Belum-Temengor, a priority site for elephant conservation and also home to indigenous people. In this site, the conservation of elephants often comes into conflict with measures taken to develop the land for the benefit of the people such as the creation of a hydroelectric dam, building a highway, and clearing the forest to plant rubber trees. We examine the history of elephants, the history of the people, and the history of the relationship between humans and elephants in this site. We find commonalities between the ways in which the authorities have treated both elephants and people, with paternalistic attempts at translocation and resettlement resulting in unintended consequences on both elephant conservation and economic development. We highlight conflicting government policies that set the stage for unprecedented levels of conflict between Orang Asli and elephants as human population densities increase and land use shifts towards permanent agriculture (particularly rubber plantations).
Chapter
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Chapter
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This book was funded by the EU 7th Framework Programme (7FP), TropicMicroArch 623293 Project (http://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/187754_en.html). The book will be Open Access, thanks to FP7 post-grant Open Access (https://www.openaire.eu/postgrantoapilot).
Book
The Living Elephants is the authoritative resource for information on both Asian and African elephants. From the ancient origins of the proboscideans to the present-day crisis of the living elephants, this volume synthesizes the behavior, ecology and conservation of elephants, while covering also the history of human interactions with elephants, all within the theoretical framework of evolutionary biology. The book begins with a survey of the 60-million year evolutionary history of the proboscideans emphasizing the role of climate and vegetation change in giving rise to a bewildering array of species, but also discussing the possible role of humans in the late Pleistocene extinction of mastodonts and mammoths. The latest information on the molecular genetics of African and Asian elephants and its taxonomic implications are then presented. The rise of the elephant culture in Asia, and its early demise in Africa are traced along with an original interpretation of this unique animal-human relationship. The book then moves on to the social life of elephants as it relates to reproductive strategies of males and females, development of behavior in young, communication, ranging patterns, and societal organization. The foraging strategies of elephants, their impact on the vegetation and landscape are then discussed. The dynamics of elephant populations in relation to hunting for ivory and their population viability are described with the aid of mathematical models. A detailed account of elephant-human interactions includes a treatment of crop depredation by elephants in relation to their natural ecology, manslaughter by elephants, habitat manipulation by humans, and a history of the ivory trade and poaching in the two continents. The ecological information is brought together in the final chapter to formulate a set of pragmatic recommendations for the long-term conservation of elephants. The broadest treatment of the subject yet undertaken, by one of the leading workers in the field, Raman Sukumar, the book promises to bring the understanding of elephants to a new level. It should be of interest not only to biologists but also a broader audience including field ecologists, wildlife administrators, historians, conservationists and all those interested in elephants and their future.
Chapter
Towards the end of the nineteenth century, with the advent of soil science, soils of the humid tropics were recognized as a separate entity called ‘tropical forest lateritic soils’. The term ‘lateritic’ was derived from laterite (Latin later, brick), a term coined by Buchanan (1807) to describe an iron-rich clay from south India which, when hardened upon exposure, was used as building material. Originally it was thought that laterite represented soil formations throughout the humid tropics, hence the generalization of the name to all red soils in the region. The great diversity of the tropical soils was realized only around the 1930s along with the limited areal occupation of laterite in the tropics. It was actually in Southeast Asia that Vageler (1930) and Mohr (1944) wrote the first two books on tropical soils, based essentially on their study of soils in Indonesia. The two volumes of Mohr’s book were published in Dutch in 1934–8. The English translation appeared in 1944. They attempted to classify soils of the tropics according to thickness, degree of weathering, parent material, and fertility. The understanding of the morphology, genesis, and distribution of soils in Southeast Asia evolved with the establishment and development of soil surveys in different countries of the region from the 1950s. A first overview was prepared by Dudal and Moormann (1964), using the 1938 and 1960 soil classification systems of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) (Baldwin, Kellogg, and Thorp 1938; Soil Survey Staff 1960). A revised version was in place by 1974 (Dudal, Moormann, and Riquier 1974). Preparation of a soil map of the world at a scale of 1:5 million started in 1961 at the initiative of the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO), UNESCO, and the International Society of Soil Science (ISSS). In 1974 a unified soil classification was prepared and published (FAO 1974). A volume was specifically devoted to Southeast Asia (FAO 1979). The present chapter is based on this publication, and reference should be made to it and the accompanying map (1:5 million) for detailed information about the soils of the region.