PRESS PRESS
Meeting IUCN-Asian Elephant Specialist Group IX
held in Bangkok
IUCN-Asian Elephant Specialist Group meeting was held in Bangkok
Bangkok, 27/04 / 18.As one of the organizations under IUCN (world conservation agency), Asian Elephant Specialist Group (AsESG) holds its annual meeting in Bangkok, Thailand on 25-28 April 2018. The organization, which consists of Asian elephant conservation specialists, also involves government representatives from each Asian country that has elephant populations.
Thailand's Minister of Natural Resources and Environment General SurasakKarnjanarat in his speech stated that long-term conservation and protection of Asian elephants can only be achieved through a good conservation balance and management strategy. Thailand has developed a Twenty Years Master Plan for Elephant Conservation to ensure best practices for the conservation of wild elephants and tame elephants on an ongoing basis. "This meeting will serve as a platform not only to discuss actions taken, to identify the priorities and challenges needed to address Asian Elephant conservation issues but also to strengthen collaboration to protect Asian elephants in the future," he said.
"It's exciting to see the diversity of expertise with high dedication among AsESG members. As a group of scientists and experts, it is our duty to use these attributes to ensure the survival of Asian elephants for future generations, "said Vivek Menon, Chair of IUCN-AsESG. The Indonesian government delegation was also represented by Puja Utama Kasubdit Pengawetan KKH, Directorate of KKH, Directorate General of KSDAE - Ministry of Environment and Forestry of Indonesia to convey an update from Indonesia on the status of elephant conservation in Indonesia to get input from conservation experts. Puja said that Indonesia is finalizing a revision of the document of strategy and action plan of Sumatran elephant conservation and Kalimantan elephant and targeted to be completed this year for the duration of 10 years ahead, considering that the last document has expired in the year 2017. Indonesia is one of the few countries that have a strategy document and action plan and has entered the second 10-year cycle.
Puja also outlines that one of the biggest challenges is the loss of elephant habitat as it is converted to various developmental purposes, which ultimately leads to increased incidents of conflict between humans and elephants. But it is also mentioned that Indonesia is making efforts to manage the habitats and populations of elephants actively so that conflicts can be minimized, so that elephants and humans can coexist more harmoniously. Puja mentions several breakthroughs being undertaken by the provinces of Aceh, Bengkulu and Lampung by establishing several areas of elephant protection involving local governments and applying various methods including barrier strategies to strengthen elephant habitat management schemes, in addition to building teams dedicated to responding to conflicts and as the forerunner of habitat management and elephant population at the tread level. Indonesia itself, especially the various regions have been and are experiencing quite severe problems with elephant conflict with community cultivation land. In some cases the elephants are in fact no habitat shortage, only collaborative management of the habitat is required between central conservation authorities and local and private governments that are not land holders where wild elephants are located.
Meanwhile, a member of the IUCN Asian elephant specialist group (AsESG) from Indonesia Wahdi Azmijuga was asked to report and develop from the Asian Elephant Range State Meeting (ASERSM) meeting held in Jakarta last year in Jakarta . Wahdi who was accompanied by Heidi Riddle Donny Gunaryadi from the Indonesian Elephant Conservation Forum (FKGI) submitted the results and follow-up on the holding of the two high-level government meetings after ten years of being held for the first time in Malaysia in 2006. Wahdi underlined that at the AsERSM meeting it has become a milestone history where for the first time government representatives in Asia gave birth to an elephant conservation declaration called "The Jakarta Declaration for Asian Elephant Conservation" where the declaration sets priorities and agendas with Asian governments.
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