19/04/2005 Wild Asian
elephants are confined to 13 contiguous countries
in South and Southeast Asia and are classified
as a globally threatened-endangered species.
Their continued existence is increasingly
threatened by habitat loss and degradation,
poaching, illegal trade in elephant products
and live animals, and capture of wild individuals
for use as work animals.
Lao PDR is considered to have the most important
national elephant population in Indochina
with viable numbers remaining in many areas.
The largest remaining extent of forest cover
in the region is located in Lao PDR providing
a strong foundation for habitat management
and protection.
Despite this potential, the capacity for
wildlife management is low and there is a
strong need to improve our understanding of
wildlife populations, habitat, and threats
to improve management of existing elephant
populations and to support emerging resource
use issues such as human-elephant conflict
(HEC).
To address these needs the WWF Lao Programme
is in the process of beginning a landscape
level elephant conservation project in Lao
PDR.
The Project, An assessment of elephants and
their habitats in Lower Mekong forests, is
supported by WWF-US, WWF-AREAS, and the US
Fish and Wildlife Service and will address
the following objectives:
* To determine the distribution of elephant
populations and elephant management issues
such as HEC and poaching in the Southern Mekong
Forest and around Xaygnabouly Province.
* To identify appropriate spatially-based
management and conservation measures.
* To develop guidelines for actions to prevent
human-elephant conflicts, and to react to
human-elephant conflicts as they occur.
* To improve national capacity for elephant
management issues.
The project will support the National Programme
for Integrating Elephant Management and Rural
Livelihood Improvement in Lao PDR which was
developed as a collaborative effort between
the Lao Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry,
the FAO, the UNDP, WWF, WCS and IUCN and is
currently under final review and approval
by the government of Lao PDR.
The National Programme will act as an umbrella
to consolidate all elephant conservation activities,
ensuring that they are supporting each other
towards a series of common goals.
