21 Dec 2007 - Decade long
conflicts between humans and elephants have
been partly resolved at Kuiburi National Park
in Thailand as a result of innovative strategies
introduced into forest management practices.
A decade ago conflict was rife in Kuiburi
National Park, Prachuap Khiri Khan Province
in south west Thailand bordering Myanmar.
News of as many as 120 elephants entering
neighboring agricultural lands and wild elephants
killed by poisoning gave the issue and site
a high profile in the media.
Since then WWF Thailand has stepped up its
efforts to set clear and achievable goals
to work with administrative bodies and address
the core of the problem by using participatory
approaches in land management and bolstering
local Wild Elephant Management Committee to
end the conflicts and achieve long term conservation
goals.
It came as a result of a series of dialogues
and intensive work to better understand the
dynamics of the conflict under a project called
“Strengthening Management for a Key Population
of Elephants at Kuiburi National Park in the
Tenasserim Range” between the Department of
National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation,
Kuiburi National Park and WWF Greater Mekong’s
Forest Resources Management Unit (Thailand
Country Program) and was funded by WWF US
and US Fish and Wildlife Service.
The project gave rise to two sub-committees
looking after planning and management of elephants
inside and outside Kuiburi National Park area.
A year after the projects implementation,
there is better cooperation between the stakeholders
(comprising of pineapple farmers, local administrative
bodies, WWF Thailand, local NGOs and Kuiburi
National Park) in looking for better ways
to end the human elephant conflict. As a result,
news of conflict from the area has considerably
lessened.
One of the pineapple farmers who now serves
as a member in Kuiburi National Park Advisory
Board, Sing Suebsuttha said, “It is successful
now because all stakeholders offer more cooperation
and talk more. In the past, villagers rarely
talked to the authorities. Government officials
in different departments did not talk among
themselves either. So, the problem persisted.
Now, villagers’ farms including mine, are
disturbed by elephants less than before. However,
we still need to strengthen and increase cooperation.”
In the past, authorities tried to grow more
trees and force wild elephants back into the
forest with little success. Today, new approaches
involving participation and cooperation from
local farmers and community leaders have eased
and improved the situation.
WWF has set a long term goal to push for
more dialogues and cooperation between networks
of government and non governmental organizations
in Thailand for active involvement in managing
the forests and conserving wildlife.
Notes
• Kuiburi National Park is a part of Kaengkrachan-Kuiburi
forest complex containing 4 reserves (Kaeng
Krachan National Park, Kuiburi National Park,
Chalerm Phrakiat Thai Prachan National Park,
and Pha Chi Wildlife Sanctuary). Around 120-140
wild elephants are found in Kuiburi National
Park and an estimated 100-200 live in Kaeng
Krachan National Park. No elephants are found
today in Chalerm Phrakiat Thai Prachan National
Park or Pha Chi Wildlife Sanctuary, although
there is evidence that suggest elephants once
lived in these areas.
• Problems of conflict between human and elephants
at Kuiburi and Kaeng Krachan reflected other
bigger and prolonged problems of forest encroachment,
wildlife poaching and unsustainable use of
forest resources by nearby communities.
• Kaeng Krachan-Kuiburi Forest Complex is
an important corridor to connect different
forests to avoid inbreeding among wild animals
especially large mammals, and the larger forest
areas can bring an end to human-animal conflict,
poaching, and forest encroachment. It also
serves as an area to preserve Thailand’s fresh
water crocodiles (Crocodylus siamensis) and
other endangered species.
• A target forest area under the project called
Monitoring the Illegal Trade of Elephants
– MIKE was approved by a committee of the
Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora in March 1999.
For more information contact
Supol Jitvijak
Head
Forest Resources Management Unit
WWF Greater Mekong
Thailand Country Programm
