A herd of wild elephants spotted in a National Protected Area in Xayaboury province. - VT
VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/Asia News Network): Images of a herd of wild elephants on the banks of a river in the Nam Poui National Protected Area in Xayaboury province, which appeared on social media recently, are seen as a positive sign in efforts to increase the elephant population.
The Nam Poui National Protected Area is located in Xayaboury province in northwest Laos. This 1,912-km2 site was identified as a top priority for elephant conservation by the government at a national elephant conservation meeting in 2008.
WWF-Laos and the Lao government have been working on elephant issues in Laos since 2005, but given the government’s prioritisation of Nam Poui, WWF-Laos set out to develop a project in the protected area.
In 2010, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the project, with the overall goal of integrating elephant issues into provincial planning.
WWF-Laos said threats to elephants include loss of habitat, as a growing human population results in encroachment into forested areas that have been the animals’ home for centuries.
As this occurs, elephants may wander from the forest onto farmers’ land, destroying crops and damaging property, leading to human-elephant conflict.
Habitat loss also creates the danger that elephants are unable to follow ancient migratory routes. Small, fragmented populations then become isolated, unable to connect with other herds and in some cases this leads to inbreeding. One of the greatest consequences of this is low breeding success and high juvenile mortality.
Poaching too remains a serious problem, with demand for ivory and hides in countries such as China fuelling illegal activities.
There are between 50 to 60 wild elephants in Nam Poui. Conservation patrol staff in the National Protected Area use SMART, or the Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool, to measure the effectiveness of their activities. This allows them to plot their patrol routes and input data on what they find, such as illegal hunting camps and logging operations
The organisers of the annual Elephant Festival in Xayaboury province, which this year takes place from February 18 to 20, said 75 elephants will take part and be on display to the public.
The popular event serves to raise awareness of threats to the elephant population and to encourage local people to do their best to conserve this iconic species to prevent the total loss of herds in Laos.
