Indonesian men ride on Sumatran elephants as they patrol though dense jungle in the west of the tropical archipelago, warriors on the front line of the fight against illegal logging and poaching.
They trek alongside rivers, over rough terrain and deep into the rainforest in an area that is home to numerous endangered species, from orangutans to tigers, but which has suffered devastating deforestation in recent years.
Indonesia has large swaths of tropical forest but vast tracts are being felled to make way for palm oil and pulp and paper plantations, destroying biodiverse habitats and adding to greenhouse gas emissions.
Photo: AFP
Much of the logging that takes place is illegal as it happens outside concessions granted to companies, but it is hard for authorities to keep track.
Poaching is also common, with elephants killed for their ivory and tigers for their pelts. The elephant patrol project, run with communities in the Trumon District of Aceh Province, on Sumatra Island, aims to give a helping hand.
It employs local men as mahouts, or elephant-keepers, who keep a lookout for illegal logging and poaching and report it to authorities to follow up.
Hendra Masrijal, 33, quit his job as a food vendor to become a mahout. He is among a group of around about 25 keepers involved in the scheme — including former separatists who fought against the central government until a peace deal was struck a decade ago.
“It makes me sad when I see pictures of elephants killed by poachers for their tusks,” Masrijal told reporters. “Their habitat is also being encroached [on] by farmers and villagers.”
The patrols deep into the jungle last between two and seven days, with mahouts normally spending 15 to 20 days per month on expeditions.
The initiative covers a vast area of 27,000 hectares called the “Trumon Wildlife Corridor,” which lies between two conservation areas.
Authorities are currently trying to push through legislation to give it protected status. As well as keeping a watch for logging and poaching, the program has staff who provide training to local communities and develop ecotourism to give villagers who have traditionally lived off illegal practices an alternative livelihood.
USAID has funded the expansion of the project for about a year, with USAID spokeswoman Tisna Nando saying that communities were “enthusiastic” about the initiative.
“They see that they can actually benefit economically from protecting the forest in the area, rather than cutting it down,” she told reporters.
A study published last year in the journal Nature Climate Change showed that Indonesia had for the first time surpassed Brazil in its rate of tropical forest clearance, despite a moratorium on new logging permits imposed several years ago.
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