GAJAH LAMPUNG | PELESTARI

Summary

Syuhada from Braja Harjosari village near Way Kambas National Park shares his innovative approach to resolving the human-elephant conflict. As elephants often leave the park to forage on crops, leading to damage and tension with locals, Syuhada's solution involves peaceful coexistence through sustainable tourism and the use of modern technology like GPS tracking. His initiatives aim to balance community welfare and elephant conservation, providing a model for neighboring villages to follow in mitigating wildlife conflicts while benefiting from eco-tourism.

Takeaways

• 😀 The village of Braja Harjosari is located on the edge of Taman Nasional Way Kambas, a national park in Indonesia, making it a buffer zone village.
• 😀 As a buffer zone, Braja Harjosari faces human-elephant conflict, where wild elephants often damage crops grown by local farmers.
• 😀 Elephants are native to Sumatra and have lived in the region long before human settlements. However, their habitat is now mostly confined to the national park.
• 😀 Negative interactions, such as elephants eating crops, lead to conflicts, causing significant losses for farmers, like the 10 million Rupiah loss in 2012 from crop destruction.
• 😀 Local efforts to protect crops from elephants include using traditional methods like firecrackers and torches to scare the animals away.
• 😀 Syuhada, a local leader, has worked to find a solution that benefits both people and elephants by promoting eco-tourism and educating the community about conservation.
• 😀 Eco-tourism activities like river tours and elephant-watching have become a sustainable way for the community to benefit from their proximity to wildlife.
• 😀 Syuhada has emphasized the importance of balancing human activities with wildlife conservation, arguing that humans must protect nature as well as their own livelihoods.
• 😀 Technology, such as GPS tracking for elephants, is being utilized to monitor elephant movements and prevent further conflicts with local farmers.
• 😀 The community of Braja Harjosari now practices a form of co-existence with elephants, where eco-tourism creates a source of income while helping preserve wildlife.
• 😀 Syuhada’s initiatives have proven that it is possible to turn human-wildlife conflict into an opportunity for both economic development and conservation, creating a model for other villages in the region.

Q & A

What is the main role of Syuhada in the community?

Syuhada plays a key role in guiding visitors for river excursions and developing sustainable tourism initiatives in the Braja Harjosari village, located near the Way Kambas National Park. He works to balance human activities and elephant conservation.

What is the significance of Braja Harjosari village in relation to Way Kambas National Park?

Braja Harjosari is a 'buffer village' located on the outskirts of Way Kambas National Park. As a buffer village, it is positioned near the national park and faces potential conflicts between humans and wildlife, particularly elephants.

What challenges do the buffer villages face, specifically concerning elephants?

Buffer villages like Braja Harjosari face challenges when wild elephants, often coming from the national park, destroy crops and interact negatively with humans. This creates conflict as villagers try to protect their livelihoods.

How has the human-elephant conflict evolved in Lampung?

Historically, elephants have lived in Lampung before humans, with significant elephant populations in the region. However, as human settlements grew, the conflict intensified due to elephants eating crops and villagers trying to protect their lands.

What are the consequences of these conflicts for the villagers?

The villagers suffer from crop destruction, resulting in significant financial losses. For example, in 2012, a group of elephants destroyed nearly half a hectare of rice fields, causing a loss estimated at 10 million IDR.

What strategies do villagers use to repel wild elephants?

Villagers use a variety of traditional methods, such as lighting torches, setting off fireworks, and banging bamboo poles, to scare off elephants from their crops and villages.

What innovative approach has Syuhada introduced to address human-elephant conflict?

Syuhada introduced a more cooperative approach, where humans and elephants can coexist by promoting 'angon' (a Javanese term for grazing), where villagers monitor the elephants while engaging in their activities like farming, thus reducing direct conflict.

How does tourism play a role in the conflict resolution process?

Tourism offers a sustainable way to mitigate the human-elephant conflict by attracting visitors to observe wild elephants in their natural habitat, providing an economic benefit to the village and encouraging the protection of the elephants.

What are some of the initiatives Syuhada has developed to improve the local economy?

Syuhada has initiated river tours and established homestays in Braja Harjosari to promote eco-tourism. These activities provide income for locals and help them see elephants as a resource for tourism rather than a threat.

What is Syuhada’s vision for the future of buffer villages like Braja Harjosari?

Syuhada hopes that other buffer villages will develop their own unique tourism strategies and work towards sustainable livelihoods, balancing both the conservation of wildlife and the economic needs of the community.