PUTRAJAYA: The Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Ministry (NRES) will strengthen measures to reduce human-elephant conflict following the death of a calf struck by a vehicle in Mersing, Johor.
Its plans include 21 additional elephant food banks, expanded mitigation efforts, and improved habitat management, said Minister Datuk Seri Arthur Joseph Kurup.
He said the ministry viewed the incident seriously and had instructed the Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) to take immediate action.
Expressing sadness over the incident, he said it highlighted the need for a balanced approach between development, public safety and wildlife conservation.
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"Human-wildlife conflict is caused by various interconnected factors, including shrinking, fragmented and degraded natural habitats due to land clearing, infrastructure development, agricultural activities and changes in land use.
"These developments disrupt the elephants' traditional movement routes, increasing the likelihood of encounters with humans," he said in a statement on Friday (July 3).
Arthur said crops such as oil palm, bananas and sugar cane also lured elephants out of their natural habitat, leading to more frequent conflicts.
He said Perhilitan recorded 76,361 human-wildlife conflict complaints nationwide between 2021 and May this year, involving estimated losses of RM58.7mil.
To address the issue, Arthur said the ministry was implementing several mitigation measures through the Ecological Fiscal Transfer for Biodiversity Conservation (EFT) initiative.
These include installing Elephant Electric Fence Systems (SPEG) in high-risk areas to protect nearby communities and developing the Johor Elephant Sanctuary (JES) in phases to improve habitat management.
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He said the ministry also planned to establish 21 additional elephant food banks in Johor, on top of the existing three, to reduce the animals' movement into residential and agricultural areas.
Arthur added that the government would continue providing financial assistance under the Wildlife Attack Compensation Initiative (BKHT) scheme to owners who suffered losses caused by wildlife, including elephants.
He said NRES was also stepping up elephant translocation operations, developing wildlife corridors, conducting research and implementing the National Elephant Conservation Action Plan (Necap) 2.0 to ensure a more effective and sustainable response to human-elephant conflict.
Arthur urged all parties to work together in addressing the issue, saying the recent incident should not be viewed in isolation but as a reminder of the need to balance development with the conservation of wildlife.
