Competing with elephants

SAHABAT Alam Malaysia (SAM) refers to the upcoming elephant sanctuary in Kota Tinggi, Johor, known as the Kampung Panti Elephant Sanctuary and another proposed sanctuary to be built in Hulu Perak. These two elephant sanctuaries are intended to address the human-elephant conflict in those areas but SAM is doubtful that sanctuaries are the best option to resolve the issue as well as the issue of elephant conservation.

In the absence of policy there is an overemphasis on the symptoms rather than the causes of the problem. Sanctuaries are not the only effective solution, and different approaches need to be integrated to address human-elephant conflict proactively.