To mark National Elephant Day -- which is celebrated every year on March 13 -- the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has rolled out a conservation plan to protect elephants. The highlight of this year's celebrations was a scheme by the Department of National Parks and Wildlife to develop "training centres" to tame "angry elephants", according to Attapon Charoenchansa, director-general of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP).
Under the scheme, training centres will be built at Khao Ang Ruenai Wildlife Sanctuary, which extends over adjoining forests in Chachoengsao, Chon Buri, Prachin Buri, Rayong and Sa Kaeo provinces. This forest complex is known as a flashpoint area where a number of incidents have been reported involving wild elephants roaming around farming communities, causing injuries and even deaths.
In the future, the department will develop similar centres in other areas, such as Salakpra Wildlife Sanctuary in Kanchanaburi province, Phuluang Wildlife Sanctuary in Loei, Khlong Saeng Wildlife Sanctuary in Surat Thani and Dong Yai Wildlife Sanctuary in Buri Ram.
The scheme is part of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment's response to the problem. Since 2015, wild elephants attacked and killed 221 people, according to the DNP. The problem is expected to rise as the birth rate of wild elephants has risen by 8% in 16 forest areas and complexes across the country. The area with the highest wild elephant population is the eastern forest complex, where the birth rate exceeds 10% yearly.
Meanwhile, the area of forest spaces -- particularly where food sources for these wild jumbos can be found -- has severely diminished. In a search for more food and water, wild elephants stray into farming communities, and that's when confrontations can become deadly.
The DNP has tried many solutions -- such as building fences. The attempts failed as elephants often damaged the fences and even found ways to escape.
Therefore, the DNP came up with the idea of "training centres" as a solution. While the project has good intentions and could be useful, the problem still won't just go away. At the training centres, angry wild jumbos will be detained and released only when they learn to "coexist peacefully" with people.
While the centres can pacify angry jumbos and train them to co-exist with humans, the big question remains: What will happen when they return to the jungle and again are faced with the same problem, where they lack food and adequate forest areas to roam about? How will these "trained" but wild jumbos react when tourism brings its heavy traffic, loud noises and a multitude of activities? How will these wild jumbos react when forest areas are declared as Sor Por Kor land and are then developed into commercial areas?
Of course, the training centres can serve as good for emergency rescues, but they are just a short-term band-aid solution. What wild jumbos need is a buffer zone -- like the successful one at Kui Buri National Park in Prachuap Khiri Khan province, where a large area of shrubland is being created as a buffer zone that also offers food sources for wild animals. Kui Buri National Park indeed has become a tourism magnet -- known as a safari spot for local and foreign tourists to watch wild elephants and gaurs.
That said, the crux of the problem is not the "angry elephants"; it is the humans who invaded the territory of these wild animals. Without solving this issue, the wild jumbos will only get angrier.