Poaching Crisis in Indonesia’s Leuser Ecosystem
Posted by International League of Conservation Photographers on July 21, 2014
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Text and photo from iLCP Fellow Paul Hilton.
UPDATE FROM THE FIELD: Paul Hilton and FKL Rangers Expose Wildlife Poaching in Sumatra’s Leuser Ecosystem
Last
week I went on patrol with Leuser Conservation Forum Rangers and Aceh
forestry staff trekking 60 to 70 kilometers into the Soraya district of
the Leuser Ecosystem, Sumatra, Indonesia. The team had been in this area
only 3 years before and it was teeming with life.
Right
now there’s more signs of death than there are life. In the 5 days I
helped the FKL rangers, we destroy 12 snares and we even caught up with
poachers – quite literally – carrying ropes and cables to set more
snares. The ranger worked hard to convince the poachers there are better
alternatives to committing these crimes and they report them to local
authorities, but without more funding to really revolutionize law
enforcement here, the poaching crisis is only going to get worse.
The lowest point of the assignment was when
we suddenly encountered a large clearing in the middle of the dense
forest, a two-day walk from the nearest settlement. This large patch of
ground, void of any trees, looked like a man-made clearing. But as our
eyes adjusted to the light, the surrounding damaged trees and trampled
bush gave it away: the struggle of a very large animal had created this
clearing. On the far side we found the remains of an adult Sumatran
elephant decomposing in a rusty snare – a complete skeleton, except for
its missing tusks.
What hit me hardest was seeing the extent
of the elephant’s struggle, so clear from the scene of battered
vegetation and splintered trees. How long had this elephant thrashed
around trying to break free from the tightening rope? When did its panic
give way to exhaustion? How long did it take to die? And were other
elephants there to see it?
Snare-traps are carefully and intentionally
designed for different species. This elephant, one of only about 500
left in the whole of the Leuser Ecosystem, died a slow agonizing death
for the sake of the price tag on its tusks. As elephant habitat shrinks
with continued illegal encroachment into the nationally protected Leuser
Ecosystem, human settlements, palm oil plantations and roads
increasingly block the Sumatran elephants’ forest migration routes.
Habitat loss, poaching and conflict with humans combine to see more and
more elephants displaced, snared, shot and poisoned as they attempt to
travel along the migration corridors their herds have been following for
generations. The dry season just started in Aceh and that means the
peak season for poaching. As river levels drop the poachers can access
the forests all too easily. Endangered species like the majestic
Sumatran elephant cannot withstand another killing season this year.
The International Elephant Project, Wildlife Asia
and the NGO HAkA are working together to support the work of these 60
FKL rangers. They have years of experience and dedication that is
second-to-none. Yet these small local NGOs with 60 men on the ground are
trying to protect the 2.6 million hectares of the Leuser Ecosystem
against incredible pressures. This ecosystem is the smallest possible
area remaining which can support viable populations of Sumatra’s iconic
mega-fauna. With a modest regular donation to the International Elephant
Project you can help keep the FKL ranger teams doing this critical work
on the ground. They rely on your support to increase their presence
across the Leuser Ecosystem. Join me in helping to fight the poaching
crisis now.
Sumber :http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2014/07/21/poaching-crisis-in-indonesias-leuser-ecosystem/
