Wildlife expert makes bold move to protect elephants using unconventional method: 'We need to create a consortium'
Dr. Farina Othman's unconventional plan to save the world's smallest elephants in Malaysia is also benefiting the farming communities experiencing increased conflicts with the creatures.
As detailed by CNN, Dr. Othman founded the conservation organization Seratu Aatai in 2018 to raise awareness about the plight of the Bornean elephant, an endangered species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List.
Extensive habitat loss — primarily due to logging and palm oil plantations — has led to more human-elephant interactions, resulting in damaged crops and buildings along with the deaths of more than 100 elephants from retribution killings and accidental poisonings.
Dr. Othman told CNN that many farmers held a "not in my backyard" attitude when it came to dealing with the creatures. However, they also understood that elephants play a vital role in the natural world, acting as ecosystem engineers as they spread seeds through their droppings.
That common ground served as a launching point for wildlife corridors, which can help wildlife move safely from Point A to Point B while also reducing the possibility of human-animal conflict.
"As planters, they actually know the need of preserving biodiversity and also the health of the soil, because this is all contributing back to the trees that they're planting," Dr. Othman said.
Now, a number of farmers are planting native trees alongside their oil palms, and they are incorporating plants elephants like to eat on the preferred corridor routes.
Othman and her team also plan to educate larger plantations on sustainable farming and pest control as they eye reducing the number of unintentional poisonings.
This spring, the Whitley Fund for Nature honored Dr. Othman for her "elephant-friendly" approach to fostering coexistence, which may inspire a new generation of companies and individuals to take action and invest in supporting and protecting endangered animals like the Bornean elephant.
Dr. Othman hopes her efforts will ultimately result in a protected corridor network. "If only one plantation wants to do this, it won't work. We need to create a consortium of several plantations so that we can connect this corridor back to the wildlife sanctuary," she told CNN.
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In a video for the Whitley Award's April 30 event, she also shared she is "super optimistic" about the future of the Bornean elephants — and the communities near where they reside.
"The road ahead is long and bumpy, but something is changing," Dr. Othman said in a letter dedicated to the elephants at the awards ceremony, where she was presented with the £50,000 prize (around $56,705). "Many people are opening their mind and most importantly their heart."
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