Community perception around plantation forest area in Ulak Kedondong Village, towards Sumatran elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus) disturbance

Abstract

The populations of Sumatran elephant are decreasing as the elephant are mostly killed in the conflict triggered by elephant disturbances to the community fields and gardens. Research on human-elephant conflict around Plantation Forest Area (PFA) was conducted in Ulak Kedondong Village, Cengal District, OKI Regency, from August to November 2017. The aim of the research was to determine elephant disturbances, perception and socioeconomic characteristic of the community toward elephant conservation value. Purposive random sampling was used to determine the respondents to be interviewed by using structured questionary. The results showed that the PFA area and community gardens of Ulak Kedondong Village in Cengal District were often suffered from elephant disturbances. The communities education level are mostly elementary school graduates (51.6%) and only 9.68% are high school graduates. The majority of respondents have the main occupation as farmers (88.9%). Elephant disturbances in the villages cause damage to community gardens especially rubber plantation leading to economic losses. The existence of elephant disturbances influence the community perceptions to the conservation of elephant negatively, as indicated by 91.7% of respondents stating that elephants are harmful and not useful. To minimize conflict, increasing feed availabilities through habitat enhancement are urgently needed.