TERF Information
On Conservation & Elephants – The Views of Senator Kriasak
Senator Kriasak Choonhaven is renowned throughout Thailand as the often candid Senator for Foreign Affairs. He is also a well-known advocate of conservation and the protection of wildlife.
“How can wildlife conservation not be important?” Senator Kriasak demands when asked why he is such a strong supporter of conservation.
“Without the wildlife how can the forest maintain itself? The forest is vital for Thailand – it provides us with water for agriculture, for use in our homes and industry and for us to drink. Thailand’s forests are amongst the most bio-diverse on earth, such biodiversity is the origin of many of our foods and medicines. In fact, the interaction between flora and fauna and the conservation of this, is of utmost importance for the social well being of Thailand, and indeed the world.”
Senator Kriasak does not only promote environmental causes through his formal work, he is 
also the Chairman of a number of environmental and community organisations including the Wild Elephant Research and Rescue Fund (WERF), the General Chartichai Choonhaven Foundation, and WildAid.
Large animals that require considerable space, food and water, like elephants, are used by scientists as indicators of the overall health of the forest. Despite the elephant being Thailand’s national emblem, Senator Kriasak points out that surprisingly little is known about these animals in the wild.
“In Thailand, the elephant has traditionally been revered as a regal animal used by the aristocracy in war and as a beast of burden. So in Thai culture a good elephant is a tame elephant – one that can be touched, trained and used. But we have never studied them in their place of origin – the forest. We know so little about the wild elephants. We cannot even answer the basic questions like how many elephants are there in Thailand’s national parks and wildlife sanctuaries? The estimates are between 1000 and 2000 – the huge difference between these numbers illustrates how poor the estimate is. We don’t know how the elephants have been affected by continued human incursion on the forests over the last few decades. We don’t know whether increased tourism in national parks is affecting them or even how many are poached or captured for use in domesticity. The killing of elephants for tusks and meat does still occur, though it is on the decline. How do poaching and the capture of wild elephants for domestication affect the numbers that are left in the wild? We don’t know. However, it is likely that numbers of wild elephant are decreasing.”
“We have little knowledge or understanding of the requirements of wild elephants or if the forests they live in provide sufficient food and water for them. Are they breeding successfully in all of the places that they are found? We don’t know. Does inbreeding occur in any of the smaller populations that are isolated in island forests? What effects would inbreeding have on long-term survival of the elephants? We don’t know.”
This lack of knowledge of Thailand’s beloved elephant led Senator Kriasak to support the first organisation in Thailand set up solely for the purpose researching and conserving wild elephants – the Wild Elephant Research Fund.
“There are at least a dozen organisations in Thailand which focus on looking after domestic elephants in some way and these are well supported by both the Thai and international community. Thai’s seem to prefer to support animals that they can see and visit and this, in Senator Kriasak’s view, is one reason why wildlife research is not well supported by the Thai populace – they can’t see or have easy access to the animals in the wild.”
So, why is it important to know about the way of life of the wild elephant?
“Without knowledge of elephants in the wild, we do not know anything about elephants” returns Senator Kriasak.
“The domesticated elephant just doesn’t behave anything like a wild one – when it is hungry humans feed it. When it is injured, we take it to the hospital.”
What is the Senator’s organisation, WERF, doing to rectify these problems?
WERF has three main aims
- The Conservation of wild elephants through interdisciplinary research and use of traditional local knowledge.
- Enabling public participation in elephant conservation through education, awareness raising and encouraging positive action.
- Working with others from Thailand and around the world for the benefit of wild elephants
WERF has been studying the elephants in Khao Yai National Park, focusing primarily on observing the social interactions and behaviour of the elephants that can be seen along the roads in Khao Yai. In addition to making scientific records of the elephants, the research team also filmed the elephants to enable others to have the chance to see Thailand’s wild elephants in the forest for themselves, from the comfort of their living room.
“Now, the Thai public has an opportunity to see for themselves exactly what Khao Yai’s elephant’s get up to. Twice a week, with the generous sponsorship of Chang Beverages Public Company, ITV is running a short spot on the elephants during its early evening news and for the first time, Thai people can see and learn about Thailand’s wild elephants as a result of research carried out in Thailand, but Thai people. We can see elephants behaving naturally – feeding, resting, drinking, playing, fighting, courting, mating and raising their young. These pictures are not easy to acquire – research and good photography take great patience and a lot of time. First the researchers need to habituate the elephants – get them used to having researchers and their vehicle, lights and noises in a way that does not upset or disturb the elephants. The researchers’ aim is to be able to observe the elephants behaving as elephants and totally ignoring their human spectators. Pictures like this one of elephants mating take many days of waiting and following the elephants and quite a bit of luck. We hope that in addition to raising people’s awareness about the wild elephants, these TV short spots will increase interest in wildlife research amongst Thais.”
“WERF wants to build an appreciation for elephants and wildlife amongst Thai people, so that we respect these animals when we see them in the national parks. Often, when tourists are lucky enough too see elephants in Khao Yai, they great the pachyderms with loud shouts and screams, which surely must upset the large animals. Hopefully, through learning more about the elephants people will understand more about them and stop this disturbing behaviour.”
“Man is the elephant’s main enemy – we encroach upon their forest home and kill them for meat, ivory and pleasure. Wild elephants are most often in the news when they misbehave – they leave the forests and feed on farmland, damaging crops and sometimes injuring people. But why do the elephants do this? This is another area that WERF is studying in Khao Yai. To understand why elephants leave the protection of the forest to feed on farmland, we need to understand about their requirements and whether these needs are met within that area of forest. Is there sufficient food? Is water available at all times? How has the forest (and so the elephants’ home area) changed over time? These questions need to be answered and solutions found to enable man and animal to live together.”
“WERF collaborates with many organisations, both locally and internationally. We work closely with Park Officials and staff and would like to thank them for their kind assistance and interest in our research. We also collaborate with Wildlife Fund Thailand, WildAid and the Smithsonian Institute, the latter having provided research advice and funding.”
“Last October, at the CITES Conference in Bangkok, Thailand announced that it would become part of the CITES Monitoring of the Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE) programme, the first stage of which is carrying out scientific research into the number of elephants in key protected areas. Though Khao Yai is not one of these key areas in the first phase of research, it is listed on the second phase. WERF is liaising with MIKE to ensure that our research is to their internationally agreed standards and so that our estimate of elephant abundance in Khao Yai can be used by MIKE and the Thai government as an accurate baseline for future monitoring.”
Senator Kriasak intends that WERF continues to develop and build on its’ research and most importantly share and disseminate the results of the research to the wider Thai public and particularly to officers in charge of Khao Yai and other national parks with elephants. “These officials need scientifically accurate information to help them cope with continued pressure from tourism development, poaching and development.”
“Another area where wildlife research has role to play is assessing the impact of mega projects on wildlife and forests. Khao Yai has just received the internationally recognised honour of becoming part of the Dong-Payayen Khao Yai Forest Complex World Heritage Site, specifically for its biodiversity and the large number of endangered animals that live within the Complex. This is an honour for our national parks department and also the many other groups involved, including conservation organsiations, academics and the general public through their support for conservation. Ironically, shortly after receiving this status, the government proposes the construction of two large dams within the Complex and a major road that might well run through part of it. These mega-developments would seriously affect the integrity of this new World Heritage Site and the Senator feels that if these developments went ahead, UNESCO and the World Heritage Body would quite rightfully strip the DPKY Forest Complex of its world heritage site status. Such an event would be a national embarrassment in the face of the world community.”
Senator Kriasak believes that Thai people increasingly realise that Thailand’s forests need our protection and that our national parks need to be kept in the best state, however this cannot be done by the government officials alone.
“People living in or next to forests and protected areas need to be actively involved in the conservation of these wild lands. Farmers and developers who encroach into forests and national parks need to be told to stop – that this behaviour cannot continue – that the government can no longer give an inch. They need to realise that they need the forests for the water they provide and the biodiversity that helps to sustain life on earth. The tourist industry, always the first to find a way to make money from national parks and Thailand’s natural resources, needs to change so that tourism does not damage the natural areas. This is perhaps another area where conservation organisations need to be more active.”
“In fact, I would like to see a three way communication between the conservation organisations, the communities around protected areas and the officials in charge of protected areas and a standardized system of communication and participation in the conservation of Thailand’s wildlife and protected areas established.” continued the Senator.
“Conservation in Thailand needs to be brought to world standards. This means that those who use nature in any way, be it for making a living, for tourism, for research and conservation, need to collaborate closely with each other on a regular basis. This is the only way that people can live with wildlife and the forest.