The ECN Newsletter Vol. 4 Issue 2: 2008

In This Issue1. Conservation grant2. New HEC publication3. Electric fence project4. Chiang Mai study trip5. Man & Nature festival6. Helping deter crop­raids7. Ranger kit funding8. ECN's new office

ECN Mission

ECN is a small non­profitorganisation which relies on

grants and privatedonations to do its work.Any financial support yougive will be gratefully

received

Dear Friends and Supporters,

We've been furiously busy here in west Thailand,wrapping up some projects while preparing newones with local partners. Much effort has gone intoanalyzing the different sets of data we've collectedin the last two years, from monitoring crop­raidingand crop­protection trials, to land use mappingand forest surveys. Some interesting results areemerging, including the fact that most crop­raidsoccur on traditional elephant routes to the RiverKwae Yai (disrupted by the Srinakarin Dam); 96%of raids are by bull elephants; and key tracts of land between the sanctuaryand river are owned by absentee landlords who acquired them asinvestments a decade or so ago.

It is thrilling to be supported again by Japan's Keidanren Foundation, andwe are delighted that local councils will help fund community electricfencing. Also many, many thanks to those of you who helped us buy patrolequipment for the rangers of Tham Than Lod National Park. We, and they,appreciate your kindness. It has greatly boosted their efficacy and morale.

Our best wishes to you all, Belinda Stewart­Cox ECN Director

1. Keidanren supports another project

The ECN team and colleagues atZSL are delighted to be the recipientsof another grant from Japan'sKeidanren Nature ConservationFund. For the new project, ECN willteam up with the Forest Researchand Restoration Unit (FORRU) ofChiang Mai University in northThailand to establish a FORRU­WestThailand. The aim is to provide the

ECN's Jittin and Belinda on a FORRU­CMUsite visit after FAO's 2007 Future of Forests

meeting

Cover of the FFI Conservation Report

A cooperative effort by villagers, Salakpra, and ECN to erect an electricfence between the forest and the

knowledge base and technical skillsfor local communities to help restorenatural forest in degraded areasinside Salakpra and on community­owned land around it. Building onFORRU­CMU's experience ofcommunity­based forest restoration,the project's first year will entailworkshops with local participants;forest surveys led by FORRU'sresident botanist; training courses inChiang Mai and Kanchanaburi;establishing a tree nursery;conducting phenology surveys; andmonitoring tree seedling growth toidentify the best 'framework' species.The project will be managed by Tidarach (Joy) Toktang, an MSc graduatewho is joining ECN from FORRU­Chiang Mai.

2. New HEC publication with ECN paper

In April, Fauna & Flora International(FFI) published proceedings from thehuman­elephant conflict (HEC)workshop held in Kenya in 2006.Entitled 'Mitigating Human­ElephantConflict: Case Studies from Africaand Asia', the report was edited by DrMatt Walpole, of FFI, and Dr MatthewLinkie, of the Durrell Institute ofConservation and Ecology (DICE).The workshop was planned as part ofECN's HEC mitigation project fundedby the Darwin Initiative, and wasorganised for ECN by Matt Walpoleand Dr Noah Sitati, both of whomhave been valued advisors to ECNsince 2004. The report contains ninepapers by HEC researchers in Africaand one by ECN's project leaders.The workshop was also supported by the Zoological Society of London,WWF, Frankfurt Zoological Society, Kenya Wildlife Service and the DutchMinistry of Foreign Affairs.

3. ECN advises community fence project

In June, ECN staff got together with50 villagers from Wang Dong andChong Sadao sub­districts andSalakpra staff to plan construction ofa 15­kilometre electric fence alongthe sanctuary boundary. "The fencewill be a double benefit ­­ deterringelephant from raiding crops (andrisking retaliation from villagers) whilealso protecting elephant habitat,according to Jittin Ritthirat, ECN'scommunity coordinator. "Apart fromprotecting crops, and thereforeelephants, the fence should also

village of Tha Sanun

ECN's Tu planting seedlings with Mr.Wasant, headman of Kaeng Plakod village

Mon describes ECN's conservation effortsto visitors at the festival.

reduce human pressure on theforest."

A fence supplier joined the on­site discussion, but villagers decided to domost of the work themselves, under professional supervision, from makingthe concrete posts to erecting them and the electric lines. Several villagerswill also be trained in fence maintenance, repair, and long­termmanagement. The estimated cost of construction is 4.5 million baht($132,000). With a budget of only 600,000 baht ($18,000) from localgovernment, villagers are now seeking funds to complete this much valuedproject. If you would like to help, please contact us or donate using PayPal.

4. Study trip to FORRU­Chiang Mai

In late June, ECN staff Gip, Mon, andTu accompanied two Salakprarangers and four community leadersto a 'planting day' in Doi Suthep­PuiNational Park near Chiang Mai.Despite being a protected area, landinside the park has been cleared byresident villagers using slash­and­burn. Ten years ago, they decided torestore native forest on land abovetheir village, Ban Mae Sa Mai, whenthey realised that forest clearancewas taking its toll on their watersupply.

Villagers now plant native treesaplings once a year at the start of the wet season, helped by local schoolchildren and other supportive visitors. Tidarach Toktang (Joy) facilitated thetrip with FORRU­CMU which originally trained the villagers in nursery andforest restoration techniques, including monitoring seedling survival. Byjoining this undertaking for three days and staying with local villagers, ECNstaff and their colleagues gained valuable insights into the do's and don'ts ofhabitat restoration and community conservation. "It was a really worthwhiletrip" said Mr. Wasant Sunjirat, headman of Kaeng Plakod village. "We canuse what we learned when we implement our own forest restoration projectswith Salakpra."

5. Man & Nature music festival in Kanchanaburi

Chatting over noodles at a classicstreet stall, ECN' s Belinda Stewart­Cox and singer­songwriter turned TVpersonality, Todd Lavelle (LavelleEntertainment), hatched a plan for a'Man and Nature Music Festival' inKanchanaburi. Held beside thehistoric River Kwai Bridge at the endof May, the festival was organised byTodd and his team with help fromECN and its tourism partner JumboTravel. The three­day festivalconsisted of lively seminars aboutforest, wildlife, and conservation,followed by heady nights of worldmusic and cultural plays performedby local teenagers. ECN had a prominent booth at the fair, providing a greatopportunity to interact with local people and tourists. "It was fun telling local

Jittin surveys elephant damage to a bananaplantation in Sawaengba after telling

villagers about ECN's work

ECN staff present Tham Than Lod rangerswith the equipment needed to patrol the

Srisawat reserve effectively

people and visitors from around the world about our various projects"remarked ECN intern Erik Rogers. "I think we really raised awareness aboutproblems facing wild elephants and their forest habitat. ECN definitelybenefited from the exposure, as we made some valuable new alliances."

Supplementing ECN's posters and powerpoint presentations, co­founderJittin Ritthirat led a well­attended discussion at the Felix Hotel entitled"Elephants of Kanchanaburi ­ Enemies or Friends?" She was alsointerviewed by Todd for his popular TV show that was broadcast thefollowing week.

6. ECN asked to help other HEC villages

Sawaengba village occupies aluxuriant valley in Srisawat NationalReserve, the triangular tract of poorlyprotected forest that connectsnorthern Salakpra to Huai KhaKhaeng, the world heritage core ofthe Western Forest Complex. Duringits 2007 Srisawat corridor surveyfunded by the Keidanren Foundation,ECN found that the Sawaengbavalley is the most accessible through­route for elephants, but is almostblocked by the fruit and vegetablefields of the village's sixteenhouseholds. Needless to say,elephants help themselves to a snackwhen they encounter edible intrusions on their traditional route. Word ofECN's work with similarly afflicted farmers has spread, and the villagers ofSawaengba asked us to help them as well. "I am glad these villages cameto us for help as it tells us that we are winning the trust and respect of localcommunities," observed ECN's Jittin Ritthirat.

ECN proposed various solutions, e.g installing an early warning bells­on­string system, broadcasting human sound such as radio through speakers,simple electric fencing around fields or, best of all, plant crops not eaten byelephants.

7. ECN raises funds for ranger patrol equipment

In response to ECN's Srisawatcorridor report, the Ministry ofEnvironment has asked the nearbynational park (Chalerm Rattanakosin,known locally as Tham Thanlod) topatrol the reserve and prevent morelogging and encroachment until it isupgraded to a fully protected area.Tham Thanlod has recruited eightrangers but has no budget for patrolequipment. ECN was asked if it couldhelp. We, in turn, asked friends andcolleagues for donations and werethrilled with the response. Now,thanks to Diethelm Travel Group,David Lyman, Paya Shop and other kind friends, ECN could buy backpacks,hammocks, plastic fly sheets, cookware, cameras and other kit, and stillhave some funds in reserve to help other patrol teams.

Jittin, Krit, Gip and Tu in the new office

"Rangers are the unsung heroes of the protected area system, and yetthey're chronically under­equipped and under­paid" comments BelindaStewart­Cox. "Ultimately, we would like to persuade the government toprovide adequate funding for its forest conservation teams, but until then,ECN is pleased to help when it can." This donation was warmly welcomedby the Thanlod team. "This kind of support really helps us do a better job.It's practical, but it's also good for morale to know we have supporters likeECN who understand our difficulties and care enough to help" said headranger Surin Sangkannok. ECN will also help the new Salakpra HECCommunity Support Unit with equipment, but what they need most is adedicated vehicle which would cost more than we have. If you would like toassist financially with this, please contact us or donate using PayPal.

8. New ECN office

ECN rang in the Thai New Year inApril, at the height of the hot season,with a welcome upheaval: the long­awaited move to our new office. Wedid not have far to move ­­ we are stillin Kaeng Sian district, a short drivefrom the famous River Kwai Bridge ­­but we now have a lot more space."We'd long outgrown our old office"according to Mem, ECN's assistantcommunity coordinator. "The newoffice is much nicer. It's a lot airier,and has many features from traditional Thai buildings such as tall rooms,ceiling fans, a ventilated roof and shady trees all around, so we won't needair­conditioning, unless future hot seasons get even hotter than we're usedto!" In the meantime, ECN is hoping to reduce its environmental impact aswell as its electricity bills.

The Elephant Conservation NetworkThe current aim of the Elephant Conservation Network is to secure the future of Salakpra's elephants and their forest ecosystem for thesustained benefit of local people and wildlife. We are extremely grateful to our donors and supporters: