China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation （CBCGDF）recently set up a working group of elephant experts and held several meetings with global elephant scientists from South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the United Kingdom and the United States to discuss the case of 15 elephants heading north. Now many people are talking about elephants, but many of them miss the point. We hope to clarify, explain and explain our attitude in light of the opinions of the International Expert Group on Elephants.

Issues:

I．Food

Some experts say that because the protected area is too good, the trees have grown too much and more elephants. The elephants are leaving precisely because the food supply of the habitat may be in shortage. If the elephants are running out of food, there is a severe problem in reserve. What we need to do is to maintain species diversity and habitat diversity.

II．Habitat

In the existing four separate reserves, the growth rate of elephants in Xishuangbanna is relatively stable, and there is also a significant growth in Pu 'er. In the past few years, an elephant canteen has been built in Pu 'er. By planting some grass shrubs for the elephants to eat and habitat construction, elephants can stay and survive in this area, and meanwhile, human-elephant conflicts can be reduced. On the other hand, the elephants in Xishuangbanna encounter the problem of relatively stable population growth and lack of habitat space, so they naturally go out to look for them. About 42 elephants were recently reported to have left their habitat in Xishuangbanna.

III. Way

Protected areas should be properly fenced in the elephant's path, which has been very successful in other parts of Africa. The fence here refers to guiding elephants by planting plants and establishing some "barriers" through the natural fence. Human-elephant conflicts and migration paths can be reduced by adequate consideration and that's one of the things we have to do to protect.

IV: Industrial civilization

There is a Jinghong Hydropower Station in Xishuangbanna. During the construction of the Jinghong dam, experts unanimously decided that the dam would have no impact on elephant migration, but in retrospect, it would have been very serious.

A large number of rubber trees have been planted in Xishuangbanna for economic development. It is not a question of planting rubber trees, but how many and where. Protected areas should be regulated and guided by legislation, rules and regulations, but it is a pity that this has not been done enough.

We are now advocating Biodiversity Conservation in Our Neighborhood, also known as BCON. That is to say, we must consider deeply when we are doing production. Don't weed or shrub because we plant rubber trees. We should leave some space under the forest, guide the local farmers to plant rubber correctly and provide technical support.

Suggestions:

I: To consider habitat connectivity as a critical, regular study

We need to establish a team of experts to track elephant migration and protection, and try to connect the four elephant reserves in Yunnan to establish an ecological corridor, which is an essential planning and design, and give full consideration to the existing protected areas concerning the practice of Pu 'er elephant canteen.

II: Habitat connectivity should first be considered as an essential and regular study

We need to establish a team of experts to track elephant migration and protection, and try to connect the four elephant reserves in Yunnan to establish an ecological corridor, which is crucial planning and design, and give full consideration to the existing protected areas concerning the practice of Pu 'er Simao.

III: Biodiversity Conservation in Our Neighborhood (BCON)

We should do some work on biodiversity protection around the elephant reserves and where residents are likely to move. For example, we can set up a warning sign along the road that reads, "Aware of wild elephants." In addition, some fences should be properly built-in important places to plant trees with high density and form natural barriers to make elephants "come back to shore".

IV: To build a national elephant park

We hope that the construction concept of the park is entirely new, not the traditional park. It should include protected areas and residential areas, a park that connects elephant habitats, migration corridors, and the biodiversity of the neighborhood, which is a brand new job.

Translator/Syying

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