KESAN Report Endangered Elephant Need Protection

Today, the Karen Environmental and Social Action Network (KESAN) announces the results of their report, Endangered Elephants in Megatha Forest, Karen State, Burma. KESAN researchers found evidence that Megatha Forest is home to 15-18 elephants in 2-3 small groups of 3-7 individuals, a great reduction from the historical population of about 100.

KESAN conducted the research from 2008 to 2010 in order to understand the current status and threats to wild elephants in Megatha Forest, a 156 sq km protected Wildlife Sanctuary in Karen State, Burma.  The KESAN study team spent 3 years looking for elephants and talking to local people and forest officials about elephants and other biodiversity.

Besides elephants, 60 other animal species were identified in the Megatha Forest, with over 1/3 of these at risk of extinction, appearing in the IUCN Redlist and/or CITES Appendices. Widely diverse habitats, including three distinct forest types, were also noted.

Historic and current threats to the elephants include the effects of war, poaching for ivory and capture of living wild elephants for markets in Thailand and China. Habitat destruction from mining continues to harm elephants and other species, and while logging has recently been reduced in the area there continue to be long term impacts.

Given the high percentage of endangered species and widely variable habitats, the biodiversity of the Megatha Forest is globally significant. Therefore, KESAN plans to engage in further efforts to document this biodiversity and conserve the forest.  Conservation must include a ban on logging, mining, and rubber plantations, an end to armed conflict, and strict enforcement of poaching laws.

For More Information, Contact Saw Blaw Htoo: mobile phone 08 51471261, Email: [email protected]

Click here to see the Report

This post is in: Business and Human Rights, Environmental and Economic Justice, Press Release