{"id":5336,"date":"2024-09-27T13:26:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-27T04:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/asiajournaux.com\/?p=5336"},"modified":"2024-09-27T23:43:43","modified_gmt":"2024-09-27T14:43:43","slug":"world-elephant-day-celebration-2024-fostering-coexistence-between-humans-and-elephants-in-johor-for-future-generations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asiajournaux.com\/?p=5336","title":{"rendered":"World Elephant Day Celebration 2024: Fostering Coexistence between Humans and Elephants in Johor for Future Generations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sungai Ara, September 27, 2024 \u2014 <\/b>More than <\/b>five
\nhundred community members including children gathered at the Dewan Masyarakat
\nSungai Ara (Demasra) FELCRA Sungai Ara in Johor to participate in the World
\nElephant Day Celebration yesterday. This event brought together various
\nstakeholders to celebrate and strengthen conservation efforts to achieve
\nharmonious coexistence between humans and elephants. The celebration was
\norganised by Earthworm Foundation, an impact-driven non-profit organisation,
\nand the Human-Elephant Coexistence (HEC) Committee of Sungai Ara, with support
\nfrom the Malaysian Palm Oil Green Conservation Foundation (MPOGCF).<\/p>\n

Mohd Saharuddin Bin Mohd Yunus,
\nChief Assistant to District Officer of Kota Tinggi, who opened the event,
\nemphasised the importance of collective action. \u201cAchieving coexistence between
\nhumans and elephants is a shared responsibility for all of us,\u201d he stated. He
\nhighlighted various state efforts, including regular monitoring by PERHILITAN,
\nthe installation of road lights, and the fitting of collars on elephants to
\ntrack their movement.<\/p>\n

For the first time, two trained elephants from the Johor Elephant Sanctuary were brought to the event, allowing community members to interact closely with these magnificent animals. \u201cI hope this experience nurtures a sense of care for wildlife, especially Asian elephants, which are often mistakenly blamed for crop damage despite their vital role in maintaining ecosystem balance,\u201d said Mohd Saharuddin Bin Mohd Yunus.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Safiai Bin Mohammad, Chair of the HEC Committee of Sungai Ara, who has been farming since 1975 and has experienced numerous interactions with elephants, emphasised the need for the community to shift their perspective and mindset. \u201cI used to see them as enemies, but now I understand that they are allies in our ecosystem.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Children<\/p>\n

According to the Peninsular Malaysia Department of Wildlife<\/a> and National Parks, negative interactions between humans and elephants from 2015 to 2020 resulted in estimated economic losses of RM 30 million (approximately USD 6.4 million), primarily due to crop damage. In 2019 alone, nearly 50% of these losses, amounting to RM 14 million (about USD 2.9 million), were recorded.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n

Kiah Hui Ooi, Southern Central
\nForest Spine (SCFS) Landscape Coordinator and Country Representative of the
\nEarthworm Foundation in Malaysia, emphasised the importance of collective
\naction for future initiatives. \u201cWe are proud to announce that we have
\nsuccessfully facilitated the establishment of the Human-Elephant Coexistence
\n(HEC) Committee in Sungai Ara,\u201d she stated. This committee is the first of its
\nkind in Peninsular Malaysia, bringing together smallholders and large
\nplantation concessions. <\/p>\n

Unfortunately, on the same day as
\nthe event, not far from the location where the commemoration took place, an
\nincident of human-elephant interaction occurred in the Mersing area that
\nresulted in fatalities. The incident highlighted the urgency and importance of
\ncollective action, as well as awareness raising. \u201cNow more than ever, it is
\nimportant to explore long-term solutions, such as enriching elephant habitats
\nand migration routes and establishing wildlife corridors. Joint action and
\ncollaboration among stakeholders are imperative,\u201d added Kiah Hui Ooi.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The palm oil industry join hands with communities and stakeholders towards the human-elephant coexistence. Hairulazim Mahmud ,General Manager of MPOGCF that funded the HEC program in Sungai Ara stated, \u201cThe palm oil industry in Malaysia is committed to supporting elephant conservation efforts and achieving human-elephant coexistence. This demonstrates our dedication to environmental preservation and sustainable practices.\u201d<\/p>\n

The World Elephant Day event also featured a variety of educational and interactive activities, including a colouring competition for children, aimed at instilling love and curiousity for elephants. Under the theme of maintaining a legacy for future generations, this World Elephant Day not only commemorates the existence of elephants, but also raises public awareness about the importance of conservation and the hope for harmonious human-elephant coexistence. Apart from the World Elephant Day commemoration event in Johor, Earthworm Foundation and partners also held a similar event in Sabah. \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sungai Ara, September 27, 2024 \u2014 More than five hundred community members including children gathered at the Dewan Masyarakat Sungai Ara (Demasra) FELCRA Sungai Ara in Johor to participate in the World Elephant Day Celebration yesterday. This event brought together various stakeholders to celebrate and strengthen conservation efforts to achieve harmonious coexistence between humans and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5338,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-malaysia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/asiajournaux.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/asiajournaux.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/asiajournaux.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asiajournaux.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asiajournaux.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5336"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/asiajournaux.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5336\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5337,"href":"https:\/\/asiajournaux.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5336\/revisions\/5337"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asiajournaux.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/asiajournaux.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asiajournaux.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asiajournaux.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}