The construction of an enclosed area for the elephants at Kuala Gandah was just the beginning. Several initiatives have followed the enclosure project (see below for more details). The Rotary Club of Bukit Bintang (RCBB) managed the Malaysian Elephant Appeal projects until mid-2002 after which its two-year commitment came to an end and the Club is now pursuing other social issues. The Rotary Club of Temerloh began managing the Appeal projects where the RCBB left off and has been at the helm ever since.
The enclosure was finished at the end of the year 2000. While construction was being completed, the Malaysian Elephant Appeal organized a multi-day training session at the Singapore Zoo for the Kuala Gandah staff (generously sponsored by the Singapore Zoo). The staff was trained in how to manage elephants within an enclosure and on how to maintain an enclosure system. The Appeal has continued to stress to the Department of Wildlife and National Parks that staff training needs to be an ongoing endeavour and that we highly encourage the Department to incorporate this element into Kuala Gandah operations.
In order for the staff and visitors to be able to easily survey the elephants while the elephants are in the enclosure, the Appeal constructed a large viewing platform.
The Appeal also constructed a large mud wallow for the elephants (see photo left). Elephants love to soak in wallows and to coat their skin with a thin layer of mud to protect themselves from the sun and from flies. The elephants at Kuala Gandah greatly enjoyed the wallow, but it became clear that erosion would soon make the size of the wallow unmanageable. For this reason, the Appeal converted the wallow into a bathing pool (see 2002 projects for more details).
Elephants like to rub against trees and to kick at the roots which can damage or kill the trees. The enclosure is quite large and contains a lot of trees; however the Appeal has taken three measures to try to ensure that there are still trees in the enclosure in the future.
First: The Appeal constructed two 1.5-acre enclosures that the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) was instructed to use on a rotating basis. This would help to prevent soil compaction and to allow for plant regeneration.
In 2004, the Appeal noted that the staff at Kuala Gandah was still not utilizing the enclosures on a rotating basis and soil compaction had started to become very evident in the overused enclosure. From 2005 to 2007 the Appeal revisited the issue with staff and management of Kuala Gandah to further explore what barriers might still exist that prevent this rotation from happening. In 2008 the Appeal will aim to continue the dialogue with the centre (see 2008 projects below).
Second: The Appeal did ample research on methods of affordable, low-maintenance and non-intrusive tree protection. What we generally found is that there are few answers to this complex issue. The Appeal ultimately settled on using rocks to provide something of a barrier between the elephants and key trees (see photo above right). This method only provided a temporary fix (see 2008 project on tree protection below).
Third: The Appeal continues to suggest to the DWNP that a much larger enclosed area would be the best case scenario for both the flora and for the elephants.
Other activities that the Appeal oversaw in 2001 included: the construction of a salt lick for the elephants; the development of a brochure for the Malaysian Elephant Appeal and the Kuala Gandah centre; the organization of an official ceremony (officiated by Deputy Minister Tengku Azlan Ibni Sultan Abu Bakar) to celebrate the completion of the enclosure; and the implementation of fundraising efforts to raise money for the Appeal's projects.
Although the elephants greatly enjoyed the mud wallow that was constructed for them (see 2001 projects), it became clear that the erosion of the wallow would eventually become unmanageable. For this reason, in December 2002 the Appeal finished converting the mud wallow into a low-maintenance bathing pool with a concrete base and with running water pumped from a stream. Elephants love soaking and playing in water, so the pool is being enjoyed as much as the mud wallow was.
In early 2003, the Kuala Gandah staff built a mini waterfall to camoflauge the pool's water pump. The result is esthetically pleasing and serves as a source of drinking water for the elephants (eliminating the need for the construction of a water trough). The staff also located a new salt lick near the waterfall.
The fairly new interpretation building at Kuala Gandah was filled with information panels (see photo left), an initiative that was the result of a partnership between the DWNP and DANCED (the Danish government's environmental aid organization). To complement DANCED's efforts to increase the educational potential of the elephant centre, in 2003 the Malaysian Elephant Appeal developed and implemented a training programme for the staff at Kuala Gandah. The multi-day training session focused on strengthening the staff's knowledge of conservation issues and building their capacity to deliver more interactive educational activities for visitors to the centre.
Other initiatives that the Appeal oversaw in 2002 and 2003 included: the construction of a visitors' shelter that the Appeal commissioned the Orang Asli to build; the development of behavioural enrichment tools for the elephants; and, of course, the implementation of ongoing fundraising and awareness raising activities.
The Appeal concentrated most of its efforts in 2004 on conservation education and awareness-raising. Several educational visits to the elephant centre were organized by the Appeal for our sponsors, schools and children from a local orphanage. We also created an interactive workshop and multimedia presentation which was used both to educate students in Pahang high schools, as well as to engage a broader audience at public events, community meetings and corporate showcases. As well, one of our very energetic volunteers -- Charly -- spearheaded several initiatives to create more awareness of environmental issues by producing our first newsletter and by writing several articles for newspapers and magazines. Natt -- another very enthusiastic and invaluable volunteer, based in Singapore -- was also instrumental in that first issue of the newsletter. In addition, Natt has been an important source of ideas and support for the possible development of a VCD (See 2005-2006 Projects).
The Appeal completed a couple of infrastructure projects at Kuala Gandah in 2004. One project involved the construction of a mounting platform that facilitates visitors' ability to get onto the elephants' backs for short elephant rides. The other involved building another pondok -- a thatched-roof shelter for day visitors. Apart from the Appeal projects, the Kuala Gandah staff, in partnership with the Forestry Department, identified several rare plant species around the centre and tagged them, labeling them with their scientific names to further add to the educational component of the elephant centre.
Building relationships with local environmental, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) strengthens the community network, facilitates information sharing and encourages interorganizational support. To this end, the Appeal focused its efforts on two organizations: the Singapore Green Volunteers Network and the Malaysian Nature Society. Effective networking takes time and effort but often pays off in the end with strong NGO cooperation and collaboration toward a common goal.
Given the importance of promoting systemic behavioural change in humans, the Appeal continued to look into the possibility of incorporating issues of elephant conservation into the proposed environmental studies program in high schools throughout Malaysia. Alas, this will not be a speedy process and should be considered an ongoing work in progress.
We also continued with our efforts in the realm of multimedia as a tool for promoting public dialogue about the environment and elephant conservation. To this end we participated in several interviews for magazine and newspaper articles and ourselves produced 4 more issues of Ele-Mental, the Malaysian Elephant Appeal's newsletter. One of our volunteers also embarked on drafting a children's book on elephants; and we began (2005) and completed (2006) the production of an educational video (VCD) about the elephant centre titled Kuala Gandah: Home of the Vanishing Giants (above right: volunteer Maggie in mid-shoot; above, far right: Maggie with Department of Wildlife and National Park Director General Dato' Haji Musa). The VCD was launched in 2007.
The Appeal was involved in a couple of on-site projects to contribute to the ongoing improvement of the centre. Information boards were put up around the site to provide more details on the daily life of the elephants to enhance the learning experience of visitors to the centre. As well, a 20-foot deck was constructed on the slope of the river bank to enable visitors easier access to the river during the elephant bathing activity. The projects emerged from a fruitful discussion initiated by the Appeal with the elephant centre and resulted in an agreement whereby the implementation was done by the centre's staff and the Appeal offered to cover the costs.
In 2007, the Appeal engaged in several activities to promote awareness of elephant conservation issues, including organizing a few trips to Kuala Gandah for student groups and corporate sponsors and launching the VCD (see 2006 projects). Two thousand copies of the VCD were made and used to fundraise for Appeal projects, but were also given away for free to schools. As well, the Appeal followed up on a request made by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) for more training opportunities for the elephant centre staff, specifically via the secondment of a trainer from Thailand. The Appeal agreed to fund the training once Kuala Gandah has submitted an official project proposal that outlines the initiative in more detail (still pending). In 2008, tree protection within the enclosure will be the Appeal's main focus. We have just completed extensive research on methods of tree protection and have created a design that may prove to be a durable and sustainable solution. We hope to start this project by September 2008. We will, however, still continue to engage Kuala Gandah in discussion as to what is preventing them from using the two enclosures on a rotating basis (which is still the best solution for plant/tree regeneration). At Kuala Gandah's request, this year the Appeal will also cover the costs of some small repairs around the centre such as fixing the thatched roofs on some of the visitor facilities.
When the Malaysian Elephant Appeal did its strategic planning each year, it always kept a list of possibilities -- projects that might be possible at some point in the future. During our 9 years in operation, the opportunity for the project ideas listed below never presented itself, but we include them here just in case it inspires a different community organization to take action... in the future.
The enclosure is being maintained and utilized on a daily basis but the elephants are still chained at night. The Appeal would love to see the construction of a night stall system. Utilizing stalls would mean that the elephants would not have to be chained at night. The hope, of course, is that one day the elephants will remain in a large enclosed jungle area at all times; however, it will likely be some time before this can occur. For several years, the Appeal persistently raised the idea of night stalls with the DWNP. In 2004 the Department agreed to construct night stalls with funding from the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment. There is no sign as yet of any type of construction toward this end. The Appeal still believes that night stalls are an important part of elephant care and hopes that the DWNP will follow through with this idea at some point soon. Once the Department of Wildlife and National Parks has more resources to invest in Kuala Gandah, a positive next step would be to enlarge the enclosure. The Appeal has in fact already surveyed 10 acres in the area just outside of the current enclosure and has determined that it would be technically possible to expand the enclosure boundaries without encroaching on virgin tropical rain forest.
The Management Plan for the Krau Wildlife Reserve calls for the creation of a buffer zone around the Reserve. This zone is seen to be critical in reducing the threat of commercial encroachments which can damage the delicate ecosystem of the Reserve. The Kuala Gandah elephant centre is located just inside the boundary of Krau. The area adjacent to the Centre, but outside of the Reserve, also contains wonderful stretches of primary and secondary growth jungle. The Krau Management Plan is very supportive of the creation of elephant trekking and interpretation trails through these areas outside of the Reserve. Elephant treks would not only heighten interest in the centre and augment the educational experience of visitors, but they would also be enjoyable for the elephants and provide a source of employment for the Orang Asli who live in nearby villages. Night Stalls
Larger Enclosure
Elephant Trekking Trails
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