1000 days for the planet - Sumatra's Elephant
Riau, Sumatra
1000 Days for the Planet is a three year project in partnership with the UN Secretariat for the Convention on Biodiversity. The 2013 project in Indonesia was the second year for the research vessel Sedna IV. Everyone was excited about the myriad subjects of our project, including the Sumatran elephant. We traveled to the Pekanbaru province of Riau in Sumatra to dig up a story on the elephants past, present and future.
The forests and elephants habitats continue to decline very rapidly. They come into constant conflict with palm oil planters, most of which are illegal. They are being persecuted, poisoned and killed. Poachers are also killing the elephants, they targeting the males for their ivory tusks, and the manner in which the tusks are removed indicates professional or trained techniques.
Dr. Sunarto's Team from WWF try hard to save the forest, the elephants and all of the biodiversity.
Indeed, the challenges are enormous...will they succeed?
