Asian elephants have been roaming the planet for thousands of years, but these gentle giants are now endangered due to the changing use of the land in their territories by humans. This study, published in 2023, saw 13 scientists set out to study changes to suitable Asian elephant habitat across almost 1200 years, and to identify how these differences may relate to changing farming methods in the area or other shifts in land use. These findings allowed the scientists to identify the key factors threatening elephant survival, informing policies that may help to protect the species for thousands of years to come.
Inhabiting vast areas of the Asian continent, Asian elephants are one of the three remaining elephant species on Earth. Their habitat extends across 13 countries, from India to Indonesia [1], but has been declining for centuries due to the expansion of human settlements and the increasing conversion of former habitat to farming fields [2]. These changes, coupled with climate change, are driving elephants into contact with humans more and more frequently; conflicts often occur when the mammals wander into crop fields, threatening both their safety and the livelihoods of local people [3, 4]. It is therefore essential to identify any changes to current elephant habitats, so that conservationists can better understand where conflicts may arise and act quickly to protect the elephants from further harm. This need was recognised by the team of scientists and provided some of the motivation for their comprehensive study of shifting elephant habitats across the last millennium.
A herd of Asian elephants. Photo: Rohit Varma/Flickr
The scientists used models for their study, to assess how suitable elephant habitat changed between 850-2015 AD in response to changing climate and land use. The scientists first marked on a map the places where they had seen elephants themselves and where elephants with trackers were located, before combining this with existing data of their known locations across Asia. The team then added climate data to the model, covering a wide range of factors such as temperature and rainfall. This allowed the modelling software to compare the data to the elephants’ needs, which could then be used to identify possible habitat. The researchers ran the models for a number of different years and mapped the results to illustrate changes over time, as well as to compare how much the potential habitat – the area which elephants could realistically live in- aligned with current elephant distributions. The total changes in habitat size over the study period were then calculated, before being compared with the changes in land use in the region.
Dry agricultural land in India. Photo: Leela Channer/Flickr
The study reported that only one third of the habitat was suitable for elephants by 2015, with the size of suitable habitat having rapidly shrunk since the late eighteenth century. This was due to large declines in tropical woodland and grassland cover, reducing the availability of shelter and food for the elephants. Of this habitat, over 90% is disconnected: there are large gaps between habitat patches, making it more difficult for the elephant herds to reach one another and their food, directly heightening their vulnerability to disturbance. The researchers also found that more than half of the studied populations were inhabiting places that were no longer suitable, including the edges of some urban areas. This is particularly concerning as the elephants are more likely to enter human settlements whilst searching for food, increasing the likelihood of human-elephant conflicts. The scientists noted that the expansion of farming and a shift away from traditional, more environmentally-friendly farming practices (mainly seasonal farming, where the crops and fields used change every few years) – corresponded with these habitat declines, beginning with the intensification of agriculture and the rise of logging in the colonial era and accelerating in the so-called “Green Revolution”; the rise in large-scale industrial agriculture since 1950. They concluded that connecting fragmented habitat patches is the best way to support Asian elephant populations moving forward.
Asian Elephant in Kui Buri national park, Thailand. Photo: Tontan Travel/Flickr
How to find Another Way:
The loss of local knowledge and traditional practices has resulted in environmental decline not just in the case of Asian elephants, but around the globe. Indigenous peoples often these their lives as being embedded in their environment, deeply valuing the natural world and its resources. In our journey to find Another Way, we must actively listen to these beliefs and teachings, and empower local people to protect the environment that they are interconnected with. Including a diverse range of voices in environmental discussions will better help us to combat ecological decline and find solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems. As we step towards a more sustainable future, we must walk alongside those that have advocated for the Earth’s protection for centuries; as we attempt to reconnect with the rest of the natural world, we must truly hear the voices of those that never saw themselves as separate from it.
A man casts a traditional fishing net into a lake, Indonesia. Photo: Ricky Martin/CIFOR
Article by Chloe Moriarty
Header image: Venkat Ragavan/Pexels, Leela Channer/Flickr, Tontan Travel/Flickr, Rohit Varma/Flickr
References
1. de Silva S, Wu T, Nyhus P, Weaver A, Thieme A, Johnson J… Chen BS (2023) ‘Land-use change is associated with multi-century loss of elephant ecosystems in Asia’, Scientific Reports, 13(1):5996. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-30650-8
2. Guarnieri M, Kumaishi G, Brock C, Chatterjee M, Fabiano E, Katrak-Adefowora R… Roehrdanz PR (2024) ‘Effects of climate, land use, and human population change on human–elephant conflict risk in Africa and Asia’, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(6):e2312569121. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2312569121
3. de la Torre JA, Wong EP, Lechner AM, Zulaikha N, Zawawi A, Abdul‐Patah P… Campos‐Arceiz A (2021) ‘There will be conflict–agricultural landscapes are prime, rather than marginal, habitats for Asian elephants’, Animal Conservation, 24(5):720-32. https://doi.org/10.1111/acv.12668
4. de Silva S, Ruppert K, Knox J, Davis EO, Weerathunga US, Glikman JA (2023) ‘Experiences and emotional responses of farming communities living with Asian Elephants in Southern Sri Lanka’, Trees, Forests and People,14:100441. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tfp.2023.100441
