KUALA LUMPUR: Connecting wildlife habitats, especially elephants, through ecological corridors is among the long-term measures that can be implemented to deal with human-mammal conflicts, said Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.

In addition, he said the establishment of elephant corridors in areas near habitats could also be implemented, including in plantation areas, private land and forested land.

Nik Nazmi said oil palm plantation companies also need to work together to create a network of mini corridors within their respective plantations.

"Planting natural food sources for elephants in corridor areas (also needs to be implemented) to reduce dependence on commercial crops," he said in a statement on Tuesday (May 13).

Nik Nazmi also proposed the formation of an elephant sanctuary covering at least 10,000 hectares, in addition to the installation of street lights at the main elephant crossing locations.

However, he said a long-term solution required close cooperation between the federal government and the state government since the forests that are the main habitat of elephants were under state jurisdiction.

Nik Nazmi said the federal government is providing additional financial incentives to the state government to protect and conserve protected areas under the Ecological Fiscal Transfer (EFT) for biodiversity conservation.

To date, RM800mil had been provided under EFT, including RM250mil this year, and its implementation had shown results when 90,000 hectares of terrestrial protected areas were gazetted.

"Of this amount, there was an increase in the area of ​​Permanent Forest Reserves (HSK) by more than 14,000 hectares. However, addressing this issue required more than just financial and technical intervention," he said.

He said the government would continue to lead efforts through comprehensive policies and implementation, but its success depended on the joint commitment of plantation owners, project implementers, local communities, and road users.

"Public awareness needs to be strengthened, because elephant protection is not just a matter of conservation, but also a matter of maintaining ecological balance and national heritage," he said.

Regarding the death of an elephant calf due to an accident with a 10-tonne lorry on the East-West Highway (JRTB) on Sunday, Nik Nazmi said it was not just a tragic accident, but reflected a major challenge in the relationship between humans and nature, especially in efforts to maintain the survival of wildlife.

According to him, a study in 2016 found that elephant habitat had decreased by 68% due to land use changes for agriculture, plantations, as well as infrastructure development such as roads and settlements.

Based on records from the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan), 4,919 complaints of human-elephant conflict were reported for the period 2020 to 2024, involving property losses estimated at RM39.4mil.

In the past five years, Nik Nazmi said a total of eight elephants were recorded dead due to road accidents in Peninsular Malaysia, with three of them occurring this year. - Bernama