When elephants enter her farm, Roengrom “Rom” Amsamarng runs away and spreads the news of elephant presence to neighbouring farms. To Rom, a Thai farmer, elephants threaten her safety and economic livelihood. In the village of Ruam Thai, where Rom lives, elephants leave protected areas and venture into pineapple farms, damaging crops that farmers depend on for a living.
“If it’s too late at night, I won’t go out or even move,” Rom says. “If the elephant is really close to me, I won’t move, but if the elephants are far away, I will run as far as I can.”
This is an example of human–elephant conflict, a problem in all 13 countries inhabited by Asian elephants, including Cambodia, Thailand and Sri Lanka. In Thailand, human–elephant conflict, or HEC, is increasing. Research suggests this is the result of shrinking Thai forestland. Between 2012 and 2017, 45 humans and 25 elephants died through HEC, according to Thai newspaper The Nation.
Ruam Thai village is working to solve this problem. A group of
