PALM OIL – IT MUST BE SUSTAINABLE

For several decades, palm oil cultivation on a commercial scale in some south-east Asian countries has resulted in a very serious impact on the natural environment, causing widespread deforestation and loss of natural habitat and threatening critically endangered species such as the Asian elephant, orangutan, Sumatran tiger, gibbons, hornbills, and other organisms that are trying to survive in the wild.

Oil palms have been harvested by humans for over 5,000 years and palm oil has even been found in a tomb in Ancient Egypt dating back to 3,000 BC. But it was in the 19th century that palm oil suddenly became widely used in Europe and America as an industrial lubricant and cooking oil, and as the basis of many famous household products ranging from soap and toothpaste to ink and pizza dough. The oil comes from the red pulp of the fruits which are small and oval and grow in clusters of several hundred, close to the trunk on short heavy stalks. The fruit is black and red when ripe, and is fibrous and oily around a white kernel that is also rich in oils.

Because the oil palm trees produce fruit continuously throughout the year, with new bunches ripening each month, the fruit is always in season. A very sharp knife is used to cut off the fruit bunches. As the tree grows, it develops a very thick, distinctive scaly trunk, and large spreading crowns.

Nowadays in Thailand most of the oil palms are cultivated on smallholdings that practice sustainable cultivation. The picture is not so rosy in some other countries but at last big companies are coming under a lot of international pressure to ensure their palm oil production is sustainable. In some places, farmers, whose lives depend on the crops, will try to discourage elephants from eating their plantations and in extreme cases may even try to poison them.

Please help us in our education mission. Your donation, however small, is seriously important to us. If you can, please donate here.

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ANIMAL HEALTH

Elephants are the most well-known animal in the animal kingdom and, like horses, have been used by humans for thousands of years. As long as elephants have been cared for by humans, their health care has been of great importance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sanskrit literature is rich in systematic studies in elephantology and the first known treatise on elephant health was written over 2000 years ago. One of the most famous veterinary books was written in 1910 by Lieut.-Colonel G. H. Evans, Superintendent of the Civil Veterinary Department, Burma.

Today there are some very good and experienced elephant veterinarians in Thailand and around the world, but they are few and far between. Thailand has am number of dedicated elephant veterinary hospitals but there is only one in the South located between Krabi and Trang and about 100 miles from our Ban Ton Sae site. It is good to know this centre exists but in an emergency it would be wonderful to have a clinic nearer to hand.

As part of our plans for Ban Ton Sae we plan an elephant health centre, not only to help our elephants, but also to serve the community for many miles around. It will be the only one of its kind in the area that specialises in the health and well being of the Asian elephant. This  building is therefore one of the most important to be built at the Ban Ton Sae site.

So far, we have been able to clear the ground and level it ready for the foundations to be laid. We will make progress as and when we have the funds to move to the next step.

The clinic will have all that is needed for the loading and unloading of elephants, their treatment and sedation, as well as recovery and isolation units.  A full time elephant veterinarian and vet nurses will be employed to ensure the best quality of care.

As an education centre, we will provide mahouts with basic basic care training and will welcome veterinary students as part of their extramural studies.

We will be launching an appeal for the veterinary centre soon and will need your help to reach our targets.

Please consider showing you support NOW through a donation by clicking here to help us through the design and planning stages for this important centre.

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FOOD FOR THOUGHT

From using solar panels to create clean renewable energy to using recycled rainwater to create our elephant pools, sustainability on the Ban Ton Sae site is one of the ways STEF will become a sustainable environmentally friendly haven for our elephants and guests to enjoy.

One of the ways STEF will ensure sustainability is to grow the food for the elephants on site. An area of land has already been sculpted for this purpose and as you can see from the picture (left), levels have been carved into the earth to create giant steps where rows of crops can grow and be rotated.

Deforestation is the biggest threat to the Asian elephant in the wild. Plantations for crops such as rubber and palm oil (products used widely in western countries) are one of the causes for the destruction of  elephant habitats. We have cleared all rubber trees from our site and by growing our own food for the elephants we can ensure this land is reused sustainably and no areas of primary forest are cut down to provide the crops.

We plan to grow bamboo and Napier grass (also known as elephant grass) to feed them on site but the elephants will also be taken into the forest to forage for themselves. Elephants need a range of foods to meet their dietary requirements and foraging encourages natural behaviours.

Why bamboo? Well bamboo (right) is classified as a grass, is extremely strong (big species are often seen being used as scaffolding on construction sites), and it is said to be the fastest growing plant on earth (some species grow up to 0.5m per day). It is sometimes called a ‘pioneer species’, as it creates humus-rich soils and so is of great value in forest habitats. Elephants are very fond of bamboo shoots, seedlings and leaves.

Elephant grass (above left) is a perennial forage crop that also has a fast growth rate, high productivity and has good nutritive value. It is a very good grass for cut and carry systems – and elephants, who do not just eat what is available, but actively choose what to eat, love it as you can see.

If you would like to help us feed our elephants and support sustainable reforestation you can sponsor a tree or area of grazing turf on our website by just clicking here.