{"page":"\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/resources-572d6a42.css\" /\u003e\n\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/lp_boclips_stylesheets-f4d0de30.css\" media=\"all\" /\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-title='Hundreds of elephants are jobless because of Indian timber ban' data-url='/boclips/videos/5c54bcc8d8eafeecae12f428' data-video-url='/boclips/videos/5c54bcc8d8eafeecae12f428' id='bo_player_modal'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='boclips-resource-page modal-dialog panel-container'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='react-notifications-root'\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-header'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-type'\u003e\n\u003ci aria-hidden='true' class='fai fa-regular fa-circle-play'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\nVideo\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch1 class='rp-title' id='video-title'\u003e\nHundreds of elephants are jobless because of Indian timber ban\n\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-actions'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='mr-1'\u003e\n\u003ca class=\"btn btn-success\" data-posthog-event=\"Signup: LP Signup Activity\" data-posthog-location=\"body_link_boclips\" data-remote=\"true\" href=\"/subscription/new\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGet Free Access\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e for 10 Days\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e!\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-body'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-info'\u003e\n\u003cdiv aria-label='Hide resource details' class='rp-hide-info' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Expand resource details' class='rp-expand-info fai fa-solid fa-up-right-and-down-left-from-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Compress resource details' class='rp-compress-info fai fa-solid fa-down-left-and-up-right-to-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-rating'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='resource-pool'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-label'\u003ePublisher:\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-name'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='text'\u003e\u003ca data-publisher-id=\"30356011\" href=\"/search?publisher_ids%5B%5D=30356011\"\u003eCurated Video\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-description'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='short-description'\u003e1. Various of river and mountains2. Women carrying traditional baskets on their backs going down the road3. Mid of sign board saying ''Road to Myanmar''4. Various of elephants crossing river5. Various of an elephant moving a log across...\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='full-description hide'\u003e1. Various of river and mountains\u003cbr/\u003e2. Women carrying traditional baskets on their backs going down the road\u003cbr/\u003e3. Mid of sign board saying ''Road to Myanmar''\u003cbr/\u003e4. Various of elephants crossing river\u003cbr/\u003e5. Various of an elephant moving a log across the river\u003cbr/\u003e6. SOUNDBITE (Hindi)Topatang Namsung, elephant owner and trainer:\u003cbr/\u003e\"In the earlier times it was not easy for us to move from one place to another. We used to travel by elephants. These elephants are now used in the timber operation that was started in our area. But now this timber operation is going to be banned and our elephants will soon become jobless. This is a great loss to us as we are facing difficulties in even feeding the elephants and their mahouts ( trainers ) due to the elephants becoming jobless. If we leave these elephants in the Forest Reserve then we have to pay a Forest Reserve tax which is very difficult for us to do as our source of income is now closed and to pay the tax in that case is next to impossible for us.\"\u003cbr/\u003e7. Wide of elephant pulling down a log of wood in the forest\u003cbr/\u003e8. Various of the elephant pulling the log on the road\u003cbr/\u003e9. Tracking shot of evidence of deforestation\u003cbr/\u003e10. Mid of tree stumps\u003cbr/\u003e11. Stack of logs to the trees\u003cbr/\u003e12. Logs of wood \u003cbr/\u003e13. Wide of elephant expert and author Dhriti Kant Lahiri reading a book through a magnifying glass\u003cbr/\u003e14. Close of the magnifying glass\u003cbr/\u003e15. SOUNDBITE (English) Dhriti Kant Lahiri, elephant expert and author:\u003cbr/\u003e\"You see, they are being able to do illegally remove timber from the forest because there is nobody to see and inspect. These are inaccessible areas where Jeep (four-wheel drive vehicles) does not always go. So one way to do so, inspect your forest is to go on elephant back and they do not have elephant, Forest department does not have elephants.\"\u003cbr/\u003e16. Wildlife activist Raj Basu  in the forest \u003cbr/\u003e17. SOUNDBITE (English) Raj Basu, wildlife activist:\u003cbr/\u003e\"If the people are taking out logs illegally, if they are taking out cane illegally from the forest, it is the Forest Department who had shown them the way in the process of naming it, of tagging it as proper Resource Management. Commercialisation, because commercialisation was never in the tradition in the communities of the North-East.\"\u003cbr/\u003e18. Elephant carrying log\u003cbr/\u003e19. Various of the elephant loading logs of wood onto lorry\u003cbr/\u003e20. SOUNDBITE (English)Raj Basu, wildlife activist:\u003cbr/\u003e\"So what we can always do is actually use these unemployed elephants and their people into conservation activities, into activities in regard to eco-tourism. Where it gives them some kind of revenue, where it starts bringing them some kind of revenue and at the same time it helps them to restore or to conserve their old culture of the man and elephant relation that they had. So with this kind of dynamics, I am very sure we can create a better conservation atmosphere.\"\u003cbr/\u003e21. SOUNDBITE (English) Dhriti Kant Lahiri, elephant expert and author:\u003cbr/\u003e\"So I think there is adequate opportunity, scope for re-employment this elephant and elephant men in government service, in the duty of the Forest Department.\"\u003cbr/\u003e23. Elephants crossing the river\u003cbr/\u003e24. Various of sunset\u003cbr/\u003eIndia''s northeast region accounts for the world''s largest concentration of wild Asiatic elephants.\u003cbr/\u003eBut the wild elephants have been under pressure because of a reduction in their forest habitat over the years.\u003cbr/\u003eNow domesticated elephants are also under threat.\u003cbr/\u003eA timber ban imposed by India''s Supreme Court has rendered hundreds of tame elephants unemployed.\u003cbr/\u003eArunachal Pradesh, the ''Land of the Dawn-lit Mountains '' is located right at the top of northeastern India.\u003cbr/\u003eThis is where the morning sunlight first falls on the mountain ranges of Changlang district along the international border with Myanmar, also known as Burma. \u003cbr/\u003eMore that eighty per cent of the state is covered by forests.\u003cbr/\u003eThe area is dotted with numerous tribal communities and a large population of Asiatic elephants. \u003cbr/\u003eThe elephants owners and trainers have earned their livelihood by using the animal for transporting timber from the forest.\u003cbr/\u003eAlarmed at reports of a rapidly dwindling forest cover however, India''s Supreme Court banned timber trade in the state.\u003cbr/\u003eWith an end to the commercial sale of timber, a large number of families living in and around the forest have lost their main source of income.\u003cbr/\u003eMany of these families own elephants who were being used to ferry timber from the forest.\u003cbr/\u003eWith very little timber to transport, the elephants now have little work to do.\u003cbr/\u003eAn adult elephant requires about two hundred kilograms of green fodder and about one hundred and fifty litres of clean water daily. \u003cbr/\u003eLoss of income from timber transportation and mounting expenses have driven many elephant owners to sell their animals to temples in the southern state of Kerala, while some of them are reportedly smuggled to neighbouring Nepal.\u003cbr/\u003eIn this classic case of conservation versus livelihood rights, not many are thinking about the unemployed elephants.  \u003cbr/\u003eSOUNDBITE(Hindi)\u003cbr/\u003e\"In the earlier times it was not easy for us to move from one place to another. We used to travel by elephants. These elephants are now used in the timber operation that was started in our area. But now this timber operation is going to be banned and our elephants will soon become jobless. This is a great loss to us as we are facing difficulties in even feeding the elephants and their mahouts ( trainers ) due to the elephants becoming jobless. If we leave these elephants in the Forest Reserve then we have to pay a Forest Reserve tax which is very difficult for us to do as our source of income is now closed and to pay the tax in that case is next to impossible for us.\"\u003cbr/\u003eSUPERCAPTION: Topatang Namsung , elephant owner and trainer\u003cbr/\u003eThe ban on timber trade came into effect in 1996.\u003cbr/\u003eIn view of the dependence of the local people on the forest resources, the court allowed the continuation of timber extraction.\u003cbr/\u003eBut only after developing appropriate working plans for legal, defence and government use.\u003cbr/\u003eIt did however block the transport of timber outside the region.\u003cbr/\u003eThe ruling came after pressure from the environmentalists who alleged that the forest cover in the state was going down steadily. \u003cbr/\u003ePrior to the Supreme Court''s intervention, the northeastern region  was accounting for over sixty per cent of the timber supplied in the country.\u003cbr/\u003eWhen the traditional systems of forest management could not meet the growing demand for timber, virgin natural forests were being stripped bare.\u003cbr/\u003eWith legal options closed, there is a thriving illegal timber trade feeding the hungry wood-based industry in the country.\u003cbr/\u003eElephant expert and author Dhriti Kant Lahiri specialises in the study of North-Eastern elephants and their habitat. \u003cbr/\u003eHe says there is a flourishing illegal trade in timber and the forest department has not thought about using elephants for patrolling inside the forest.\u003cbr/\u003eSOUNDBITE (English) \u003cbr/\u003e\"You see, they are being able to do illegally remove timber from the forest because there is nobody to see and inspect. These are inaccessible areas where jeep does not always go. So one way to do so, inspect your forest is to go on elephant back and they do not have elephant, Forest department does not have elephants.\"\u003cbr/\u003eSUPERCAPTION : Dhriti Kant Lahiri, elephant expert and author\u003cbr/\u003eWildlife activist Raj Basu is a passionate campaigner of conservation and ecological balance.\u003cbr/\u003eBut he blames the forest department for introducing the tribal communities to commercial timber operations.\u003cbr/\u003eSOUNDBITE (English) \u003cbr/\u003e\"If the people are taking out logs illegally, if they are taking out cane illegally from the forest, it is the Forest Department who had shown them the way in the process of naming it, of tagging it as proper Resource Management. Commercialisation....because commercialisation was never in the tradition in the communities of the North-East.\"\u003cbr/\u003eSUPERCAPTION : Raj Basu, wildlife activist\u003cbr/\u003eHundreds of elephants were used for pulling fallen trees and loading them onto vehicles. \u003cbr/\u003eWildlife experts say the plight of the unemployed elephants can be addressed by using them for other activities related to the forests. \u003cbr/\u003eWhile Basu suggests the elephants can be used for promoting eco-tourism, Lahiri recommends that they be given government jobs in the forest department and used for patrolling.\u003cbr/\u003eSOUNDBITE (English) \u003cbr/\u003e\"So what we can always do is actually use these unemployed elephants and their people into conservation activities, into activities in regard to Eco-Tourism. Where it gives them some kind of revenue, where it starts bringing them some kind of revenue and at the same time it helps them to restore or to conserve their old culture of the man and elephant relation that they had. So with this kind of dynamics, I am very sure we can create a better conservation atmosphere.\"\u003cbr/\u003eSUPERCAPTION : Raj Basu, wildlife activist\u003cbr/\u003eSOUNDBITE (English) \u003cbr/\u003e\"So I think there is adequate opportunity, scope for re-employment this elephant and elephant men in government service, in the duty of the Forest Department.\"\u003cbr/\u003eSUPERCAPTION : Dhriti Kant Lahiri, elephant expert and author\u003cbr/\u003eWhile deforestation, leading to the fragmentation of traditional elephant corridors and their habitat,  has received much attention, not many have spoken about the fallout for their domesticated counterparts. \u003cbr/\u003eIn the recent past, starving wild elephants have triggered a spate of killings in the northeast states, many times leading to elephants being killed by people.\u003cbr/\u003eWildlife and forest officials now say the current situation is so grave that even tame elephants are straying into human settlements in search of 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