A wild elephant forages through the woods in Đồng Nai Province. — Photo courtesy of Humane World for Animals

ĐỒNG NAI — Once a proud symbol of Việt Nam’s wild majesty, the country’s elephants are now edging toward peril as their numbers dwindle and their forest homes shrink. These gentle giants, long woven into the cultural fabric of local communities, face a real risk of extinction if urgent action is not taken.

The southern province of Đồng Nai, home to the nation’s second-largest wild elephant population, had roughly 25 to 27 individuals as of 2019. Authorities manage more than 370,000 hectares of forest, covering about 25 per cent of the province.

Since 1997, the province has taken the lead in protecting its forests, restricting access to create a vast nature reserve, now recognised by UNESCO as the Đồng Nai Biosphere Reserve, said Nguyễn Thị Hoàng, Vice Chairwoman of the province's People's Committee.

This reserve shelters a variety of wildlife, including species classified as rare or endangered in the Red Book of Việt Nam and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, with wild elephants among the most vulnerable.

Surveys conducted between the 1990s and 2008, involving local authorities, NGOs, and research institutes, particularly in the Cát Tiên National Park and the La Ngà–Đồng Nai Forestry area, revealed that human-elephant conflicts were frequent and damaging before 2009, affecting both local communities and the elephants themselves.

At a recent IUCN Asian Elephant Specialist Group (AsESG) meeting in Đồng Nai, deputy director of the Việt Nam Forestry Administration Đoàn Hoài Nam highlighted that while steps have been taken to reduce conflicts and improve community livelihoods, serious challenges persist.

Ongoing threats include shrinking forest areas, small and fragmented elephant populations, and increasing pressures on their habitats, putting these iconic animals at a critical crossroads between survival and extinction.

Experts stress that specific data on male, female and juvenile elephants can help them accurately assess the potential for maintaining and growing the species' population. — Photo courtesy of Humane World for Animals

Việt Nam now has fewer than 200 wild elephants scattered across several provinces, with Đồng Nai being a key area. This figure serves as a critical warning for elephant conservation efforts.

The country is implementing a National Action Plan for elephant conservation until 2035, with a vision for 2050 to protect this endangered species and promote harmonious coexistence between elephants and humans. 

Experts have made several recommendations for the conservation and development of Việt Nam’s elephant population, emphasising solutions such as protecting natural habitats, reducing human-elephant conflicts, expanding migration corridors, enhancing international cooperation, and encouraging community involvement in research and conservation efforts.

According to Vivek Menon, an IUCN councillor and chair of the AsESG, conservation efforts must focus on preserving the natural habitat of elephants, which is increasingly shrinking.

Additionally, fostering harmonious coexistence between humans and elephants and minimising conflicts during agricultural production are key factors. Communities living alongside elephants should ideally become their protectors.

It is also crucial to prevent the hunting of wild elephants for meat, an inhumane act that has led to the deaths of many animals, he noted.

Dr Prithiviraj Fernando, a senior member of the AsESG, praised the collaborative efforts of Đồng Nai Province in elephant conservation projects. The group’s work with local authorities has achieved notable successes that could serve as a model for replication elsewhere in Việt Nam.

Scaling up elephant conservation efforts in 2026 is expected to provide a foundation for future decision-making, aiming to gradually increase the number of wild elephants in the country. 

If successful, this will not only be an achievement for Việt Nam but also a valuable lesson in biodiversity conservation for the world.

According to Dr Fernando, data is the most important factor in this endeavour, as complete and accurate information enables appropriate assessments and action plans.

With specific data on the presence of male, female and juvenile elephants, conservationists can accurately evaluate the potential for maintaining and growing the population, creating opportunities for recovery and expansion in the wild, he explained.

Menon noted that Việt Nam had seen its tigers and lions driven to the brink of extinction. The country now has the chance to save wild elephants while the species still exists. 

He called on authorities and stakeholders to take urgent action to ensure elephants continue to thrive in Việt Nam’s natural environment.

Speaking on human-elephant relations, Menon said that elephants are large animals and the risk of attack is high when humans enter their habitats without appropriate knowledge of their behaviour.

Additionally, elephants are social animals that live in herds with strong familial bonds, meaning that separating mothers from calves can increase aggression.

Therefore, it is crucial to allow elephants to live within their natural herds and maintain natural behaviours to minimise conflicts with humans, he said. — VNS