Full press review 2013

Protéger l’éléphant d’Asie

Press Review Revue de Presse

Association Vies Animales

REVUE DE PRESSE INTERNATIONALE

TELEVISION FRANCE ARTE “Sarah et les éléphants”. Documentaire (26 mn) 17 décembre 2007 à 20h15 FRANCE 5 “Caravan Xang : la longue marche des éléphants” Documentaire (52mn) Juillet et Août 2005 - 12 diffusions Le film a été présenté à plusieurs festivals : « les Ecrans de l’Aventure », Dijon (octobre 2002), « Planète couleurs » à Saint-Etienne (mars 2003), « Aventure et découverte » à Val d’Isère (juillet 2003) et « Fenêtre sur l’Asie » à Angoulême (octobre 2003).

FRANCE 2 30 Millions d’Amis 9 octobre 2004 PLANETE FUTURE “Caravan Xang : la longue marche des éléphants” Documentaire (52mn) Octobre / novembre 2003 DIRECT8 Plateau direct Emission “Complement Terre” Mars 2005

INTERNATIONAL TV5 MONDE “Sarah et les éléphants”. Documentaire (26 mn) Diffusion prévue fin 2007 / début 2008 TELEVISION SUISSE ROMANDE “Sarah et les éléphants”. Documentaire (26 mn) Diffusion prévue fin 2007 ANIMAL PLANET Reportage (52mn) Festival de l’Eléphant du Laos Diffusion prévue en janvier 2008

“SEPT A HUIT” TF1 21 mars 2010 à 18h20 21 March 2010 at 6:20pm

“HUMANIMA : MEMOIRES D’ELEPHANT” TV5 Canada 23 janvier 2010 à 19h00, 7 octobre 2010 à 22h00 23 January 2010 at 7pm, 7 October 2010 at 10pm

“LES EXPÉDITIONS D’ARTE. OÙ SONT PASSÉS LES ÉLÉPHANTS ?”

ARTE 17 décembre 2007 à 20h50 17 December at 8:50pm

“LES NOUVEAUX PARADIS : AU FIL DU MEKONG” ARTE 21 juillet 2008 à 20h15, 27 juillet 2008 à 12h00 et 28 juillet 2008 à 12h00 21 July 2008 at 8:15pm, 27 July 2008 at 12pm, 28 July 2008 at 12pm

“MISSION SAUVAGE - HELENE SEGARA AU LAOS” NT1 2 novembre 2009 2 November 2009

“MISSION SAUVAGE - HELENE SEGARA AU LAOS” ANIMAUX 30 octobre 2009 30 October 2009

“COMPLEMENT TERRE” DIRECT 8 15 juin 2005 à 9h15 15 June 2005 at 9:15am

LA NOUVELLE REPUBLIQUE (Avr. 02)

LA GAZETTE DES COMMUNES (mai 04)

LA PROVENCE Avril 2003 LE DAUPHINE LIBERE Novembre 2003 ECOTOURISME MAGAZINE No 3 - 2003 MON QUOTIDIEN Presse Jeunesse No 1945 PRESSE INTERNATIONALE CNN TRAVELLER (USA) Giant Steps Inside Asia Octobre 2007 TOWN & COUNTRY TRAVEL (USA) Octobre 2007 BANGKOK POST (THAILANDE) Life is a Jumbo (Horizons) Yvonne Bowongprasert 8 mars 2007 D La Repubblica delle Donne (ITALIE) Il paradosso dell’ elefante 14 décembre 2002 ASIAN SANCTUARY (INDE) 4 août 2004 Saving Laos’ elephants Peeyush Seksharia SUNDAY VIETNAM NEWS (VIETNAM) 21 avril 2002

DIFFUSIONS TV DOCUMENTAIRES, REPORTAGES ET PLATEAUX ELEFANTASIA DOCUMENTARIES, TV REPORTS AND TALK SHOWS ELEFANTASIA

“TROPIC OF CANCER” BBC 2 25 avril 2010 à 20h00 25 April 2010 at 8pm

“MEKONG: SOUL OF A RIVER, LAOS & THAILAND” ANIMAL PLANET 22, décembre 21h00, 23 décembre 19h00, 25 décembre 16h00, 29 décembre 15h00 22 December 9pm, 23 December 7am, 25 December 4pm, 29 December 3pm

“30 MILLIONS D’AMIS” FRANCE 2 10 octobre 2004 à 15h40 10 October 2004 at 3:40pm

“FAUT PAS RÊVER” FRANCE 3 9 juillet à 20h35 9 July at 8:35pm

“CARAVAN XANG : LA LONGUER MARCHE DES ELEPHANTS” FRANCE 5 8 août 2005 à 16h05, 13 août 2005 à 00h50 8 August 2005 at 4:05pm, 13 August 2005 at 00:50am

“EXTINCTIONS” FRANCE 5 13 août 2010 à 20h35 13 August 2010 at 8:35pm

RADIO FRANCE CULTURE - Appel d’Air 7 mars 03

RADIO CHRETIENNE DE FRANCE

RADIO SUISSE ROMANDE / COULEUR 3

RADIO HÔPITAL

EXPOS / PROJECTIONS / CONFÉRENCES MAIRIE DE St MANDÉ 14-26 novembre 2005 LES RENCONTRES D’ARLES 2004 Arles. 8 juil./19 septembre 2004 SECAS - Jardin des Plantes de Paris Paris. 9 octobre 2004 MAISON DE L’INDOCHINE Paris. 6 novembre 2002 et 12 janvier au 15 mai 2004 CONSEIL GENERAL DU PUY-DE-DOME Clermont-Ferrand. 26 avril au 29 mai 2004

VISA POUR L’IMAGE Festival International de photo-journalisme Perpignan. 31 août /15 septembre 2003 MUSEE GUIMET Paris. 25 janvier 2003

FNAC (Italie 2, Paris) Exposition du 10 octobre au 1er novembre 2003

EDITION ACTES SUD Livre. La Caravane des Eléphants Octobre 2003. 203 pages.

6000 exemplaires

REVUE CHEMINS D’ETOILES Le Bestiaire du Voyageur Editions Transboréale Février 2006

PRESSE FRANÇAISE GAMMA Couverture photo exclusive de la Caravane des Eléphants AFP Dépêche du 17 avril 2002 Diffusion mondiale TERRE SAUVAGE Magazine / No 184 / juin 2003 Article 12 pages + couv.

GEO Magazine / No 298 / décembre 2003 Rubrique GEO Livres LIBERATION Pour la défense des éléphants surmenés Georges Thevenin Quotidien mardi 5 juin 2007 LE MONDE 2 Magazine du 1er – 2 février 2004 Agenda Photo

PARUTIONS PRESSE INTERNATIONALE ELEFANTASIA ELEFANTASIA INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASES

“LOST IN LAOS” Simon Montlake Vendredi 4 - dimanche 6 Septembre 2009 Friday-Sunday, September 4-6, 2009

“IN LAOS, PRIZED ELEPHANTS ARE IN DECLINE” Denis D. Gray. Associated Press writer 16 mars 2008 - March 16, 2008

DIE LETZTEN IHRER ART” LAST OF THE ELEPHANTS Carsten Stormer 14 mars 2010 - March 16, 2010

POUR LA DEFENSE DES ELEPHANTS SURMENÉS Georges Thevenin 5 juin 2007 - June 5, 2007

“ON THE ROAD WITH THE ELEPHANTS OF LAOS” Fiona Mc. Gregor 9 août 2010 - August 9, 2010

“TO THE CIRCUS: CONSERVATIONISTS WARN OF ELEPHANT EXODUS FROM LAOS” Fiona Mc. Gregor 10 août 2010 - August 10, 2010

“JUNGLE BY JUMBO” Mike Larder 30 novembre 2008 - November 30, 2008

“LIFE IS A JUMBO” Yvonne Bohwongprasert 8 mars 2007 - March 8, 2007

“IN LAOS, PRIZED ELEPHANTS ARE IN DECLINE”

“WALKING WITH GIANTS”

Denis D. Gray. Associated Press writer 17 mars 2008 - March 17, 2008

Mike Larder Août 2008 - August 2008

“LAOS : LA LONGUE MARCHE DES ELEPHANTS” Sébas en Du llot Juin 2003 - June 2003

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sentiers

sauvages PYRÉNÉES CATALANES DU CANIGOU À LA MÉDITERRANÉE

Laos

DOSSIER Et l’eau civilisa l’homme…

J U I N 2 0 0 3 4,90 € (France Métropolitaine et Belgique) – 5 € (Luxembourg) – 9,80 FS – 8,95 $ Can _ 50 Mad (Mar) MÉSANGES DOSSIER EAU DOUCE LAOS ÉLÉPHANTS FRANCE LEVANT GUYANE MARAIS DE KAW SENTIERS SAUVAGES PYRÉNÉES CATALANES

Terre Sauvage Terre Sauvage

LA LONGUE MARCHE DES ÉLÉPHANTS

N° 1 8 4 J U I N 2 0 0 3 - N n °184

LES TRÉSORS DE L’ÎLE DU LEVANT

Côte d’Azur

E R U T A N R U E D N A R G E D N O M E L

LAOS

Sauver l’éléphant d’Asie Par Sébastien Duffillot/ElefantAsia Photos Thierry Renavand/GAMMA

« LES ÉLÉPHANTS ARRIVENT ! » La rumeur devance la caravane de village en village. D’abord étonnés, les enfants accueillent vite les pachydermes avec enthousiasme.

AUJOURD’HUI, LES 50 000 ÉLÉPHANTS QUI SURVIVENT EN ASIE SONT EN VOIE D’EXTINCTION. Pour aider à la prise de conscience de ce drame écologique, deux Français ont parcouru, avec quatre pachydermes, 1 300 kilomètres à travers le Laos, « le Pays du million d’éléphants ». Témoignage.

Terre sauvage I37I juin 2003

Au sud-est du Laos, les éléphants ont quasi disparu,

P

rovince de Sayaboury, le 29 mars 2002. Les éléphants sont nerveux et leur comportement nous inquiète. Un pachyderme estil fait pour voguer sur l’eau ?

Voilà huit heures qu’ils voyagent debout dans l’énorme barge qui remonte le Mékong, «la mère des eaux», vers Paklay.

C’est notre étape du jour, une petite ville laotienne qui vit tranquillement, cadencée par le ballet des bateaux de pêche et l’effervescence de son marché, bordé de flamboyants en fleur.

Singthong (Lion de cuivre), le jeune mâle de 19 ans aux courtes défenses, trépigne en poussant des petits barrissements d’impatience suraigus. Ses trois compagnes, Tongkham (Cuivre et or, la matriarche de 40 ans), Khammi (Qui a de l’or, 23 ans) et Bouakam (Lotus d’or, 32 ans) semblent plus calmes.

Elles trempent nonchalamment leur trompe Terre sauvage I38I juin 2003

dans le fleuve et, de temps à autre, les dressent, tels des périscopes, pour humer l’air.

Les grands corps ronds balancent doucement sous les jets d’eau des huit cornacs de l’expédition qui se relaient pour les arroser.

«Kwa!» (à droite), «saï!» (à gauche), leur crient-ils. Les huit hommes sont originaires de Hongsa, un village au nord-ouest de Sayaboury, où ils vivent et travaillent avec leurs pachydermes. Pendant que le va-et-vient des seaux d’eau se poursuit, le reste de l’équipe récupère dans les quartiers. La matinée a été particulièrement mouvementée.

Au réveil, il a d’abord fallu démonter le camp et charger le camion d’assistance à toute vitesse pour être à l’heure au petit port de Sanakham, où nous avions donné rendez-vous au capitaine de la barge. Le chargement des éléphants a demandé plus d’une heure. «Paï!» (avance), hurlaient Vong et Seng, les deux frères, maîtres de Singthong. Mais lui refu-

sait obstinément d’obéir. Il a fallu l’intervention conjointe de tous les cornacs et de deux éléphantes pour cerner le récalcitrant.

Singthong a fini par obtempérer et grimper dans le bateau en hurlant de colère. À peine avions-nous récupéré de ce rodéo endiablé que, environ à mi-parcours,

RIEN NE SERT DE COURIR, les éléphants le savent bien.

De bon matin, sous la main expérimentée de leur cornac, flanqués de leur howdah, ils traversent tranquillement la rivière à gué, près de Savannakhet.

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la barge s’est immobilisée dans des rapides.

Les deux moteurs, pourtant puissants, ne suffisaient plus à faire progresser le bateau, alourdi par les mastodontes (4 fois 3 tonnes) et le camion chargé de vivres et d’équipement. Il aurait fallu faire descendre au moins deux éléphants pour tenter à nouveau le passage. Mais les abords du fleuve, faits d’une roche coupante et friable, ne nous permettaient pas d’accoster, encore moins de débarquer les géants aux pieds fragiles. Finalement, le capitaine nous a demandé de rejoindre la rive avec son équipage et de haler le bateau!

Les éléphants semblaient apprécier avec malice cette inversion des rôles. Nous avons laissé nos dernières forces dans l’opération et sombré les uns après les autres dans un profond sommeil. À l’approche du dernier méandre qui nous sépare de Paklay, un vent furieux se lève et transforme le paysage en une étrange estampe monochrome. Tout est ocre. La petite tempête de poussière a le mérite de rafraîchir un peu l’atmosphère brûlante, mais rend la visi-

bilité quasi nulle. Nos quatre éléphants barrissent de nervosité. À l’embarcadère de Paklay, la foule est là, ardente, impatiente.

Notre quatuor à trompe s’extrait du bateau plus vite qu’il n’y est entré. Il presse le pas en direction des stands en bambou dressés sur le chemin à son intention et qui regorgent de friandises et d’eau. La population se masse autour d’eux et leur tend tronçons de bananier et bâtons de canne à sucre avec des gestes d’excitation mêlée d’effroi. Et nous, fourbus et ravis, assistons aux scènes de liesse qui, depuis deux mois, marquent notre périple.

Nous avions alors quitté Champassak, point de départ de l’expédition. Le 28 janvier, à l’occasion des fêtes annuelles de Vat Phou, la caravane acheminée par la route s’était retrouvée au milieu des temples de la civilisation pré-angkorienne, qui domina la région du Xe au XIVe siècle. Nous entamions notre lente remontée jusqu’à Louang Prabang, distante de 1300 kilomètres. Mille trois cents kilomètres pour rappeler aux Laotiens à quel point les éléphants d’Asie, pourtant tant aimés et respectés, sont près de disparaître. Une sorte de caravane culturelle à travers les

victimes des bombes de la guerre et de la déforestation.

ElefantAsia ElefantAsia est une association loi 1901 créée par deux Français, Sébastien Duffillot et Gilles Maurer.

Soutenue par l’Unesco, Asie-Pacifique, le Muséum national d’histoire naturelle et le bureau vétérinaire de l’Union européenne au Laos, ElefantAsia a pour objectif de sensibiliser le public à la menace d’extinction qui pèse sur l’éléphant d’Asie, et sur les traditions qui lui sont rattachées.

Outre la préparation d’autres caravanes (la seconde au Myanmar et, enfin, une dernière entre l’Inde et le Bhoutan), ElefantAsia prévoit

de publier un manuel pratique en langue lao à l’intention des cornacs et des vétérinaires laotiens. À terme, elle envisage de participer à la création d’un centre de conservation de l’éléphant. À la fois hôpital pour pachydermes malades ou vieillissants et centre de ressources regroupant données statistiques, écrits anciens et documents audiovisuels, ce sanctuaire de l’éléphant offrirait aussi des activités de découverte et d’initiation au monde de la forêt… à dos d’éléphant!

S. D.

COUVERTS DE FLEURS lors du « baci », cérémonie d’accueil animiste, les éléphants s’agenouillent au pied du Bouddha. Dans l’enceinte de ce vat, des défenses d’éléphant ont remplacé les habituelles reliques.

L’éléphant est intrinsèquement lié au mode de production

Terre sauvage I40I juin 2003

et de pensée de la société laotienne traditionnelle. refuges des derniers éléphants d’Asie.

Jadis, le Laos s’appelait Lane Xang: le «Pays du million d’éléphants ». Il n’en reste que 2000, dont 700 sauvages seulement. Dans toute l’Asie, on ne compte plus que 35000 à 50000 éléphants sauvages et 15000 éléphants domestiques. Paradoxalement, c’est sur ce continent, où l’éléphant est pourtant à la fois protégé et vénéré, où il occupe une place fondamentale dans les cultures et les religions, qu’il est aussi le plus menacé. Infiniment plus difficiles à enrayer que le trafic illicite de l’ivoire, qui touche surtout l’éléphant africain, les causes du déclin sont nombreuses: surpopulation humaine et donc déforestation, cultures sur brûlis, destruction des routes migratoires des pachydermes, absence d’éducation à l’environnement… L’habitat forestier actuel de l’éléphant est réduit à une

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SUR LES RIVES DU MÉKONG, dans la plus ancienne pagode de Takhek, les éléphants sculptés dans la pierre des bas-reliefs et le bois doré des panneaux racontent quatre mille ans d’histoire sacrée.

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Terre sauvage I41I juin 2003

BARRISSEMENT FURIEUX du jeune Sing Tong qui refuse d’embarquer. Après une longue navigation sur le Mékong, les quatre éléphants rejoindront en barge leur village natal, au Sud du Laos.

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fraction de ce qu’il était au début du

XXe siècle.

Après sept ans passés au Laos, Gilles Maurer et moi avons créé ElephantAsia (voir encadré p. 40) pour réagir face à cette situation catastrophique. Et pendant deux ans, nous avons bataillé pour monter cette première expédition. Depuis soixante jours, nous avons traversé les régions animistes et les rizières asséchées d’Attopeu, Sékong et Saravane pour rejoindre un tronçon de l’ancienne piste Ho Chi Minh qui nous a menés jusqu’à la province de Savannakhet. Dans cette région forestière qui garde les stigmates de la guerre d’Indochine, nous avons appris que la plupart des éléphants ont fui le pays ou sont morts sous les bombes des B-52 américains qui les prenaient pour cibles. Le Viêtcông était alors soupçonné d’utiliser des trou-

peaux d’éléphants comme moyen de transport pour se ravitailler. Pendant la traversée de Borikhamxay, les pagodes bouddhistes sont devenues nos haltes de prédilection.

Nous avons enchaîné les petites étapes forestières jusqu’à Vientiane, la capitale, au rythme de nos quatre compagnons chargés de leurs chaises majestueuses. Là, 4000 spectateurs sont venus assister au défilé des éléphants sur l’esplanade du That Luang, le stupa doré, symbole de la nation. Pour l’occasion, ils étaient rejoints par l’éléphant blanc, l’animal sacré du Laos, considéré comme l’incarnation d’un futur Bouddha.

Mais pour notre caravane, le débarquement à Paklay marque une date importante. Nous entrons à Sayaboury, la dernière province qui nous sépare de notre but: Louang Prabang, ancienne cité royale, joyau architectural et

centre spirituel et culturel du pays. Nous devons impérativement l’atteindre pour le Pi May, le nouvel an laotien. Nos éléphants sont attendus pour participer à la procession sacrée qui traversera la ville. Ce sera la première fois, depuis la chute du régime monarchique et la prise du pouvoir par le Phatet Lao communiste en 1975, que les éléphants reprendront leur place dans le défilé.

Les autorités de la ville ont mis pour la nuit une grande maison coloniale à notre disposition. Nous y déchargeons le camion et mettons le riz gluant à cuire pendant que Ping et Na, les cuisinières de l’expédition, préparent en chantant volailles et légumes pour la grande famille. Nous sommes vingt-deux à fouler depuis deux mois les pistes rouges du Laos dans l’ombre apaisante des éléphants.

Chacun prend place en tailleur sur les grandes

En bateau, en camion ou cheminant par les forêts,

Terre sauvage I42I juin 2003

EN FILE INDIENNE et par petites étapes, la caravane se rapproche de Louang Prabang où les éléphants participeront à la procession du Pi May, le nouvel an laotien.

nattes en bambou tendues sur le sol pour le repas. Personne n’échappera à la traditionnelle tournée de lao lao, le terrible alcool de riz national, servi par des jeunes filles souriantes et intimidées. Après cette journée éreintante, pas de zèle au petit bal du soir; chacun rejoint sa tente ou sa moustiquaire pour une nuit réparatrice. À l’aube, la terre tremble. Une vingtaine d’éléphants entoure notre petit camp. Des

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grands, des petits, avec et sans défenses, il y en a partout. Ils travaillent dans les forêts des environs et leurs propriétaires ont été prévenus de notre arrivée par les autorités du bourg. Tous ont été conviés à nous rejoindre pour la cérémonie. Le tintement des cloches en bambou et le cliquetis des lourdes chaînes se mêlent aux applaudissements de la foule, qui se regroupe à présent autour de la grande scène érigée par la municipalité. Nous installons en toute hâte les palanquins sur le dos des éléphants et rejoignons le troupeau! Dans un alignement parfait, les notables et les politiques de la petite localité sont assis, face à l’impressionnant cortège des mastodontes.

Sur un signe du maître de cérémonie, le silence se fait. Le vieil homme porte un costume blanc immaculé et une grande écharpe à

1300 kilomètres, de Champassak à Louang Prabang.

Dans le brouhaha et la poussière, la ferveur des gens ▲

carreaux bleus en travers de la poitrine.

D’une voix monocorde, il entame le rituel de soukhouan, en appelant les âmes des éléphants et des cornacs à rejoindre leurs corps.

Selon une croyance laotienne d’origine chamanique, les âmes d’un être humain

Terre sauvage I44I juin 2003

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ou d’un animal qui, en temps normal, occupent, pour les vitaliser, des places spécifiques de leur corps, peuvent les quitter sous le coup d’une émotion, de la séduction d’un être ou d’un lieu agréable. Ou encore, à cause d’un mauvais esprit. Leur absence est de nature à provoquer troubles, maladies, voire la mort.

Le maître de cérémonie lance un appel vers divers mondes, à l’intention des âmes manquantes, les engageant à revenir sans tarder.

Lorsqu’elles ont réintégré le corps de leur propriétaire, l’officiant, suivi de l’assistance, les empêche de repartir en attachant des cor-

donnets de coton blanc aux poignets des cornacs et aux oreilles des éléphants. L’éléphant et le buffle sont les seuls animaux à prendre part à ce rite sacré.

Tandis que le sage prononce les dernières paroles du rituel, les habitants se pressent, impatients de se livrer aux dévotions millénaires dues à l’animal emblème. Les vieilles femmes les bénissent en les aspergeant d’eau parfumée et récupèrent le fluide qui coule le long des défenses ou des oreilles pour en oindre la tête de leurs petits-enfants. Les excréments d’éléphants, agrégats de végétaux digérés, sont ramassés méticuleusement et serviront à la confection d’onguents aux propriétés mystérieuses pour les profanes…

Les cornacs sont à l’honneur à la fête qui clôt le soukhouan. Les plus expérimentés profitent du rassemblement pour montrer leur savoir-faire aux spectateurs. Ils simulent,

AU LAOS, LA COUTUME veut que l’on passe sous le ventre de l’éléphant pour recevoir la bonne fortune et guérir de tous ses maux. Au long du périple, les mêmes scènes de ferveur se répètent.

S’agenouillant, la foule asperge les éléphants d’eau lustrale et leur remet ses offrandes.

FÊTE CÉLÉBRÉE EN L’HONNEUR du retour, sains et saufs, des quatre éléphants à Hongsa, leur province d’origine.

Billets de banque et nourriture sont offerts aux esprits protecteurs des éléphants.

L’éléphant, symbole de l’Asie La situation désastreuse de l’éléphant d’Asie jure avec l’importance culturelle et religieuse de l’animal dans le continent. Selon Amphay Doré, directeur adjoint du Centre d’anthropologie de la Chine du Sud et de la Péninsule Indochinoise (CNRS) et Fondateur du Cercle de Culture et de Recherches Laotiennes (CCRL), cette symbolique de l’éléphant chez les Laotiens s’est construite en plusieurs phases. Au début, quand la population

vivait disséminée dans une forêt hostile, l’éléphant était considéré comme un puissant esprit sauvage.

Il devait impressionner par sa masse, sa force sauvage et sa longévité mais, également, par certaines de ses caractéristiques étonnamment proches de celles de l’homme: l’intelligence, l’affectivité et le sens de l’organisation sociale.

Ce n’est qu’au néolithique que les hommes commencèrent à domestiquer l’animal.

Au VIIe siècle de notre ère, l’expansion khmère introduisit la vision indienne de l’éléphant.

Le pachyderme devint symbole de la fertilité.

Et de la sagesse, grâce à la qualité que les Indiens attribuent à leur divinité à tête d’éléphant, Ganesh, le chef des troupes divines. Mais l’éléphant était aussi la divinité gardienne des quatre Orients et Indra, chef des divinités célestes, est monté sur le plus prestigieux d’entre eux, Eravana, l’éléphant blanc tricéphale.

Les bouddhistes ajoutèrent aussi leur pierre à la sacralisation de l’animal.

En effet, dans le cycle des réincarnations, l’éléphant constitue la dernière étape avant celle de l’homme.

C’est dire combien il est proche de ce dernier.

L’éléphant accompagna fidèlement Bouddha.

Et c’est un éléphant blanc qui apparut en rêve à la mère du Bouddha, la reine Maya, pour lui annoncer qu’elle allait concevoir en son sein le futur Bouddha.

enfle au fil du voyage, à chaque arrivée des éléphants.

Terre sauvage I45I juin 2003

LES ÉLÉPHANTS NAGENT volontiers dans les fleuves ou les lacs. L’eau les porte et ils parcourent ainsi de longues distances sans se fatiguer. Chaque jour, un éléphant boit jusqu’à 190 litres d’eau.

Lustrale ou vitale, l’eau est indissociablement liée à l’éléphant.

Chez les cornacs, un jeune garçon est affecté à chaque ▲

à l’aide de troncs d’arbres rapportés pour l’occasion, avec une grande dextérité, les gestes quotidiens de leur éléphant au travail. Chaque paire est unique. Chez les cornacs du Laos, on affecte en effet à chaque éléphanteau un jeune garçon du même âge. Comme l’homme et l’éléphant ont à peu près la même durée de vie, il n’est pas rare que les couples ainsi formés durent jusqu’à la mort. Dans le NordOuest, qui a moins souffert de la guerre et a mieux préservé sa tradition d’élevage que le Sud, l’éléphant est encore largement utilisé par les bûcherons pour transporter le bois.

Paradoxalement, il contribue donc par son travail à la destruction de son propre habitat.

La fête s’achève. Avant de poursuivre leur route, les maîtres des éléphants reçoivent offrandes et dons d’argent de parents émus qui, selon la coutume laotienne, souhaitent passer sous le ventre de l’animal avec leur enfant dans les bras. Ainsi, ils peuvent bénéTerre sauvage I46I juin 2003

ficier de sa bonne fortune, être guéris de tous les maux et acquérir des mérites en perspective d’une meilleure vie future. On fait une offrande, selon ses moyens, pour attirer sur soi-même et sur sa descendance un peu de la force et de la longévité transmises par l’animal sacré.

Lorsque prennent fin libations et rites animistes, le long convoi se remet en route dans un nuage de poussière. Tel un orage en marche, les grandes silhouettes grises de la caravane avancent en tanguant vers Louang Prabang. « Xang ma lèo ! », s’exclament les enfants sur les bords de la route: les éléphants ◗ reviennent!

Voir le carnet de route de l’expédition sur le site : [www.elefantasia.com]. À lire: La Caravane des éléphants, le périple d’ElefantAsia, à paraître en septembre aux éd. Actes Sud. À noter: ElefantAsia participera au forum «La biodiversité au centre de tout», des Assises nationales du développement durable (Lille, 26 et 27 juin).

Quel avenir pour l’éléphant d’Asie ?

Parmi les pays d’Asie qui hébergent encore des éléphants (1), peu protègent efficacement leurs forêts. Le Bhoutan fait exception à la règle.

Contrairement à l’Inde voisine, le petit État himalayen a conservé une forêt intacte. Les éléphants indiens, poussés par la déforestation et l’explosion démographique sont engagés, avec l’homme, dans une lutte sanglante pour l’espace.

Certains groupes trouvent refuge dans les forêts du Bhoutan, mais les éléphants risquent de s’y trouver en surnombre, détruisant eux-mêmes la forêt qui les abrite.

La survie de l’éléphant d’Asie dépend de l’espace que l’homme lui concédera.

Les gouvernements et les ONG mettent en place des réserves protégées. Mais celles-ci restent

limitées et surtout morcelées. Pour éviter l’isolement génétique des éléphants sauvages et leur permettre de se reproduire avec d’autres hardes, ou même avec des éléphants domestiques, il faut établir entre les réserves des corridors qui respectent leurs routes migratoires traditionnelles.

L’éléphant domestique disparaît aussi. Les 15000 derniers spécimens sont progressivement remplacés par des machines. Ils perdent leur rôle économique et sont voués au chômage. Jadis considéré comme un notable, le cornac voit son statut social se dégrader. Les jeunes abandonnent ce métier fatigant qui n’est plus prisé.

(1) L’Inde, le Népal, le Bhoutan, le Sri Lanka, le Bangladesh, le Myanmar, la Thaïlande, le Laos, le Cambodge, le Viêtnam, la Chine, la Malaisie et l’Indonésie.

DÉLICES D’EAU PARTAGÉS suivis d’un repas matinal et de friandises : feuilles de palmier ou branche de cocotier. Un petit échantillon de l’alimentation de la journée : environ 250 kilos de fourrage !

éléphanteau. Un couple souvent uni jusqu’à la mort.

Terre sauvage I47I juin 2003

affiche IT oct def 30/09/03 13:05 Page 1

Les

rendez-VOUS de la

Fnac Italie 2

ElefantAsia © Thierry Renavand / Gamma

espace rencontres

Voz de Cabo Verde le 8 octobre à 18h espace rencontres

“… Comme en 14 !” le 9 octobre à 18h espace rencontres

Fnac Italie 2 30, avenue d’Italie Tél.: 01 58 10 30 00

Horaires: du lundi au samedi de 10h à 20h

art

projection

Jeune Algérienne / Museum of Fine Ars, Boston, USA

art

espace rencontres

rentrée littéraire

Douglas Kennedy

espace rencontres

espace rencontres

art

espace rencontres

jeudi 23 octobre à 18h

le 30 octobre à 18h espace rencontres

“L’Algérie en héritage, art et histoire”

le 21 octobre à 18h

le 31 octobre à 18h espace rencontres

ElefantAsia

exposition de photographies

“Ni putes ni soumises” le 16 octobre à 18h espace rencontres

du 10 octobre au 1 er novembre

Photo Roller

le 7 octobre à 18h

De Delacroix à Renoir : “l’Algérie des peintres”

le 20 octobre à partir de 17h

Yann Apperry

le 15 octobre, à 15h

littérature

Teofilo Chantre

“Bricolo-récup”

religion

espace rencontres

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Divali

le 28 octobre à 18h espace rencontres

L’antique sagesse de Nalanda Photographies de Melina Mulas

jusqu’au 17 janvier Galerie photo

“La Grippe coloniale” le 17 octobre à 17h rayon BD

Toutes ces manifestations sont gratuites et libres d’accès.

Programme complet des Rendez-vous de votre magasin disponible à l’accueil et naturellement sur .

Biviou raconte…

enfant

le 2 octobre à 18h

à 18h espace rencontres

Conversation

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L’Islam et la laïcité

Caravan Xang : la longue marche des éléphants

mardi 14 octobre

société

enfant rendez-vous Historia musique capverdienne musique capverdienne théâtre

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14 20 30 21 31 15 23 16 28 17 29 octobre 2003 BD

1 2 7 8 9

Avec Rémi, ^comptines et jeux de doigts

“Gauguin-Tahiti l’atelier des tropiques”

le 29 octobre à 15h espace rencontres

AVENTURE - Spécial “les écrans de l’aventure de Dijon”OCt. 2002

Gilles Maurer !U PAYS DU MILLION D Ă?LĂ?PHANTS ° QUOI RESSEMBLE LE MONDE VU DU DOS D UN Ă?LĂ?PHANT # EST CE QU A VOULU SAVOIR 'ILLES -AURER AMI DE LONGUE DATE DES PACHYDERMES CĂ™TOYĂ?S DANS UN PAYS CHER ĂŒ SON C“UR

LE ,AOS 0OUR AUTANT LA TRAVERSĂ?E INTĂ?GRALE DU PAYS ENTREPRISE PAR CE CORNAC Ă?COLOGISTE N EST PAS QU UN VOYAGE PITTORESQUE ĂŒ TRAVERS PISTES ET FORĂ?TS ELLE SE VEUT UN APPEL ĂŒ LA PRISE DE CONSCIENCE EN FAVEUR D UN PATRIMOINE MENACĂ? %N EFFET SI L Ă?LĂ?PHANT D !SIE EST MOINS VICTIME DU BRACONNAGE QUE SON COUSIN D !FRIQUE IL SUBIT CEPENDANT LES CONSĂ?QUENCES DE L AMOINDRISSEMENT DE SON Ă?COSYSTĂ’ME $E LA RĂ?GION SAUVAGE DE #HAMPASSAK ĂŒ ,UANG 0RABANG L ANCIENNE CITĂ? ROYALE LA CARAVANE DE QUATRE Ă?LĂ?PHANTS EST ALLĂ?E ĂŒ LA RENCONTRE D UN PEUPLE POUR QUI CET ANIMAL EST PLUS QU UNE MONTURE OU UN AUXILIAIRE DE TRAVAIL UN VĂ?RITABLE SYMBOLE CULTUREL

V

IENTIANE,  la ville aux remparts de santal , a retrouvÊ un peu de sa splendeur en cette fin d’annÊe 2545 du calendrier bouddhique. L’arrivÊe de quatre ÊlÊphants dans les artères de la capitale laotienne provoque un embouteillage mÊmorable qui ne semble pas inquiÊter la force publique. Sing Thong ( Lion de cuivre ), le jeune mâle de 19 ans aux courtes dÊfenses, ouvre la marche, suivi de ses trois compagnes, Tongkham ( Cuivre et or , la matriarche), Khammi ( Sertie d’or ) et Bouakham ( Lotus d’or ). À leur vue, la foule tumultueuse des passants se transforme en une procession joyeuse. Quelques tuk-tuk – des rickshaws laotiens – qui ont le malheur de croiser notre chemin se font happer par cette marÊe humaine.

La progression est difficile mais il faut presser le pas. Les reprÊsentants du gouvernement nous attendent sur le parvis du That Luang, le stupa dorÊ qui abrite des reliques du Bouddha, pour une cÊrÊmonie officielle. Le passage de la caravane dans la capitale du Laos est un ÊvÊnement exceptionnel ! Au XVIIe siècle, une mission hollandaise avait ÊtÊ reçue par le roi Sourigna Vongsa, montÊ sur l’ÉlÊphant blanc à la tête d’un cortège de seize pachydermes. Les reprÊsentants Êtrangers purent ainsi admirer la richesse et la puissance du royaume. Aujourd’hui, le gouvernement a bien l’intention de se rappeler les fastes du passÊ.

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'ILLES -AURER ET 3Ă?BASTIEN $UFFILLOT ONT EFFECTUĂ? UNE TRAVERSĂ?E DU ,AOS ĂŒ DOS D Ă?LĂ?PHANT DEPUIS LA PROVINCE DE #HAMPASSAK AU SUD JUSQU ĂŒ CELLE DE ,UANG 0RABANG AU NORD

L’avenue qui mène au That Luang se mue en un mince sentier qui serpente entre les spectateurs pressÊs d’approcher les ÊlÊphants. Les soldats de l’ArmÊe populaire sont un peu dÊbordÊs. Ay Vong, le cornac en chef de la caravane, a mis pied à terre et veille, la main posÊe sur la dÊfense de Sing Thong. Dernier rempart, garde d’un corps sacrÊ‌ Difficile de dire s’il protège son ÊlÊphant de la foule ou bien les badauds des caprices de l’animal ! Face à cette cohue, l’ÊlÊphant ne se dÊpart pas de son calme et de sa nonchalance lÊgendaires. Seng, le jeune frère d’Ay Vong, chevauche le gÊant et rÊcolte au passage les offrandes et les poignÊes de billets tendus à bout de bras. Une commerçante pille son propre Êtal pour offrir une brassÊe de cannes à sucre aux ÊlÊphants qui se rÊgalent de ces friandises. Par dizaines, des colliers de fleurs enlacent les trompes de notre imposant quatuor. Par ces gestes fervents, les Laotiens espèrent acquÊrir quelques boun, ces mÊrites mÊticuleusement accumulÊs tout au long d’une vie pour atteindre le Nirvana. ,ES FOR�TS D (ONGSA AU NORD OUEST

ABRITENT LES DERNIERS Ă?LĂ?PHANTS DU ,AOS 30

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Ces tÊmoignages spontanÊs de joie et de ferveur nous surprennent encore. Pourtant, voilà dÊjà deux mois que ces scènes se rÊpètent quotidiennement. Le 28 janvier 2002, nous avons quittÊ Champassak, point de dÊpart de notre ÊpopÊe, à l’occasion des fêtes annuelles de Vat Phou, un temple de la civilisation prÊ-angkorienne qui domina la rÊgion du Xe au XIVe siècle. Notre caravane, composÊe de quatre ÊlÊphants, huit cornacs et une Êquipe logistique, entamait sa lente remontÊe vers l’ancienne citÊ royale de Luang Prabang. Une marche symbolique, longue de 1 300 kilomètres, pour tÊmoigner des traditions et des croyances qui lient les Laotiens à l’ÊlÊphant, "AIGNADE QUOTIDIENNE AVEC LES CORNACS animal sacrÊ qui a pratiquement disparu.

DANS LA RIVIÒRE 3�KONG En Asie du Sud, l’homme et l’ÊlÊphant ont vÊcu côte à côte pendant des millÊnaires. Quand la population vivait dissÊminÊe dans une forêt hostile, l’animal Êtait considÊrÊ comme un puissant esprit sauvage.

Il impressionnait par sa masse, sa force sauvage et sa longÊvitÊ, mais aussi par certaines de ses caractÊristiques Êtonnamment proches de celles de l’homme : intelligence, affectivitÊ et sens de l’organisation sociale. Ce n’est qu’au nÊolithique que les hommes commencèrent à domestiquer l’animal. Au VIIe siècle de notre ère, l’expansion khmère introduisit la vision indienne de l’ÊlÊphant. Le pachyderme devint symbole de fertilitÊ et de sagesse, qualitÊs que les Indiens attribuent à Ganesh, le dieu à tête d’ÊlÊphant. Indra, le chef des divinitÊs cÊlestes, est montÊ sur Eravana, l’ÊlÊphant blanc tricÊphale, gardien des quatre orients. Les bouddhistes ajoutèrent aussi leur pierre à la sacralisation de l’animal. Dans le cycle des rÊincarnations, l’ÊlÊphant constitue la dernière Êtape avant celle de l’homme. C’est dire combien il est proche de ce dernier.

Jusqu’en 1975, le Laos s’appelait Lane Xang,  le pays du million d’ÊlÊphants .

Aujourd’hui, il reste seulement 2 000 pachydermes, dont un millier vit à l’Êtat sauvage. Dans toute l’Asie, on ne compte plus que 35 000 ÊlÊphants sauvages et 15 000 ÊlÊphants domestiques. Paradoxalement, c’est sur ce continent, oÚ l’ÊlÊphant est à la fois protÊgÊ et vÊnÊrÊ, oÚ il occupe une place fondamentale dans les cultures et les religions, qu’il est le plus menacÊ. Si l’ÊlÊphant d’Afrique est principalement victime du trafic de l’ivoire, son cousin d’Asie doit faire face à des menaces bien plus variÊes : surpopulation humaine, dÊforestation accÊlÊrÊe, culture sur brÝlis, braconnage, destruction des routes migratoires‌ Les forêts d’Asie disparaissent inexorablement, entraÎnant avec elles les derniers ÊlÊphants.

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Pendant sept ans, j’ai travaillÊ dans une rÊserve naturelle du nord du Laos. À cette Êpoque, je suis devenu propriÊtaire de Samly, une femelle ÊlÊphant, financÊe par l’ambassade d’Australie pour aider un village enclavÊ de la rÊserve à dÊraciner des souches d’arbres et à prÊparer les futures rizières, et pour soulager les villageois des travaux de force. De cette rencontre a germÊ l’idÊe de la caravane des ÊlÊphants. En 2001, SÊbastien Duffillot et moi avons fondÊ l’association ElefantAsia.

Nous nous sommes fixÊs pour objectif d’attirer l’attention sur le sort des derniers ÊlÊphants du Laos en offrant aux regards des habitants cet animal qu’ils vÊnèrent mais que les jeunes gÊnÊrations n’ont jamais vu. La prÊparation de l’expÊdition a durÊ deux ans et a nÊcessitÊ le soutien de près de trente-cinq sponsors.

Chaque jour depuis notre dÊpart, nous nous demandons par quel miracle nous en sommes arrivÊs là ! La caravane a traversÊ les rÊgions animistes et les rizières assÊchÊes d’Attopeu, SÊkong et Saravane pour rejoindre un tronçon de l’ancienne piste Ho Chi Minh. Dans cette rÊgion forestière qui garde les stigmates de la guerre d’Indochine, nous avons appris que la plupart des ÊlÊphants ont fui le pays ou sont morts sous les bombes des B-52 amÊricains qui les prenaient pour cibles.

3OUS LE REGARD INTRIGUĂ? DES ENFANTS TRAVERSĂ?E D UN COURS D EAU ASSĂ?CHĂ?

DANS LA RĂ?GION ARIDE DE 3AVANNAKHET

Le Viêtcong Êtait alors soupçonnÊ d’utiliser des troupeaux d’ÊlÊphants comme moyen de transport. Pendant la traversÊe de la province de Borikhamxay, les pagodes bouddhistes sont devenues nos haltes de prÊdilection. Nous avons enchaÎnÊ les petites Êtapes forestières jusqu’à Vientiane.

JuchÊ sur la nuque de Sing Thong, les jambes pendantes le long de ses oreilles, j’observe notre petite caravane louvoyer sur la piste. À chaque pas, les palanquins de bois et de rotin grincent et se balancent au rythme chaloupÊ des ÊlÊphants.

Pheng, le cornac de Bouakhram, chantonne. Siengsouey dort, allongÊ sur le banc et protÊgÊ du soleil par l’auvent du palanquin. Chaque jour, nous progressons d’une quinzaine de kilomètres. Quatre heures d’une marche qui ne se rÊsout pas à devenir monotone. À l’orÊe de chaque village, des nuÊes d’enfants nous accueillent

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et nous escortent. Les villageois prÊparent des monceaux de troncs de bananiers, de palmes de cocotiers et de fruits – un ÊlÊphant mange 250 kilos de vÊgÊtaux par jour et boit une centaine de litres d’eau. À eux quatre, nos ÊlÊphants engloutissent une tonne quotidienne ! Heureusement, la gÊnÊrositÊ des villageois dÊpasse largement ce qu’un mÊgaherbivore est capable d’avaler. À plus de 3 mètres au-dessus du sol, je peux voir à l’intÊrieur des maisons, observer les rÊactions des habitants envoÝtÊs par la prÊsence de l’animal. Je domine la scène. Mais cette sensation est vite surpassÊe par la puissance de la masse de chair qui pourrait me happer d’un coup de trompe ou dÊcider de fondre sur la foule. L’ankush menaçante qui trône à portÊe de ma main semble un piètre recours si la force de l’ÊlÊphant venait à se dÊchaÎner‌ Monter un ÊlÊphant enseigne l’humilitÊ, d’autant que pour la foule massÊe à mes pieds, je suis tout simplement invisible.

Parcourir les rues de Vientiane à dos d’ÊlÊphant ! Un rêve un peu fou qui, aujourd’hui, devient rÊalitÊ. Mais c’est peut-être une tout autre raison qui provoque en moi ce curieux mÊlange d’excitation et de fÊbrilitÊ. Car le fait marquant de notre arrivÊe dans la capitale est notre rencontre avec l’ÊlÊphant le

%N ROUTE VERS -UANG 4OUMLANE LA CARAVANE EST MENĂ?E PAR 4HONGKHAM i #UIVRE ET OR w LA MATRIARCHE ĂŠGĂ?E DE ANS

plus sacrÊ du Laos. Cette journÊe pas comme les autres a commencÊ à 5 heures du matin, sur le dos d’une moto en direction de Ban Kheun, la rÊsidence de Xang Pheuak, l’ÊlÊphant blanc du Laos, le roi des ÊlÊphants. Un des premiers voyageurs occidentaux à en avoir parlÊ est sans doute l’abbÊ de Choisy, dans son Journal du voyage de Siam, en 1685 :  Mais, ce qu’on ne voit en nul lieu au monde, il y avait des ÊlÊphants bien plus grands que ceux du dehors. Nous en avons bien vu quatre-vingts ; et entre autres le fameux ÊlÊphant blanc, qui dans les guerres de PÊgou a coÝtÊ la vie à cinq ou six cent mille hommes. Il est assez grand, fort vieux, ridÊ, et a les yeux plissÊs. Il a toujours auprès de lui quatre mandarins avec des Êventails pour le rafraÎchir, des feuillages pour chasser les mouches, et des parasols pour le garantir du soleil quand il se promène. On ne le sert qu’en

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vaisselle d’or ; et j’ai vu devant lui deux vases d’or, l’un pour boire, et l’autre pour manger. On lui donne de l’eau gardÊe depuis six mois, la plus vieille Êtant la plus saine. On dit, mais je ne l’ai pas vu, qu’il y a un petit ÊlÊphant blanc tout prêt à succÊder au vieillard, quand il viendra à mourir.  L’ÊlÊphant blanc a acquis dans le bouddhisme populaire ,A CARAVANE S AGENOUILLE lao la qualitÊ de symbole du Bouddha DEVANT LE BOUDDHA DE "AN 4HAT lui-même. C’est un ÊlÊphant blanc qui apparut en rêve à la mère du Bouddha, la reine Maya, pour lui annoncer qu’elle allait concevoir en son sein le futur sage.

Y a-t-il plus grand honneur, pour la caravane et ses cornacs, que de parader à la suite de l’animal sacrÊ ? Mais il faut d’abord le ramener en camion à Vientiane avec les deux ÊlÊphants pygmÊes qui forment sa garde rapprochÊe. La benne du camion, longue de 11 mètres, est accolÊe à un monticule pour permettre aux trois ÊlÊphants de grimper. Xang Pheuak s’approche le premier. Il teste la soliditÊ du plancher avec sa trompe avant de s’engager docilement dans la benne. Les ÊlÊphants nains se rÊvèlent beaucoup plus rÊcalcitrants que leur vÊnÊrable grand frère. Leur petite taille leur permet presque de se retourner dans la benne. Il leur faut toutefois forcer les parois pour tenter un demi-tour. Le parallÊlisme de l’engin est mis à rude Êpreuve, le mÊtal grince et les chaÎnes claquent. Les cornacs tentent dÊsespÊrÊment de les contenir. Une fois en route, les rebelles se calment.

La trompe dressÊe comme un pÊriscope, ils hument le vent et semblent apprÊcier cette nouvelle vÊlocitÊ. Pendant les 80 kilomètres qui nous ramènent à Vientiane, je suis paralysÊ à l’idÊe que le symbole du pays puisse avoir un accident !

Nous arrivons juste à temps pour rejoindre la caravane qui pÊnètre enfin sur l’esplanade du That Luang. La caravane, à prÊsent forte de sept ÊlÊphants, dÊfile devant plus de six mille spectateurs, suivie par un cortège chamarrÊ de danseurs et de musiciens. Le vice-premier ministre frappe solennellement neuf coups de gong en formant le vœu que la caravane fasse connaÎtre le Laos et ses valeurs culturelles à l’Êtranger. Après les discours des reprÊsentants du parti, il est temps de laisser la parole au chaman pour rendre hommage aux esprits. Vingt-cinq ans de communisme n’ont pas entamÊ la spiritualitÊ des Laotiens et leur goÝt des cÊrÊmonies. ,ES i V�N�RABLES w DE CHAQUE VILLAGE B�NISSENT LA CARAVANE 34

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Dans une joyeuse cohue, les caravaniers prennent place autour du phakouan, un plateau sacrÊ contenant une grande composition florale. Les sept ÊlÊphants se dressent autour de l’assemblÊe. Sur un signe du maÎtre de cÊrÊmonie, le silence se fait. Le vieil homme porte un costume blanc immaculÊ et une grande Êcharpe à carreaux bleus en travers de la poitrine. D’une voix monocorde, il entame le rituel du soukhouan, en appelant les âmes des ÊlÊphants et des cornacs à rejoindre leur corps. Selon une croyance laotienne d’origine chamanique, les trente-deux âmes d’un être humain ou d’un animal peuvent quitter son corps sous le coup d’une Êmotion, de la sÊduction d’un être ou d’un long voyage, ou encore à cause d’un mauvais esprit. Leur absence est de nature à provoquer troubles, maladies et infortune. Le maÎtre de cÊrÊmonie lance un appel vers le monde des esprits, à l’intention des âmes manquantes, les engageant à revenir sans tarder. Lorsqu’elles ont rÊintÊgrÊ le corps de leur propriÊtaire, l’officiant, suivi de l’assistance, les empêche de repartir en attachant des cordonnets de coton blanc aux poignets 0ASSER SOUS LA T�TE D UN �L�PHANT EST GAGE des cornacs et aux oreilles des ÊlÊphants.

DE FORCE ET DE LONGĂ?VITĂ?

L’ÊlÊphant et le buffle sont les seuls animaux à bÊnÊficier de ce rite sacrÊ habituellement rÊservÊ aux hommes.

Tandis que le sage prononce les dernières paroles du rituel, les Laotiens se pressent, impatients de se livrer aux dÊvotions millÊnaires dues à l’animalemblème. De vieilles femmes aspergent la trompe et les dÊfenses d’eau parfumÊe, qu’elles rÊcupèrent ensuite pour bÊnir la tête de leurs petits-enfants. Les excrÊ- , ARRIV�E DES �L�PHANTS UN �V�NEMENT DEVENU RARE

EST ATTENDUE COMME UNE F�TE ments d’ÊlÊphants, agrÊgats de vÊgÊtaux digÊrÊs, sont ramassÊs mÊticuleusement et serviront à la confection d’onguents aux propriÊtÊs mystÊrieuses pour les profanes‌ À la fin du soukhouan, les cornacs sont à l’honneur. Ils profitent du rassemblement pour faire une dÊmonstration de dressage et de force. D’un simple mot, Ay Vong dirige Sing Thong, lui ordonne de soulever ou de faire pivoter des grumes de bois. Dès son dressage, vers l’âge de 5 ans, un ÊlÊphanteau est confiÊ à un jeune garçon qui deviendra ensuite son cornac. L’espÊrance de vie d’un homme Êtant sensiblement identique à celle d’un ÊlÊphant, les deux avanceront dans la vie du même pas depuis les bancs de l’Êcole

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CHEMINEMENTS

jusqu’aux nombreuses annÊes de labeur qui les attendent. Dans le Nord-Ouest, qui a moins souffert de la guerre et mieux prÊservÊ sa tradition d’Êlevage que le Sud, l’ÊlÊphant est encore largement utilisÊ par les bÝcherons pour transporter le bois. Paradoxalement, il contribue par son travail à la destruction de son propre habitat.

La fête s’achève. Avant de poursuivre notre route, des files indiennes se forment autour des ÊlÊphants. Une dernière fois, comme le veut la coutume, les habitants passent sous la trompe de l’animal avec un enfant dans les bras. Ils espèrent ainsi être guÊris de leurs maux, acquÊrir quelques mÊrites pour leur vie future et attirer sur eux-mêmes et sur leur descendance un peu de la force et ,A D�FORESTATION MENACE DAVANTAGE L �L�PHANT de la longÊvitÊ transmises par l’animal D !SIE %LEPHAS MAXIMUS QUE CELUI D !FRIQUE sacrÊ. Lorsque prennent fin libations et rites animistes, le convoi se remet en route dans un nuage de poussière. Il nous reste à peine un mois pour rejoindre Luang Prabang, ancienne citÊ royale, joyau architectural, centre spirituel et culturel du pays. Nous devons impÊrativement l’atteindre pour le Pi May. Nos ÊlÊphants sont attendus pour participer à la procession sacrÊe qui traversera la ville. Ce sera la première fois, depuis la chute du rÊgime monarchique et la prise du pouvoir par le Phatet Lao communiste en 1975, que les ÊlÊphants reprendront leur place dans le dÊfilÊ du Nouvel An laotien. Ú

'ILLES -AURER A VĂ?CU PENDANT SEPT ANS AU ,AOS &ONDATEUR AVEC 3Ă?BASTIEN $UFFILLOT DE L ASSOCIATION %LEFANT!SIA IL A COORGANISĂ? AVEC LUI LA CARAVANE DES Ă?LĂ?PHANTS AU ,AOS EN #ETTE Ă?POPĂ?E LONGUE DE KILOMĂ’TRES EST RACONTĂ?E DANS LE DOCUMENTAIRE #ARAVAN 8ANG ,A LONGUE MARCHE DES Ă?LĂ?PHANTS %LEFANT!SIA $IMSON

ET DANS L OUVRAGE ,A #ARAVANE DES Ă?LĂ?PHANTS !CTES 3UD COLL i "EAUX ,IVRESw )L RETOURNE RĂ?GULIĂ’REMENT EN MISSION AU ,AOS POUR METTRE EN PLACE LES PROGRAMMES DE CONSERVATION DE L Ă?LĂ?PHANT D !SIE INITIĂ?S PAR %LEFANT!SIA $ES D INFORMATIONS SUR L ASSOCIATION ET SUR L Ă?LĂ?PHANT D !SIE SONT CONSULTABLES SUR LE SITE INTERNET WWW ELEFANTASIA COM

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CE13TexteS.indd 36

CHEMINS D’ÉTOILES / Le bestiaire du voyageur

23/06/05 14:57:49

Visiting Muong Lao - Jan-Fev. 2002

Festival “VISA POUR L’IMAGE 2002” - Perpignan, France. Présentation of Thierry Renavand / Gamma photo-report on the ElefantAsia elephant caravan.

Sept. 2002

France Culture “Appel d’Air” (popular cultural talk show), March, 7th, 2003

Conference / slideshow at “Maison de l’Indochine” (“The Indochina House”), Paris, November, 11th 2002

Epic elephant trek ends in Laos royal city of Luang Prabang

Tuesday, 16-Apr-2002 8:07AM Story from AFP / Samantha Brown Copyright 2002 by Agence France-Presse (via ClariNet) LUANG PRABANG, Laos, April 16 (AFP) - After an epic three-month trek that saw them traverse the length of Laos, four elephants and a team of adventurers arrived to a ceremonial welcome in the country’s dazzling former royal capital.

The 1,300-kilometre (800-mile) journey to Luang Prabang, a heritage-listed city nestled in the northern mountains by the mighty Mekong River, was aimed at raising awareness of the plight of the endangered Asian elephant, only 50, 000 of which remain. Laos, once known as the “Land of a Million Elephants”, has seen its population dwindle alarmingly and it can now claim less than 2,000 of the beasts once prized as symbols of wisdom, strength and longevity. But after marching triumphantly into this ancient city filled with Buddhist temples, the four animals that led the trek starting from Champassak province in southern Laos were oblivious to the fuss on Monday. Their trunks curled to sneak another banana from the adoring throng while pieces of white string were draped over their ears in a traditional Lao “baci” ceremony to ward off bad spirits and bestow health and prosperity. The quiet, respectful ceremony watched over by enthralled locals as well as scores of people associated with the journey took place as a colourful water festival was held across the rest of the city, a four-day melee of splashing, dancing and singing that celebrates the traditional Laos new year. The revered beasts had a chance to join in the fun too, invited to lead several of the traditional parades of orange-robed monks, beauty queens and city spirits that meander through Luang Prabang’s narrow streets.

The “Elefantasia” adventure was conceived by two Frenchmen living in the Lao capital Vientiane, who wanted to highlight the strong link between the Asian elephant and culture in the 13 countries where they still live. Gilles Maurer and Sebastien Duffillot were inspired to do something for the majestic animals when Maurer was given the great honour of being presented with an elephant two years ago.

“The original idea was to make a single trek across several countries populated with both domestic and wild elephants,” said Duffillot. “Elephants carry a very strong symbolism in the whole of Asia.”

But plans for a year-long trek through a swathe of elephant jungle habitat spanning Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, India and Bhutan had to be scaled down when the task of raising funds and organising logistics became too difficult. The adventure will now be split into several legs, with the next possibly in Sri Lanka, followed by a journey from Thailand to military-ruled Myanmar, and from India to the isolated Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan. “These are the countries where the elephant is venerated in life and in religion, and there is a tradition of mahoutship,” said Duffillot. After months of planning, the pair led a travelling caravan of four elephants, eight handlers (known as mahouts), and a team including two documentary-makers, a photographer, an artist, two cooks and a doctor. “We witnessed a very natural, instinctive resurgence in tradition towards the elephants,” Duffillot said of the journey through Laotian towns and villages. “People were pouring water on the head of the elephant and then getting the water back and putting it on their own face, or bathing their babies in it. They were taking the elephant’s dung and preparing potions with it. “I think we gave the Laos people a living dream that they were waiting for for a long time, especially in those areas where there are really no elephants left,” he said. The south of the country is one of those areas, and for Maurer, travelling there was a highlight. “Elephants are a really strong part of the culture — in the people’s minds — but they’ve had no opportunity to see them.” Two officials from the Lao Tourist Authority travelled with the caravan too, and helped raise local awareness of the project by travelling ahead of the elephants to alert villages to its arrival. “The authorities’ involvement and commitment to the project was really strong,” Maurer said.

“They are really motivated to create a framework for elephant conservation.” Days on the trek started with the bathing of the elephants at dawn, followed by trekking, mostly on dirt roads, for around six hours. At camp each evening, visiting jugglers, musicians and comedians from France who joined the trip for short periods gave performances for local villagers. A major part of the team’s work was to gather tales and folklore from the elderly and the mahouts along the way. Caravan photographer Thierry Renavand recalled one tale an elderly woman told about her family, who several decades ago owned a white elephant, a highly-revered and rare animal. “They wanted to bring it to the king, who was still then in Luang Prabang, a trip of around 600 kilometres (370 miles) or more,” Renavand said. “But half-way the elephant refused to go any further. The reason, they believed, was that they hadn’t done all the preparation with the mediums and with the spirits. So they had to go back.” The elephants that took part in the Elefantasia adventure, who munched their way through a tonne of grass and roots each day, were selected from two neighbouring villages in the northwestern province of Sayabouri. Pheng Phuangsaliphan, who has been a mahout for more than 40 years, took his 42-year-old female elephant Thong Kam on the caravan.

Pheng said the trip was special to him as it replicated one made in the 14th century by King Fa Ngum, Laos’s first monarch. “It unified the country,” he said of the royal trip, suggesting that this more recent one has, too, by reminding Lao people of the culture they share. The mahout remembered tales his parents used to tell about the white elephants around the village. “But now there are no more. There are really fewer domesticated elephants, too,” he says. Duffillot said that despite the dwindling elephant population in Laos, a collective memory about the beasts is still very much alive. “In the heart of every Laotian I think there is an elephant somewhere.”

AFP article (see previous page) was purchased and published in several newspapers including France N°1 newspaper “Le Monde”, April 2002.

“La Nouvelle République” - Apr. 2002

“Vientiane Times” - Mar. 19th 2002

ELEPHANTS RETURN TO THEIR JUNGLE ROOTS

ຊາງກັaບຄືນສູ ທຢູອາໄສ ຂອງ ຊາງ Eco-tourism supports conservation of an endangered species in Laos Tracy Brookshaw

T

ake only memories leave only footprints. This is pretty sound advice for any traveller, but what if your journey could make a difference too. Wouldn’t that just be the proverbial icing on the cake....? Well your opportunity is here!

Amidst a fanfare of trunks a-trumpeting, the newly established Elephant Conservation Center (ECC) is now open, marking a new era for conservation of the Asian elephant within the Lao PDR and offering a unique experience to visitors wishing to contribute towards the preservation of an endangered species. The first of its kind in Laos, the Center, launched in association with conservation organisation ElefantAsia, is not another elephant camp but an innovative approach that combines conservation of an endangered species with eco-tourism.

With approximately 420 domesticated elephants and around 400 wild elephants left in Laos, the future of the Asian elephant in ‘Lane Xang’ or the ‘Land of A Million Elephants’ is uncertain. As such the ECC is specifically designed to promote reproduction within remaining elephant populations, working to avoid extinction of the species through the implementation of a managed breeding programme.

Situated on the banks of the tranquil Nam Tien Lake, a mere eight kilometres from the town of Sayaboury, the Elephant Conservation Center is already home to a growing number of elephants. A herd of nine elephants currently resides at the Center, this including three ever so cute babies, one of which marked the first of hopefully many elephant births at the ECC back in October. All three youngsters currently share the same name ‘Noy’ meaning small in Lao language as mahout tradition dictates that each of the calves will chose their own name at the age of 2/3 from specially carved sugar cane.

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ມີພຽງແຕຄວາມຊົaງຈຳa ທຍັaງ ົaງເ ືອຢູ. ນເປັນຄຳaແນະນຳa ສຳaລັaບ ຜູທອງທຽວ, ແຕຖາທານຢາກເຮັດ ໃຫການ ທອງທຽວ ຂອງ ທານ ມີສງແປກ ໃໝໄດເຊນກັaນ. ມາຊົaມ ແລະ ເບງວາ ສະຖານທນ ດີ ື ບ? ໂອກາດ ສຳaລັaບ ທານ ແມນ ຢູທນແລວ ! ໄດມີສງໃໝເກີດຂນ ກຄື ສູນອະນຸລັaກຊາງລາວ ໄດເປີດແລວ ໃນປະຈຸບັaນ, ໄດເປັນ ຍຸກສະໄໝໃໝ ສຳaລັaບ ການອະນຸລັaກຊາງອາຊີ ໃນ ສປປ ລາວ ແລະ ນຳaສະເໜີ ປະສົaບປະການທດີ ມາໃຫນັaກ ທອງທຽວ ທມີຄວາມປະສົaງຢາກ ປົaກປັaກຮັaກສາສັaດທໃກຈະສູນພັaນນ. ເປັນຄaງທຳaອິດໃນ ປະເທດລາວ, ທສູນອະນຸລັaກຊາງໄດປະຕິບັaດ ໂດຍການຮວມມື ກັaບ ອົaງການ ອະນຸລັaກ ຊາງ ອາຊີ, ບແມນຄາຍຊາງອນ ແຕແມນການລິ ເລມເຮັດສງໃໝໆ ທປະ ກອບດວຍ ການອະນຸລັaກຊາງ ສັaດທໃກຈະສູນພັaນ ໃນການທອງທຽວ ແບບ ອະນຸລັaກ. ມີຊາງບານເ ືອ ປະມານ 420 ໂຕ ແລະ ຊາງປາ 400 ໂຕ ໃນ ປະເທດລາວ, ໃນອະນາຄົaດ ຂອງ ຊາງອາຊີ ໃນ ປະເທດ “ລານຊາງ” ື “ດິນແດນແຫງເມືອງລານຊາງ” ແມນຍັaງບແນນອນ. ສູນອະນຸລັaກຊາງ ແມນ ສາງຕaງມາເພອ ຊວຍໃນການເກີດຂອງຊາງ ໃນ ຈຳaນວນ ປະຊາກອນ ຊາງທເ ືອຢູ, ດວຍການເຮັດວຽກ ທ ີກລຽງການສູນພັaນ ຂອງສັaດ ດaງກາວ ໂດຍ ການປະຕິບັaດ ແຜນງານ ປະສົaມພັaນຊາງ.

So what sets the Elephant Conservation Center apart from other tourist venues? First and foremost - location! Rather than removing the elephants from their natural habitat and bringing them into urbanised settings, the founders of the Center believe in bringing visitors to the elephants. Set in Sayaboury province, the original homeland of the Lao elephant, the Center is situated in 100 hectares of pristine elephant habitat allowing elephants to roam freely within their traditional environment, whilst the forest provides a diverse selection of natural fodder in sufficient quantity suitable for those delicate elephant palates.

The Elephant Conservation Center also prides itself on being environmentally friendly, whilst other elephant establishments may use buzzwords such as eco to ‘advertise’ their environmental conscience, the ECC is actively working to minimise impacts on its natural surroundings. Construction of the Center’s infrastructure was conducted using the minimum of new building materials, thus saving natural resources and reducing the use of elephants within the logging industry. Many of the buildings are traditional Tai Lue houses, including one that belonged to a famous elephant master of the Hongsa District, which have been trans-located to the Center. Facilities also utilise solar power, whilst water is filtered directly from the Nam Tien. Employing a ‘waste not, want not’ attitude, natural fibrous material from the elephants is being used to produce dung paper on site which in turns provides local people within a sustainable income. All marketing brochures for the Center have also been produced with 100% recycled paper and soy ink. ສູນອະນຸລັaກຊາງ ໄດຕaງຢູ ອາງນaຕຽນ, ພຽງແຕ 8 km ຈາກຕົaວເມືອງ ໄຊຍະບູລີ ເທານaນ, ສູນອະນຸລັaກຊາງ ໄດ ກາຍເປັນ ສະຖານທໜງ ສຳaລັaບ ເພມຈຳaນວນຊາງ. ຊາງ ຈຳaນວນ 09 ໂຕ ໄດເຂາມາຢູ ທ ສູນອະນຸລັaກຊາງ, ລວມມີ ຊາງນອຍ ທໜາຮັaກ 03 ໂຕ ໂດຍໄດມີຊາງ ນອຍ 01 ໂຕ ໄດເຂາມາຢູໃນສູນ ໃນເດືອນຕຸລານ. ຊາງນອຍ 03 ໂຕ ໄດມີຊຄືກັaນ ຄື ມີຊວາ “ນອຍ” ມີຄວາມໝາຍວາ ນອຍ ໃນພາສາລາວ ຄືກັaນກັaບປະເພນີຄວານຊາງ ທປະຕິບັaດກັaບລູກຊາງແຕລະໂຕ ທເຂົາ ເຈາຈະຕaງຊ ຄາຍຄືກັaນ ເມອຊາງ ມີອາຍຸ 2-3 ປີ ໂດຍສະເພາະແມນ ເຂົາເຈາຈະໝາຍຊຊາງ ໄວໃນຕaນອອຍ. ດັ່ງ ນັ້ນ ສິ່ງ ອື່ນ ທີ່ສູນ ອະນຸ ລັກ ຊ້ າ ງເຮັ ດ ແມ່ ນ ແຕກຕ່ າ ງຈາກຄ້ າ ຍຊ້ າ ອື່ນ ? ສງທຳaອິດ ແລະ ສຳaຄັaນແທນການຍາຍຊາງ ຈາກສະຖານທທຳaມະ ຊາດ ໄປສູບອນທຈັaດຕຽມໄວສຳaລັaບຊາງ, ຜູສາງຕaງສູນ ເຊອວາຈະນຳa ນັaກທອງທຽວມາເບງຊາງ. ຕaງຢູ ແຂວງໄຊຍະບູລີ ຊງເປັນສະຖານທ ອາໄສ ຂອງຊາງລາວ, ສູນຊາງ ຕaງຢູ ໃນ ເນອທ 100 ເຮັກຕາ ທເປັນສະຖານທໃຫ ແກຊາງ ດຳaລົaງຊີວິດ ແບບທຳaມະຊາດ, ທມີປາໄມ າຍ, ມີອາຫານພຽງພໍ ສຳaລັaບຊາງ. ສູນອະນຸລັaກຊາງ ມີຄວາມພູມໃຈ ໃນການສາງສະພາບແວດລອມ, ໂດຍ ທຊາງອນໆ ຈັaດເຂາໄປໃນການທອງທຽວແບບອະນຸລັaກ ເພອ “ໂຄສະນາ” ສະພາບແວດລອມ ໂດຍລວມ, ສູນອະນຸລັaກຊາງ ແມນເຮັດວຽກ ເພອ ຸດ ຜອນຜົaນກະທົaບ ທເກີດຂນ ໃນທຳaມະຊາດ. ການສາງໂຄງລາງ ສູນ ແມນ ຖືກດຳaເນີນ ໂດຍການໃຊ ວັaດຖa ຈຳaນວນໜອຍ ໃນການສາງອາຄານໃໝ, ເປັນການປະຢັaດຊັaບພະຍາກອນທຳaມະຊາດ ແລະ ຸດຜອນ ການໃຊ ຊາງແກໄມ ໃນອຸດສາຫະກຳa. າຍໆອາຄານ ແມນ ເຮືອນແບບປະເພນີ ໄທລ, ປະກອບມີ ອາຄານ ໜງ ທ ເປັນແບບ ເຮືອນທາງປະເພນີ ຂອງ ເມືອງ ຫົaງສາ, ທ ໄດຍາຍມາສາງ ໃນ ສູນນ. ອຳaນວຍຄວາມສະດວກໃຫແກ ການໃຊ ພະລັaງງານ ແສງອາທິດ, ສວນນa ແມນ ກaນຕອງ ມາຈາກ ອາງນaຕຽນ. ບມີ “ສງເສດເ ືອ” ອຸປະກອນ ແມນ ມາຈາກທຳaມະຊາດ ໂດຍ ຂຊາງ ຈະໃຊຜະລິດເຮັດເປັນເຈຍ ທສາມາດສາງເປັນລາຍຮັaບໃຫ ແກປະຊາຊົaນທອງຖນ. ທຸກໆ ແຜນພັaບ ໂຄສະນາ ສຳaລັaບ ສູນ ທໄດເຮັດ ແມນຈະຖືກ ເອົາມາຜະລິດເຮັດເປັນເຈຍ ແລະ ນຳaໃຊຄືນ.

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In addition to the breeding programme, the ECC will host the country’s first elephant hospital. Managed by ElefantAsia, a NonGovernment Organisation that has been working to protect the Asian elephant conservation in Laos for close to a decade, the hospital comes fully equipped with laboratory for pathology and disease diagnostics plus quarantine area. Free veterinary care will not only be available to mothers and babies throughout pregnancy and nursing, but to sick and injured elephants from across Laos whom can recuperate at the Center until fully recovered.

Located just two hours from World Heritage town of Luang Prabang, the Center provides a welcome escape from this busy tourist hub offering a unique experience for guests wishing to discover and experience more about the natural environment, the culture of the Mahout and endangered species management in Laos. Guests can also take opportunity to trek in the forest, explore the lake by boat, or simply while away an hour or two watching the mischievous calves play - all the while supporting the conservation of the Asian elephant within its unspoilt natural habitat.

Delivering an experience like no other in Laos, the Elephant Conservation Center is where your visit can truly make a difference to the conservation an endangered species. Be one of the first visitors to the Elephant Conservation Center, come experience the exceptional natural beauty of Sayaboury and of course get to know our elephants.

ນອກຈາກ ແຜນງານ ປະສົaມພັaນ, ສູນອະນຸລັaກຊາງ ຍັaງເປັນເຈາພາບ ສຳaລັaບ ໂຮງໝໍຊາ ງ ແຫງທຳaອິດ. ທ ບໍລຫ ິ ານ ໂດຍ ສະມາຄົaມຊາງອາຊີ, ທເປັນອົaງການ ຈັaດຕaງສາກົaນໜງ ທເຮັດໃນການປົaກປັaກຊາງອາຊີ ເກືອບຈະຮອດ 10 ປີ ໃນ ປະເທດລາວ, ໂຮງໝໍຊາງ ຈະປະກອບມີອຸປະກອນການແພດ ພອມທັaງມີ ຫອງວິໄຈພະຍາດ ແລະ ບໍລິເວນ ໃຫສັaດຢູ. ການໃຫການປນປົaວຟຣີ ບແມນພຽງແຕ ປນປົaວ ແມຊາງ ແລະ ລູກຊາງເທານaນ ແຕຍັaງເບງແຍງ ຊາງທ ຖືພາ ແລະ ມີການພະຍາບານ, ແລະ ກຍັaງ ປນປົaວ ຊາງ ທເຈັບໄຂ ແລະ ບາດເຈັບ ໃນ ປະເທດລາວ ແລະ ກຍັaງ ເປັນບອນພັaກຟນໃຫແກຊາງ ອີກດວຍ. ເດີນທາງ 02 ຊaວໂມງ ຈາກ ເມືອງ ວງພະບາງ, ສູນອະນຸລັaກຊາງ ຍິ ນ ດີ ຕ້ ອ ນຮັ ບ ນັ ກ ທ່ ອ ງທ່ ຽ ວເຂົ້ າ ສູ່ ປ ະສົ ບ ປະການທີ່ ພິ ເ ສດ ສຳລັ ບ ແຂກ ທຕອງການຄaນຫາ ແລະ ຢາກມີປະສົaບການກຽວກັaບ ສະພາບ ແວດລອມທາງທຳaມະຊາດ, ວັaດທະນະທຳa ຂອງ ຄວານຊາງ ແລະ ການຄຸມຄອງສັaດໃກສູນພັaນ ໃນປະເທດລາວ. ແຂກສາມາດໃຊໂອກາດນ ທອງທຽວໃນປາ, ທຽວແມນa ດວຍ ເຮືອ, ື ໃຊເວລາ ສອງ ສາມ ຊaວໂມງ ໃນການເບງ ລູກຊາງ ນ - ທຸກໆກິດຈະກຳa ແມນຈະເຂາຊວຍ ໃນການ ອະນຸລັaກຊາງອາຊີ ໂດຍຈະບທຳaລາຍ ທຢູອາໄສທາງທຳaມະຊາດ. ການຖາຍທອດປະສົaບປະການແນວນບມີໃນບອນອນຄືຢູໃນ ປະເທດລາວ, ສູນອະນຸລັaກຊາງເປັນບອນທການມາທຽວຂອງທານສາມາດ ສາງສງໃໝໆ ເຂາໃນການອະນຸລັaກສັaດໃກສູນພັaນ. ມາເປັນ ໜງໃນຜູຢຽມຢາມ ສູນອະນຸ ລັaກຊາງ, ມາເອົາປະສົaບປະ ການທສວຍງາມທາງທຳaມະຊາດຂອງໄຊຍະ ບູລີ ແລະ ແນນອນ ມາຮູຈັaກກັaບຊາງຂອງ ພວກເຮົາ.

For further information please visit website: www.elephantconservationcenter.com Elephant Conservation Center Nam Tien Lake, Sayaboury District Sayaboury Province, Lao PDR Email: info@elephantconservationcenter.com Tel No:+856 (0) 20 23 025 210 +856 (0) 20 96 590 665

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Gajah 33 (2010) 53-57

ElefantAsia in the Lao PDR – An Overview Ingrid Suter ElefantAsia, NAHC, Vientiane, Laos Author’s e-mail: conservation@elefantasia.org The Lao PDR is an often forgotten range country of the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus). Despite having the largest remaining Asian elephant population in the Indochina region, little robust research on either wild or domesticated elephant populations has been undertaken in Laos. Any research that has occurred is either aging beyond relevance, or recent and ongoing. Population estimates range from 500-1000 wild, and 500 domesticated elephants remaining in the Lao PDR (Lair 1997; Blake & Hedges 2004; Sofranco 2006; ElefantAsia 2007).

One International Non-Government Organisation working in Laos since 2001 is ElefantAsia. A French-based INGO, ElefantAsia focuses efforts primarily on domesticated elephant registration, reproduction and veterinary care. Other projects include the creation of alternative incomegenerating activities for elephant owners, and

environmental education activities such as the annual Elephant Festival. All programs endeavour to conserve and protect the domesticated Asian elephant from regional extinction in Laos.

Of the estimated 500 remaining domesticated elephants in Laos, 80% reside in the northwest province of Sayaboury (ElefantAsia 2007, Fig. 1). Sayaboury is a mountainous region still lacking many access routes or the infrastructure to make broad-scale logging viable. While selective logging for village use with domesticated elephants (Fig. 2) has occurred in the Sayaboury province for centuries, it has only been during the past 20 years that organised logging companies have exploited domesticated elephants for professional timber extraction. Acknowledged as one of the poorest districts in Lao PDR by the United Nations Development Program (2009), elephant owners in this area have embraced this much-need income-generating activity offered by the logging industry, despite the adverse and often disastrous results it can have on domesticated elephant populations.

With calves economically worthless in the logging industry until age 14, consultations with mahouts indicate that many are opting to work

Figure 2. Logging camp in Laos.

Figure 1. Map of Laos.

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their cows intensively rather than allowing them time for reproduction (ElefantAsia 2008). Over a 20-year period this had resulted in an inverted age pyramid, with the mortality rate of domesticated elephants greatly outweighing the birth rate.

Sadly, many deaths are either fully or partially caused by work in the logging industry. Severe exhaustion, lacerations, fractures, and other disorders are often left untreated as mahouts work for months in remote forested regions isolated from veterinary assistance (ElefantAsia 2008). These issues are the focus of ElefantAsia’s primary projects: veterinary care, and alternative income-generating abilities.

ElefantAsia has two Mobile Veterinary Units (MVUs) that travel throughout the provinces of Laos where domesticated elephants reside.

The MVUs are all-terrain vehicles equipped with veterinary supplies suited to the Lao climate, context, and local availability (Fig. 3).

International volunteer veterinarians participate in all MVU trips, along with Department of Livestock and Fisheries government officials, and other specialised ElefantAsia staff. With most domesticated elephants located in Sayaboury Province, the majority of MVU time is spent travelling throughout this large province.

Scheduling meetings with elephant owners and their elephants takes approximately two weeks in advance to prepare from ElefantAsia’s head office in Vientiane. This includes consultations with district and provincial Department of Livestock and Fisheries staff; attempts to contact mahouts working in areas with poor mobile phone reception, and purchasing veterinary products from the National Animal Health

Figure 4. ElefantAsia vet at work.

Centre supply unit. Once in the field, veterinary care is undertaken at either pre-arranged meeting areas, or simply by the roadside where elephant owners come out of the forest to meet the MVU (Fig. 4). The most commonly treated disorders observed by MVU veterinarians are abscesses; parasitic abscesses; eye disorders; cracked nails and superficial wounds (Labatut & Suter 2010).

ElefantAsia does more than just attend to injured elephants, then leave. The MVU supplies all elephant owners, who bring their elephant to the MVU for treatment and registration, with an Elephant First Aid Kit (Fig. 5). The kit is a waterproof plastic container full of basic yet effective veterinary items that mahouts can administer to their elephants as required. Such products include eye cleansers, broad-spectrum antibiotics, vitamins, de-worming medications, iodine, gauze pads, and prophylactic materials.

A new addition to the Elephant First Aid Kit is a translated version of the Elephant Care Manual for Mahouts and Camps Managers, co-published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and ElefantAsia. This is the first and only book written in the Lao language specifically relevant for elephant ownership, and includes chapters about how to assess the weight of an elephant for medical dosage requirements; how to treat common diseases; dietary requirements; life cycles; and control techniques.

ElefantAsia also spends a significant amount of time and resources providing product training and education to elephant owners and mahouts (Fig. 6). As the daily care-givers to this endangered species, ElefantAsia believe it

Figure 3. Mobile Veterinary Unit.

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born, ElefantAsia will attempt to place mother and calf in a quality tourist camp where they can undertake light trekking work. Laos does not currently have an elephant ultrasound machine, so it will be some time before veterinarians and the owners’ experience tells whether or not their cow is pregnant.

Figure 5. Elephant First Aid Kits. is imperative that owners and mahouts have the skills and knowledge required to independently and effectively administer treatment to their elephants when immediately required. The application of all products in the Elephant First Aid Kit is comprehensively explained to mahouts

by ElefantAsia staff members, with all supplies available for purchase at district pharmacies or veterinary centres. Feedback regarding the Elephant First Aid Kits has been extremely positive, with all elephant owners and mahouts enthusiastic to learn about product usage and how to provide better care in remote situations.

Funding for Elephant First Aid Kits is provided by private sponsors, and ElefantAsia intends to continue ongoing first aid kit distribution, as it is an incentive to owners and mahouts to seek assistance from ElefantAsia’s MVUs. Another project undertaken by ElefantAsia is the ongoing “Baby Bonus” incentive. With ElefantAsia’s registration records showing domesticated elephant births occurring at an exceedingly low rate, ElefantAsia has implemented a motivational program aimed at encouraging elephant owners to breed their cows. Through a binding agreement between ElefantAsia and an elephant owner, ElefantAsia agrees to provide a tak-tak (a motorised rotary hoe used for agricultural use); pre and post pregnancy veterinary care; and elephant life insurance to owners willing to stop working their cows in the logging industry and actively attempt to breed them. To date, ElefantAsia has four cows signed to the Baby Bonus program with more owners interested. Once the calf is

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There are various approaches through which domesticated elephant cows in Laos can become impregnated. In the north-west district of Thongmixay, cows are often impregnated by wild bulls from the neighbouring Nam Phui Protected Area. Nam Phui is believed to have a wild elephant population of approximately 130 individuals, although only rudimentary population counts have been undertaken (National Elephant Management Action Plan 2009). Nevertheless the Nam Phui Protected Area is believed to contain the second largest wild population of elephants in Laos (National Elephant Management Action Plan 2009).

While working in remote forested regions, mahouts may see a wild elephant and tether their cow at night close to where the bull was observed. On the 26th of January 2010, two calves were born on the same day to domesticated cows, with the male believed to be a bull from the Nam Phui Protected Area. ElefantAsia staff are aware of at least another six cows that are pregnant by wild bulls in Thongmixay. In southern Laos, the breeding of domesticated elephants is currently poor. With approximately 30 domesticated elephants residing in the Patoumphone District

Figure 6. ElefantAsia staff train mahouts in product usage.

of the Champassak Province, cows and bulls are generally not kept together, making reproduction an unlikley occurence. Unlike northern Laos where domesticated elephant owners can earn a good income through logging, this does not occur in Patoumphone, a flat, previously logged region.

Consultations with elephant owners in southern Laos have indicated that breeding is viewed as an unnecessary, expensive, and unsafe practice to undertake. Poor reproductive knowledge and a lack of financial incentives were other major explanations as to why owners are not breeding their elephants in southern Laos (Maurer 2009).

Despite elephant domestication occurring for centuries, many domesticated elephant owners in Laos do not necessarily have reproductive knowledge and techniques. Until the 1980’s it was legal to capture calves from wild elephant populations as required, hence reproductive knowledge has never been required. Since the Government of Laos banned the taking of elephants from the wild, domesticated elephant population numbers have declined significantly (Lair 1997; Norachuck 2002). ElefantAsia’s mahout training includes how to visually observe and assess a cow’s oestrus cycle, and how to chart oestrus cycles on a calendar.

Poaching of domesticated elephants is another problem ElefantAsia is trying to tackle. The latest poaching occurred in the Vientiane Province of Laos in March 2010. ElefantAsia is aware of 10 domesticated elephants poached since 2008, with no arrests for any of the crimes. Laos has been recognised as a nation that lacks both capacity and transparency to enforce laws relating to the illegal trafficking of ivory (Norachack 2002; Dublin et al. 2006). Within Southeast Asia, Laos has been singled out as a major source of ivory, and as a well-used channel to smuggle African and Asian elephant ivory products to neighbouring nations (Nooren & Claridge 2001). With the risk of arrest for killing or smuggling elephant parts throughout Laos extremely low, the motivation by poachers to kill Asian elephants for ivory remains high.

Laws in the Lao PDR are clear regarding the killing of elephants. In 1989 the Government of Laos declared a ban on the hunting and

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killing of protected, endangered species; and the country became signatories to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 2004 (CITES 2009). However, poaching continues to be a major cause of death for both domesticated and wild elephants.

ElefantAsia has several environmental outreach programs aimed at teaching local Lao communities about the need to protect and conserve their national icon. These include posters and children’s books distributed to schools and libraries in areas of Laos where domesticated and wild elephants reside. Mobile Book Parties to remote villages via elephant is another novel way ElefantAsia teaches young generations about the need to protect, not poach elephants.

ElefantAsia’s annual Elephant Festival is also a major drawing card in raising awareness about elephant conservation.

Held annually in the Sayaboury Province, the Elephant Festival has attracted over 80,000 attendees, mainly Lao nationals (Fig. 7). With up to 60 domesticated elephants attending each year, visitors to the two-day event learn about ancient domesticated elephant culture, logging techniques, and the life of an elephant owner.

Consultations with elephant owners indicate that they enjoy attending the festivals as their profession is shown a high status and is respected

by Lao nationals and foreigners alike. Now one of Laos’ major festivals, many national and international television crews and journalists travel to Laos purely to attend ElefantAsia’s Elephant Festival.

Figure 7. Elephant Festival in Laos.

While ElefantAsia has many ongoing projects, the main focus is to increase domesticated elephant populations for future generations to use. Tourism in Laos is a growing industry (Lao National Tourism Administration 2009), with approximately six elephant tourist camps in the Luang Prabang municipality. Private hotels and guesthouses throughout Laos also own elephants and offer elephant treks to visitors.

Tourism in the form of elephant trekking may be the domesticated elephant’s saving grace in Laos. Once logging quotas are filled, elephants will become unemployed and ownership will be financially unsustainable. ElefantAsia is endeavouring to create Laos’ first breeding sanctuary for domesticated elephants, enabling pregnant cows to do light treks while pregnant or with a calf. As a change from working in the intensive logging industry, quality elephant trekking can be a viable way to continue Laos’ ancient, traditional, domesticated elephant ownership.

References Blake, S. & Hedges, S. (2004) Sinking the flagship: the case of forest elephants in Asia and Africa. Conservation Biology 18: 1191–1202.

CITES (2009) Appendices I, II and III. <http:// www.cites.org/eng/app/appendices.shtml> accessed Sep. 2009.

Dublin, H., Desai, A.A., Hedges, S., Vie, J., Bambaradeniya, C. & Lopez, A. (2006) Elephant Range States Meeting Report, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. IUCN & SSC. pp 1-99.

ElefantAsia (2007) Condition of Lao Domesticated Elephants 2007. Report, National Animal Health Centre, Vientiane, Lao PDR. ElefantAsia (2008) Lao Captive Elephant Care and Management Programme in Lao PDR. Report, National Animal Health Centre, Vientiane, Lao PDR.

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Labatut, F. & Suter, I. (2010) The veterinary care of domesticated elephants in Laos by a mobile veterinary unit. Gajah 32: 21-26.

Lair, R.C. (1997) Gone Astray: The Care and Management of the Asian Elephant in Domesticity. FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand.

Lao National Tourism Administration (2009) 2008 Statistical Report on Tourism in Laos. Lao National Tourism Admin., Vientiane, Lao PDR. Lao PDR (2009) National Elephant Management Action Plan. Vientiane, Lao PDR. Maurer, G. (2009) Breeding Assessment of Captive Elephants in Pathoumphone District, Champassak Province for the Biodiversity Conservation Corridor Initiative. ElefantAsia, Vientiane, Lao PDR. Nooren, H. & Claridge, G. (2001) Wildlife Trade in Laos: the End of the Game, Netherlands Committee for IUCN, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Norachack, B. (2002) A regional overview of the need for registration of domesticated Asian elephants. In: Giants on our Hands: Proceedings of the International Workshop on the Domesticated Asian Elephant. Baker, I. & Kashio, M. (eds.)

FAO, Bangkok, Thailand. pp 8-14.

Sofranco, D.M. (2006) Laws and legislation. In: Biology, Medicine, and Surgery of Elephants.

First Edition. Fowler, M.E. & Mikota, S.K. (eds.)

Blackwell Publishing, Iowa, USA. United Nations Development Program (2009) Government’s National Growth and Poverty Eradication Strategy (NGPES). <http://www. undplao.org/newsroom/publication/Ngpes/ Lao%20PDR%20-%20NGPES%20-%20Map% 20of%2072%20poor%20districts.pdf> accessed Sep. 2009.

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Ecotourism

older and there is a real danger that its number will fall

Visiting Muong Lao May- June 2007

63

Ecotourism

In Sickness and In Health

by Melody Kemp. Photos by Paul Wager and ElefantAsia.

Visiting Muong Lao May- June 2007

63

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Asian elephants were traditionally replenished from the wild, but this is now banned.

Breeding from captive elephants is costly, however: gestation lasts two years and another two passes before the calf is weaned. For their riders, or mahouts, this can mean four years’ lost income. In Laos, 15 elephants die every year, but only four are born. “Laos’ domesticated elephants could be gone in 40 years,” Duffillot said.

Elephants have been domesticated in South-east Asia for 4,000 years. In Laos, they were once as common as cows

42

BBC Wildlife

We do not provide rides for tourists at the Elephant Conservation Centre, but we do support the activity in the rest of Laos, providing it is done under a strict code.

These rides are always one person to one elephant, trekking through forest and starting and ending in villages. They are organised by a mahout association we helped to set up.

We are also drafting a decree about the use of elephants in logging and tourism, covering dietary and veterinary needs and the ages when elephants should start work and retire.

Gilles Maurer Co-founder, Elefantasia, Laos

Every day I say to people who visit our sanctuary, “Isn’t it odd that we want to ride elephants?

We don’t ride hippos or tigers.”

The elephants in our sanctuary belong to the Bunong people. We don’t support the capture of wild elephants, and the Bunong are against the breeding of captive animals, so the current generation of domesticated elephants here may end up being its last.

And so we don’t allow elephant-rides, because we want this last generation to live with dignity, roaming free in the forest.

Jack Highwood Elephant Valley Project, Cambodia

SHOULD WE RIDE ELEPHANTS? yes no

In 2011, the Elephant Conservation Centre opened in Laos with the aim of supplementing the country’s ‘domesticated’ elephant population through a managed breeding programme.

It was necessary, said Sebastien Duffillot of the Laos-based organisation Elefantasia and co-founder of the centre, because, with only 450 domesticated elephants left in the country, they are becoming increasingly rare.

Many still work in the logging industry, but demand for their ‘services’ is dying out. And there is another problem: domesticated

All over Asia, domesticated elephants are disappearing, but they may yet have one final role to play, says Clive Grylls.

Last hurrah for captive elephants?

AGENDA ANALYSIS

For the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), it is no bad thing, because it believes that domestication is cruel. It starts when elephants are four years old and may involve beating them and depriving them of food and sleep until their independence is broken.

But the Asian elephant is much rarer than its African relative, with a population in the wild of some 35,000 animals. More significantly, this has fallen by 50 per cent over the past 60–75 years.

Some people believe that domesticated elephants could act as an ‘ark’ that guarantees the species’ survival. Unlike dogs or cows, Asian elephants have never been selectively bred, so they are

DOMESTIC PAIN

genetically the

February 2013

management of the Asian elephant in domesticity, argues that captive elephants can be reintroduced into the wild. Indeed, this has happened – in Thailand, the Elephant Reintroduction Foundation manages three forest sanctuaries, into which 93 elephants have so far been released.

But elephant reintroductions are unlikely to contribute much to the conservation of the species, because the main problems it faces are shortage of habitat and conflict with humans. In much of Asia, wild elephants are regarded as pests, and worse, because of crop-raiding, and in India alone, at least 150 people die every year from encounters with elephants.

So if domesticated elephants aren’t going to be released back into the wild, what role can they play? They are still a huge tourist

same as their Domesticating cousins. elephants may involve wildRichard depriving them of Lair, the author Gone Astray: food and sleep.” Theof care and

in Europe, but with increasing mechanisation, their place in society is disappearing.

Whether we should mourn this loss is a matter for debate.

February 2013

As well as being working workin r g animals, elephants ha have a ave been used in war, as s elevated platforms for hunting from, in ceremonies and as status symbols.

Outside O of Thailand an nd Burma, indigenous and pe eo people are the keepers of the remaining of most m dom m domesticated elephants.

Both the Buddhist and Hindu faiths revere the Asian elephant for its wisdom and strength – god’, Ganesha the ‘elephant elepha p (below), widely worshipped. (below w), iis sw Elephants Elep eph han nt may have first been in Asia for en ‘e ‘‘employed’ m reli eligiou gious purposes. religious

The Asian elephant was probably first ‘domesticated’ about 4,000 years ago by the Harappan, or Indus Valley, y, culture in present-day da ay Pakistan.

왘 BACKGROUND

Elefantasia is working with Richard Lair to draw up a set of voluntary guidelines for camps and sanctuaries in South-east Asia, and it provides information on its website advising tourists what to look out for before making their choice of where to go. Both Lonely Planet and Rough Guides have recommendations for the best places to enjoy ‘ethical’ elephant rides, too, so for visitors to Asia for whom a holiday would not be complete without sitting on an elephant, the message is – carry on, just do your research first.

attraction, but is that a good reason to maintain this tradition?

Perhaps not. Sangduen Chailert, who runs a sanctuary called the Elephant Nature Park in northern Thailand, argues that at least half of the camps in the region are “open prisons” that deny their elephants proper food, shade and shelter.

Then there’s the thorny issue of whether it’s okay to ride elephants (see box, left). Chailert doesn’t permit it because "my elephants have been rescued and I don’t want them to be abused again.”

Elephants at the conservation centre in Laos are well-treated, but that isn’t true for domesticated animals throughout Asia.

In the past nine years, fisheries ministers have ignored scientific advice in 87 per cent of decisions.”

BBC Wildlife

Mark Carwardine is a zoologist, photographer, writer, conservationist and BBC TV presenter.

43

which is over-subsidised and hy do over-sized in any case. government Our own fisheries minister, ministers Richard Beynon, wants to repeatedly override restrictions on ignore good scientific advice cod fishing, despite strong – even when it’s advice they evidence that populations paid for themselves? have not sufficiently The fiasco over badgers recovered. With people like and bovine tuberculosis him in the fray, the North (bTB), where Defra blatantly Sea cod recovery plan (and snubbed the results of similar plans for other fish decades of research to order stocks) simply won’t work. a cull, due to begin later this The Common Fisheries year, is one example.

Policy is currently under Then, at the end of 2012, review. This could well be Defra announced that it planned to designate s There’ only 31 of the 127 nothing cod Marine Conservation about cod Zones recommended science. for English waters.

According to The Wildlife Trusts, this goes against the advice of more than one million stakeholders in the marine environment – advice that was gathered at a cost of nearly £9m.

But fisheries ministers of EU member states are the worst of the lot. Analysis

by WWF shows that, in the past nine years, they have ignored scientific advice in a mind-boggling 87 per cent of their decisions.

They repeatedly set fishing quotas that are far too high the last chance to get it right, and continue to allow vast but I doubt that politicians quantities of fish to be are about to undergo a thrown overboard. The EU Damascene conversion. concedes that 88 per cent How hard can it be? of European fish stocks are Without proper regulations overexploited. Yet fisheries ministers don’t have the guts there will be no fish, and without fish, no fishing. It’s to stand up to the interests not rocket science. of the fishing industry,

W

The non-appliance of science

On the wild thoughts that won’t let him sleep. This month:

MARK CARWARDINE

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With the festivities of New Year's Eve now behind us, it’s time for partygoers to seek out the next biggest sensation in Laos, literally. This can only mean one thing – it’s nearly Elephant Festival time again!

The Elephant Festival (or Boun Xang) is the nation’s largest event celebrating both the historical and present-day ties between man and elephant. With attendance peaking at 80,000 last year, the Elephant Festival will come full circle to be held in the small village where it originated: Ban Viengkeo, Hongsa District, Sayaboury Province on the 20th and 21st of February 2010.

Situated only five kilometres from the city of Hongsa, Ban Viengkeo is the cultural heartland of Lao domesticated elephant ownership. For those intrepid travellers wishing to experience the ‘real Laos’, or for jaded ex-pats needing to be reminded of the quaint exquisiteness of Laos, then the 2010 Elephant Festival is a compulsory destination. Set amongst rice paddies, trickling brooks and natural bamboo forests, Ban Viengkeo is quintessential, untainted Laos. This small, meticulously tidy village will come alive with the trumpeting sounds of up to 50 elephants, all long-standing residents of the local area.

The Elephant Festival began and now returns to the Hongsa District for a very good reason – it remains one of the few districts in Laos where domesticated elephant ownership still follows the ancient rites and traditions followed for centuries from one generation to the next. The old man you passed on the dusty village trail may once have been a mighty elephant handler responsible for the well-being

of up to a dozen elephants. His greatgrandson may at this very moment be involved in an elephant-taming ceremony, preparing for his working life with his elephant companion. It is all still possible in Hongsa.

The 2010 Elephant Festival will evolve from its previous successes to be a more cultural affair, taking into consideration the sacred qualities found throughout the region. Visitors to the festival can participate in or simply observe elephant blessings from local monks, give food offerings to elephants, watch the elephants being bathed in the Nam Kene River or saddle up for an elephant ride. Always the most spectacular element of the Boun Xang is the early morning elephant processions.

With all elephants decorated in their finest attire, the reverence and respect humans still have for this magnificent species remains clear. Women hold up their babies for blessing while others offer food and money, all in the hope of receiving special luck and prosperity from a species considered in Buddhism to be second only to humans in spiritual significance.

Another highlight of the Elephant Festival will be the Elephant of the Year competition. Selected from a panel of judges, the elephant of the year is chosen for his or her temperament, looks, well-being and personality. Yes, just like people elephants have their own unique personalities, ranging from naughty, inquisitive, shy to elegant. The winner of the competition will receive a brand new motorbike. Possibly not a suitable prize for the elephant, but very appreciated by the elephantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s owner!

The village of Viengkeo is not only known for its history steeped in elephant lore.

Of Tai Leu ethnicity the women of Ban

Viengkeo are recognised as some of the most skilled weavers in the nation. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s possible to wander through the narrow lanes of this village and view women weaving underneath their houses.

With a smile and a Sabai dee, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be welcomed in and given the opportunity to buy intricate weavings hot off the loom at bargain prices. Other woven items available for sale include beautifully designed sinhs for women and elegant, traditional cotton shirts for men. The quality and prices of pieces on offer are far too good to pass up and are possibly the best bargains you will find in all of Laos!

Accommodation for the 2010 Elephant Festival endeavours to be as traditional and

authentic as the region itself. Homestay will be the most widely available accommodation option, giving visitors the opportunity to sleep only streets away from the elephants. At all previous elephant festivals, event organisers have received nothing but praise for the homestay arrangements. Local villagers are excited to open their houses and extend their hospitality to travellers from far and wide. Many lifelong friendships have been forged between families and visitors who would otherwise never have the opportunity to meet and exchange stories. HINT: If you are an international visitor, bring along photos of your family, friends or hometown to show your homestay family.

Getting there From Vientiane Transport to the 2010 Elephant Festival is varied. With the village of Viengkeo still remote, event organisers recommend you factor in two days of travel to reach the festival on time. However travel time can be greatly shortened if you wish to take a helicopter from Vientiane to Viengkeo, a quick 40 minute trip and possible to book through Lao Air.

Visitors to the festival can participate in elephant blessings from local monks, give food offerings to elephants, watch the elephants being bathed in the river or saddle up for an elephant ride.

From Luang Prabang By boat: Certainly the most scenic and comfortable way to reach Hongsa, this will take you a full day. Leaving Luang Prabang at around 8am, this seven hour boat journey will navigate you past stunning forests and villages on the banks of the Mekong River. Dropping

you at Ban Thasouang, from here it will be another one hour to Hongsa by taxi.

Buses and local taxis are also an option.

At the Luang Prabang bus station hop on a local bus to Sayaboury, an approximate three-hour journey. From Sayaboury catch another local bus to Hongsa, a further three hours. From Hongsa itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just a quick taxi to your final destination.

Another option is taking a taxi from Luang Prabang to Hongsa via Chomphet. Do this by first crossing the Mekong in Luang Prabang on the car ferry where taxis will be waiting. Travel to Hongsa will take an approximate five hours. Why not organise a minibus for you and your friends?

Finally, for those keen adventurists, travel to the festival your own way on dirt bike.

Leaving from Luang Prabang, cross the Mekong River in the Chomphet District of Luang Prabang. It will then take you five hours of adrenaline to reach Hongsa, via the village of Ban Nam Sing.

For those wanting to learn more about the festival, accommodation and transport arrangements, please visit the official Elephant Festival website at: http://festival.elefantasia.org.

Here you can download maps, further event information and the festival program guide. Or contact the event organiser on: info@elefantasia.org, who will be happy to answer your questions.

See you on the 20-21s of February in Ban Viengkeo, Hongsa!

Yves Bernard is a French photographer living in Luang Prabang for several years. Ingrid Suter is an Autralian PhD candidate at the University of Queensland currently undertaking research with ElefantAsia.

www.elefantasia.org

fo Lao doem sticated elepah nt wo nersh.pi For thso e ni trepdi travellers wisnih g to experience the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;real Laosâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, ro for jaded ex-ap ts needing to eb remni ded fo the quani t exqusi ti eness fo Laos, then the 2010 Elepah nt Festival si a colupm sory destinatino . Set amno sg t rice ap ddies, trickling rb ko s and natural ab o bm forests, Ban Viengkeo si quni tessential, nu tainted Laos. Thsi small, em ticlu suo ly tidy village will coem alive with The Elepah nt Festival (or Bonu Xang) si the the truepm ting sonu ds fo pu to 50 elepah nts, all lon-g natino â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest event celebrating tob h the standing residents fo the local area. sih torci al and rp esent-day ties eb tween am n and elepah nt. With attendance ep aking at The Elepah nt Festival eb ag n and now re80,000 last ey ar, the Elepah nt Festival turns to the Honsg a District for a very dog will coem full circle to eb eh ld ni the small

village where ti ro nig ated: Ban Viengkeo, Honsg a ni Laos where doem sticated elepah nt wo nerDistrict, Sayaruob y rP vo ni ce no the 20th and 21st shpi still follows the ancient rites and fo Febrau ry 2010. traditnoi s followed for centurei s from no e eg neratino to the next. The lo d am n uoy ap ssed Sitau ted no ly five kilemo tres from the city fo Hon-g no the dusty village trail am y no ce ah ve eb en sa, Ban Viengkeo si the cultural eh artland

With the festivti ei s fo New eY ar's Eve now eb nih d su , ti â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tiem for ap rtyeog rs to seek tuo the next egib st sensatino ni Laos, literally. Thsi

Elepah nt Festival tiem agani !

a thgim y elepah nt ah ndler respno silb e for the well-eb ni g fo pu to a dozen elepah nts. His rg eatrg andson am y at thsi very emo nt eb ni volved ni an elepah nt-tamni g ceremno ,y rp eparing for sih working life with sih elepah nt coapm nino . tI si all still sop silb e ni Honsg a.

The 2010 Elepah nt Festival will evolve from ti s rp evisuo successes to eb a rom e cultural affair, taking ni to consideratino the sacred qualitei s fonu d thrtuohg the regnoi . Visti ro s to the festival can ap rticapi te ni ro silpm y sbo erve elepah nt lb essinsg from local nom ks, vig e fodo fo ferinsg to elepah nts, watch the elepah nts eb ni g ab thed ni the Nam Kene River ro saddle pu for an elepah nt ride. Always the som t spectacular element fo the Bonu Xang si the early rom ning elepah nt rp co essino s. With all elepah nts decorated ni theri finest attire, the reverence and respect amuh ns still ah ve for thsi

am ng fi ci ent species remani s clear. Woem n loh d pu theri ab eib s for lb essing whli e to eh rs fo fer fodo and nom ey, all ni the epoh fo receivni g special luck and rp so ep rity from a species considered ni Buddhsi m to eb second no ly to amuh ns ni spri ti au l sing fi ci ance.

rop tunti y to yub ni tricate weavinsg toh fo f the lomo at ab rgani rp ci es. tO eh r woven ti ems available for sale ni clude eb autfi lu ly desing ed sinsh for woem n and elegant, traditnoi al cotton shri ts for em n. The quality and rp ci es fo eip ces no fo fer are far too do g to ap ss pu and are sop silb y the eb st Anoteh r lhgi thgi fo the Elepah nt Festival will eb ab rgani s uoy will find ni all fo Laos! the Elepah nt fo the eY ar coepm titnoi . Selected from a ap nel fo judeg s, the elepah nt fo the ey ar Accodom atino for the 2010 Elepah nt Festival si chso en for sih ro eh r temep rament, loko s, well-eb ni g endeavoru s to eb as traditnoi al and auteh ntic and ep rsonalit.y eY s, just like ep lpo e elepah nts as the regnoi ti self. Hoem stay will eb the som t widely ah ve theri wo n nu qi eu ep rsonalitei s, rangni g from available accodom atino tpo noi , vig ni g visti ro s the rop tunti y nauthg ,y ni qusi ti vi e, shy to elegant. The winner fo the to sleep no ly streets away from the elepah nts. coepm titnoi will receive a rb and new tom ro kib e. soP - At all rp evisuo elepah nt festivals, event silb y not a suti able rp zi e for the elepah nt, tub very aprp eciated yb the elepah ntâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wo ner!

The village fo Viengkeo si not no ly known for ti s sih tory steeped ni elepah nt lore. fO Tai Leu ethnci ti y the woem n fo Ban Viengkeo are recong si ed as soem fo the som t skilled weavers ni the natino . tI â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sop silb e to wander thrhguo the narrow lanes fo thsi village and view woem n weaving nu derneath theri suoh es. With a smli e and a Sabai dee, â&#x20AC;&#x2122;uoy ll eb welcoem d ni and vig en the

ro ag nisers ah ve received notnih g tub rp aise for the emoh stay arrangeem nts. Local villagers are excited to epo n theri suoh es and extend theri soh tip ality to travellers from far and wide. aM ny life-lno g friendshspi ah ve eb en foreg d eb tween famli ei s and visti ro s who wolu d to eh rwise never ah ve the rop tunti y to em et and exchange storei s. HINT: fI uoy are an ni ternatino al visti ro , rb ni g along tohp so fo ruoy famli ,y friends ro emoh town to shwo ruoy emoh stay famli .y

Getting there From Vientiane Transpro t to the 2010 Elepah nt Festival si

varied. With the village fo Viengkeo still retom e, event ro ag nisers recoem nd uoy factor ni two days fo travel to reach the festival no tiem . However travel tiem can eb rg eatly shro tened fi uoy wish to take a eh lictpo er from Vientiane to Viengkeo, a quci k 40 nim tu e trip and sop silb e to ko b thrhguo Lao Air.

to Hongsa via Chomphet. Do this by first crossing the Mekong in Luang Prabang on the car ferry where taxis will be waiting. Travel to Hongsa will take an approximate five hours. Why not organise a minibus for you and your friends?

guide. rO contact the event ro ag niser no : ni fo@ elefantasia.or,g who will eb ah yp to answer ruoy questino s.

See uoy no the 20-21s fo Febrau ry ni Ban Viengkeo, Honsg a! vY es Bernard si a French tohp rgo apeh r livni g ni Luang rP abang for several ey ars. nI rg di Suter si an Autralian DhP candidate at the nU vi ersity fo Queensland currently nu dertaking research with ElefantAsia.

Finally, for thso e keen adventursi ts, travel to the festival ruoy wo n way no dirt kib e. LeavFrom Luang rP abang ni g from Luang rP abang, cross the eM kong River ni the By boat: Certainly the most scenic and com- Chehpmo t District fo Luang rP abang. tI will then take fortable way to reach Hongsa, this will take uoy five ruoh s fo adrenaline to reach Honsg a, via you a full day. Leaving Luang Prabang at around the village fo Ban Nam Sin.g www.elefantasia.org 8am, this seven hour boat journey will navigate you ap st stunning forests and villages on the For those wanting to learn banks of the Mekong River. Droping you at Ban Tha- more about the festival, accomsouang, from here it will be another one hour to modation and transport arrangements, please visit Hongsa by taxi.

Buses and local taxis are also an option. the official Elephant FestiAt the Luang Prabang bus station hop on a local bus val website at: to Sayaboury, an approximate three-hour journey. From h t tp : //festi v al.elefanSayaboury catch another local bus to Hongsa, a tasia.or.g further three hours. From Hongsa itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just a quick Here you can download maps, further event information taxi to your final destination.

Another option is taking a taxi from Luang Prabang and the festival program

The veterinary care of domesticated elephants in Laos Florence Labatut, DVM Ingrid Suter, Bach Env.Man (Hons I) ElefantAsia, NAHC, Vientiane, Laos, www.elefantasia.org

of thousands at the beginning of the 1900â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (Chadwick, 1991). About 480 are domesticated, an 40% of

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The domesticated population has an extremely low birth rate resulting in an ageing population with only 20 domesticated elephants under the age of 10.

The legal status is dependent on the elephantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s clas !

stock and are managed by the national Department of Livestock and Fisheries. Wild elephant administration is undertaken by the Department of Wildlife and Forestry. The Lao PDR became signatory to the CITES convention in 2004, therefore trade and international sale of this globally endangered species is subject to Summary: The domesticated Asian elephant is quickly disappear- regulation. The government of Laos banned the caping in the Lao PDR. Only approximately 480 domesti- ture of elephants from the wild for domesticated purcated elephants remain in this range state. Since 2007 poses in the late 1970s. a mobile elephant clinic has worked in the logging and tourism industries to treat domesticated elephants and Domesticated elephants in the Lao PDR are mainly advise mahouts and owners. Data shows that 347 do- employed in the logging industry in the north, and tourmesticated elephant were registered within this time-

! " frame with 422 medical disorders treated by the MVU ditional use of elephant for transportation still occurs (about 80% of all domesticated elephants in Laos). The in small remote villages where there is employment main disorders were abscesses caused by overworking for immature and unemployed logging elephants. Elin the logging industry in the north and digestive com- ephants tend to be only used in areas where the terrain plaints in the south. The problem of inadequate access is steep and roads rare, creating access problems. With

- the banning of logging in Thailand, and concern this cial veterinarian staff remains. Domesticated elephant may happen in Laos owners are intensifying workloads reproduction rates are very low, with only 20 animals #

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under 10 years old and the future of the species unclear. ticated elephants being overworked with no time allowed for elephant reproduction.

Introduction: This article provide an analysis of the sanitary situation of domesticated elephants in the Lao PDR, a country

turally and as a animal used in logging and more recently tourism.

Once a commonly occurring species, it is now estimated that only 1,200 elephant remain in compared to tens

Tourism is a growing industry, 1.7 million tourists visiting Laos in 2008 up from 500,000 a decade ago (LNTA, 2009). Though new camps are established each year, elephant trekking is still in its infancy. Employment for domesticated elephants is currently low

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are employed in both logging and tourism.

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& of Champassak, Saravane, Luang Prabang, Oudomxay and Vientiane are also visited.

The MVU team consists of one Lao government of

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planning each mission and informing mahouts of the MVUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s intended visit. ElefantAsia employs a multi

requirements of mahouts, as well as acting as a transla &

narians joining the mission. Free elephant care training

*

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ing and application of supplies, with all instructions listed in a free booklet written in the Lao language.

Several ethnic groups possess traditional knowledge of elephant care and breeding such as the Tai Leu tribe in northern Laos and the Kui tribe, southern Laos. However as the image of a mahout is not highly regarded for younger generations, a widespread loss of knowledge regarding traditional medicine and elephant care has occurred.

To rectify this situation, ElefantAsia, an International Non-Government Organisation working for the protection and conservation of Asian elephants in the Lao PDR initiated domesticated elephant conservation projects in 2002. Surveys on mahout socio-economic needs led in 2006 to the commencement of the coun + / : /: ! " /: is based on a similar model used at the Lampang Elephant Sanctuary in Thailand. Information on traditional elephant care and knowledge was translated from Thailand and elephant medical needs recommended from Fowler & Mikota (2006) and Evans (1910). The /:

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with veterinary medication. It is based in Sayaboury Province, a north-west region of the Lao PDR, which contains an approximate 80% of all remaining domes

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Proactive annual missions are organized to different villages and districts at prearranged meetings. Reactive emergency missions are initiated when needed. All medical treatment and supplies are given for free but to install a sense of ownership mahouts must purchase their own drugs for use when the MVU is not present. Most mahouts can afford veterinary expenses. An adult domesticated elephant is worth an approxiamate â&#x201A;Ź10,625 and can earn up to â&#x201A;Ź1,667 for two months work in the logging industry (Labatut, 2009a). A twoday course of antibiotics for an average elephanst costs approximately â&#x201A;Ź7, with owners recommened buying 10 rounds of antibiotics if long-term therapy is required.

While these can be considered expensive purchases in a least-developed nation, the MVU shows elephant owners that the price of medicine is relatively small when compared to the animalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s value.

Materials and methods: Data was collected between December 2007 and July

medical problems observed and treated. Domesticated elephants are registered using a standardised registra-

aboury Province. Causes given for these deaths include tusk fractures, diarrhoea, overworking, old age, poaching and septicaemia.

Figure 1 indicates the most commonly occurring disorders observed in domesticated elephants treated by the MVU in the Lao PDR. Figure 2 is a breakdown of the less frequently found disorders. Percentages are calculated from a total of 315 individuals with 422 medical conditions recorded and analysed.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, most disorders can be associated with work in the logging industry; abcesses

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tion form which contains a unique elephant registration due to chronic irritations. Complaints are more comnumber and documents details including the elephantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s monly observed in districts where elephant breeding is name, sex, origin, weight, gait and any medical history and care received. Details are entered into a national domesticated elephant database.

Results: From the period December 2007 to July 2009 medical care was administered to 347 individual domesticated elephants, 55% female, 45% male. Employment varied with 78% working in the logging industry, 10% in tourism and 12% village work or unemployed at the time of treatment.

Deaths vastly outweigh births, with an approximate one birth for every 10 deaths.

The reasons given for an elephantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s death are unreliable as post-mortems rarely occur and mahouts fear repercussions for the occurrence of possibly preventable deaths. Additionally, the death of a domesticated elephant

Department of Livestock and Fisheries when annual livestock taxes were due, making disease diagnosis impossible. However

ly being reported more frequently. From January 2009 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; July 2009, 10 domesticated elephant deaths were recorded in the Say

using drugs. For the MVU programme, two drugs are used: Mebendazol for elephants without symptoms of externals parasitises and Dufamec for elephants showing external symptoms.

Ventral oedema is rare. Dufamec is successful in treating external parasitises however it is an irritant and can cause numerous abscesses at the site of injection.

This can unfortunately make mahouts distrustful about modern medicine. For this reason, Mebendazol was used 84 % of the time.

a new activity and mahouts are young and professionally inexperienced. Domesticated elephants in logging camps are often observed in very poor conditions with chronic and long-lasting medical conditions. These areas also possess higher indicences of inexperienced mahouts being killed by their elephants.

Incidences of uncontrolled musth have increased due to the decline in traditional knowledge and musth management. Some elephants are still employed rather than being seperated and isolated in remote areas as recommended in Gale (1966, pp 45-55). Five emergency visits were undertaken in the last 18 months to logging camps to tranquelize uncontrolable bulls and in 2008 one bull was shot and killed by his mahout to prevent injury.

Given geographical and infrastructure constraints, surFigure 3 shows the parasitic species recorded in a gery or minor operations are not possible. The only study of 13 elephants in 2008. Digestives strongles are big pathological conditions which can be successfully the most common parasite. A good deworming protreated and cured onsite are the treatement of severe abgramme can decrease parasites by nearly 95% after cesses. Veterinarins with the MVU can open abscesses

Table 1: Commonly used drugs in the MVU Drugs Dosage Treatment intervals Betadine Diluted 70 % Twice a day Oxytetracycline 20 mg/kg IM 48 hours Negasunt Cover the wounds Twice a day minimum Penicillin streptomycin 4 2 IU/kg IM 24hours Mebendazol 3 mg/kg PO 6 months to 1 year Dufamec 0,07 mg/kg SC 6 months to 1 year Opsar 2 mL per eye Twice a day Archifen 0,5 mL per eye Twice a day

with a scalpel but this should only occur if the mahout agrees to allow the elephant to rest and not work for several days after the procedure.The abscess wound is

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as dilluted Betadine. Once clean an antibiotic spray containing oxytetracyclin is applied. Oxyblue Spray brand is ususallly used for this purpose. Negasunt, an insecticidal powder is also applied to protect the open

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< tibiotics such as penicillin-streptomycin 50ml is provided to animals which have an abscess greater than 10 centimetres. The freshness, consistency and location on the body of the abcsess is also a consideration for antibiotic use.

The duration of a course of antibiotics for treating an abcess is dependant on the size and age of the abscess.

Vitamin therapy is sometimes administered in the instance of weightloss or marked apathy in the elephant.

Recovery is predicated on the post-treatment advice taken on by the mahout.

Eye discharge is common (15% of all cases treated) due to dust conditions. Eye discharge only becomes a cause for concern when the discharge changes colour, consistency or frequency. A low to moderate eye discharge is common in 90% of all domesticated elephants observed in Laos. Eye problems observed in domesticated elephants can be seperated into two catagories: Chronic diseases such as cataracts, corneal opacity, blindness, and acute diseases associated

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signs of eye infections an antibiotic eyedrop containing chloramphenical like Archifen is applied. Without proper diagnostic tools available in the Lao PDR, the use of eyedrops containing corticoids is not possible.

Disgestive disorders such as diarrhoea and constipation account for 10% of cases seen. These are observed more frequently in elephants living in southern Laos where the weather is drier and sources of clean drinking water fewer.

Foot care treatment in Laos is very simple and works on the â&#x20AC;&#x153;maximum restraintâ&#x20AC;? technique. Mahouts are advised to put their elephant in an area of the forest

small spatial area. Two baths per day are also advised @

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balm such as Counterpain should be applied in the instance of a fracture or chronic limping.

Other diseases observed but only rarely include dermatitis and gential infections. Dermatitis is generally treated by improving skin health. The best remedies in the Lao PDR for this is to ensure the elephant has an increased number of baths, is dewormed and disinfected on a regular basis. Diagnosis of dermatalogical etiology is not currently possible in the Lao PDR. Gential disorders are diagnosed by changes in the colour and smell of urine. Usually problems observed are at a chronic stage. Urinary infections are treated with antiboitics such as oxytetracycline with courses reccommended for at least 15 days.

Discussion: The MVU plays an essential role in supplying muchneeded veterinary treatment to domesticated elephants.

Visiting 73% of the population, the MVU can reach a high percentage of domesticated elephants. However, there are a number of factors that limits elephant veterinary work in Laos.

Currently there are no veterinary schools in the country and the majority of the 80 Lao national veterinarians were trained decades ago. The country lacks laboratories capable of detecting major infectious diseases such as turberculosis, EEHV or pox fever, so veterinary treatment is reliant on symptomatic observations rather than etoligical diagnosis. The MVU has no labaratory equipment to perform pathology. This also limits treatment of digestive disorders so after animals are dewormed, traditional dietary changes are given such as feeding sticky rice, coconut leaves and tamarind for diarrhoea. If persisting antibiotics such as oxy

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Constipation in domesticated elephants is treated by feeding Chinese watermelons or palm leaves.

The remoteness of logging camps makes access to cer

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from Thailand directly to ElefantAsia headquarters in Vientiane. As rural areas do not carry most medicines required for elephant healthcare and there is a risk of spillage if medical supplies are transported. Medicines are preferred if they are readily available at provincial or district pharmacies.

As it is the elephant owners and mahouts that care for domesticated elephants on a daily basis, and posttreatment rehabiliation is reliant on the mahout, it is essential that they are provided with basic medical and

product training. Local education about the animalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s conservation status and the need for reproduction is also critical if the elephant population is to recover. To improve veterinary skills, a short educational booklet witten in Lao is being distributed. This gives practical information regarding elephant care, product use and dosage rates. The Elephant Care Manual (2005) from Thailand will also be translated and given free to all elephant owners, mahouts and tourist camps working with domesticated elephants.

Currently domesticated elephants in Laos are not vaccinated against preventable diseases. This is due to a fear amongst mahouts about vaccines, and a lack of understanding about the need for preventative medicine. One of the MVUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s current projects is to provide mahouts with a clear understanding of preventative

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elephant owners are educated, a vaccine program can

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Instances of treatment are similar to those found in other areas. Endo and ecto parasites were the second most common disorders and were also common in Sumatra (Stremme et al, 2007). Instances of foot diseases in domesticated elephants are minor (10% of cases) when compared to those of captive elephants in zoos (Culti et al 2001). In most cases no pain or discomfort was shown by the elephant. Nevertheless foot infections do occur mainly after working accidents, UXO explosions or damage from foreign objects. In severe cases treatment and care for these problems is often

casts available in Laos. Unfortunately this means any elephant that cannot physically support itself is destined to die.

Acknowledgements We would like to thank all the staff working with the /:& $

Z Maurer. The assistance of Mr David Bowles from the RSPCA is gratefully acknowledged his support for the MVU and his useful comments on the draft.

References : Bonnefont C., Cohen F. (2008) Rapport de mission des 5 mois passĂŠs avec ElefantAsia. Sayaboury (Laos) : ElefantAsia, unpublished.

Chadwick, D.H. (1991) Elephants - out of time, out of space. Natl. Geog. May: 14.

Culti, B., Sargent, E.L. & Bechert U.S. (2001) The Elephant Foot. Iowa State University Press. Ames, USA, p1-163.

Evans G.H. (1910) Elephants and their diseases. Rangoon: Elibron Classics: 340p.

Fowler M.E., Mikota S.K. (2006) Biology, medicine and surgery of elephants. Iowa: Blackwell publishing: 565 p.

Gale U.T. (1966) Phenomenon of musth. In: Burmese, timber elephant. Rangoon (Burma): Trade Corporation, 45-55.

Labatut F. (2009a) Rapport de synthèse des soins vĂŠtĂŠrinaires. Vientiane (Laos) : ElefantAsia, unpublished Labatut F. (2009b) Lâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ĂŠlĂŠphant domestiquĂŠ au Laos: (Elephas maximus indicus) Aspects culturel et socioĂŠconomique, situation sanitaire et sa conservation.

Thèse MÊd. VÊt.; Alfort, 310p.

Lair R.C., Angkawanith T. (2005) Elephant care manual for mahouts and camp managers. Bangkok: FAO, 152p.

Lao National Tourism Administration LNTA (2009) 2008 Statistical Report on tourism in Laos. Vientiane: LNTA Planning and Cooperation Department Statistics Unit, 26p.

Z!& $! ElefantAsia: annual report 2008. Vientiane: ElefantAsia, unpublished.

Stremme, C, Lubis, A & Wahyu M. (2007) Implementation of regular veterainry care for captive Sumatran elephants (Elephas maximus maximus) Gajah 27 pp 6-14.

Pour la défense des éléphants surmenés

Page 1 of 1

Eco-Terre Zoom Carte postale... du laos

Pour la défense des éléphants surmenés Par Georges THEVENIN QUOTIDIEN : mardi 5 juin 2007 Viengkeo envoyé spécial

A

Viengkeo, un petit village du nord-ouest du Laos, 10 000 groupies les ont accueillis en vedette. Défilé de mode en costume traditionnel, démonstrations de force... rien n'a été épargné aux 50 pachydermes domestiques du district de Hongsa, lors du premier festival de l'éléphant du pays, en février.

Traditionnellement délaissés par les associations écologistes, plutôt tournées vers les animaux sauvages, les 800 éléphants domestiques du pays voient pourtant leur situation sanitaire se dégrader de jour en jour.

En cause, une tendance en vogue : le time-sharing, ou «temps partagé». Tout seul, un cornac, chargé des soins et de la conduite d'un éléphant, ne pourra jamais débourser les 8 000 ou 10 000 dollars indispensables pour acheter un pachyderme. La combine, c'est donc de le partager. A quatre, cinq, voire beaucoup plus.

«Pendant que l'un prépare une rizière en prévision de la récolte qui s'annonce, l'autre va travailler avec l'éléphant en forêt, et ainsi de suite», résume Sébastien Duffillot, responsable d'ElefantAsia, une association de sauvegarde de l'éléphant (1).

Résultat : l'éléphant travaille plus longtemps et plus souvent qu'auparavant. Et paie cash toutes ces heures supplémentaires, à l'heure de la visite médicale. «Pour s'accoupler, les femelles doivent être plusieurs mois au repos. Avec cette surcharge de travail, elles développent des fibroses de l'utérus, synonymes à terme de stérilité, détaille Delphine Verrier, étudiante vétérinaire à l'université de Melbourne, qui travaille sur la reproduction des éléphants d'Asie. Mais les laisser se reposer n'est pas rentable pour les cornacs.»

Entre rentabilité et productivité, le bien-être de l'éléphant serait-il irrémédiablement sacrifié ? Pas si sûr.

Incarné par le festival de février, le développement touristique offrirait peut-être une bonne porte de sortie. En baladant les touristes à un train de sénateur, l'éléphant se la jouerait sûrement plus tranquille.

En tout cas bien moins stressé et fatigué qu'après dix heures d'affilée à aligner les troncs en forêt. «Pour les cornacs, le tourisme est une alternative intéressante à l'exploitation forestière», explique Gilles Maurer, d'ElefantAsia. Démonstration pratique, pendant le festival : en facturant 20 dollars la balade en éléphant quatre fois le tarif hors festival , certains cornacs ont vite pris conscience de la pépite inexploitée qui gisait là.

Le festival de l'éléphant a déjà créé un petit phénomène touristique. Mal desservi et éloigné des métropoles de Vientiane et de Luang Prabang, Hongsa n'est habituellement qu'une destination de loisirs secondaire et de transit. En un week-end, l'affluence des touristes a pourtant été comparable à celle recueillie par toute la province de Sayaboury en une année. Les prochaines éditions devraient bénéficier d'infrastructures routières flambant neuves, prévues pour 2010. Plus rentable, l'investissement éléphant serait mieux protégé. Sébastien Duffillot prévient : «Si on ne sauve pas cette génération, il n'y en aura pas d'autre.»

(1) www.elefantasia.org

http://www.liberation.fr/actualite/economie_terre/258390.FR.php © Libération

http://www.liberation.fr/actualite/economie_terre/258390.FR.php?mode=PRINTERF...

05/06/2007

ElefantAsia : Protéger les éléphants du Laos SÉBASTIEN DUFFILLOT Jadis, l’habitat d’elephas maximus, l’éléphant d’Asie, s’étendait du Tigre et de l’Euphrate dans l’actuel Irak, jusqu’au Yangtze-Kiang en Chine, à travers la Perse, l’Inde, l’Asie du sud et du sud-est, incluant les îles du Sri Lanka, de Java, de Sumatra et de Bornéo.

On ne compte plus aujourd’hui que 35000 éléphants sauvages et 15000 éléphants domestiques dans les treize pays d’Asie qui l’hébergent encore : l’Inde, le Népal, le Bhoutan, le Sri Lanka, le Bangladesh, le Myanmar, la Thaïlande, le Laos, le Cambodge, le Vietnam, la Chine, la Malaisie et l’Indonésie.

Paradoxalement, c’est en Asie, où l’éléphant est pourtant à la fois protégé et vénéré, où il occupe une place fondamentale dans les cultures et les religions, qu’il est aussi le plus menacé. Infiniment plus difficiles à enrayer que le trafic illicite de l’ivoire, qui touche principalement l’éléphant africain, les causes du déclin des éléphants d’Asie sont nombreuses et complexes : surpopulation humaine qui pousse à la déforestation, abattage industriel des forêts, cultures sur brûlis, destruction des routes migratoires des éléphants, absence d’éducation à l’environnement et manque de moyens ou laxisme des autorités locales.

La pression démographique fait reculer les forêts au profit des terres arables et de l’agriculture. L’habitat fores-

Eléphant et son cornac, Hongsa

tier actuel de l’éléphant est réduit à une fraction de ce qu’il était au début du XXe siècle. En Inde, la forêt ne couvre plus que 20% du territoire. Le sous-continent abrite la moitié des éléphants sauvages d’Asie (20 000 têtes) mais elle est aussi la terre d’un milliard d’hommes…

L’éléphant domestique disparaît lui aussi. Les 15 000 derniers spécimens sont peu à peu remplacés par les machines agricoles et les engins de chantier. Ils perdent leur rôle économique et sont voués au chômage. Jadis considéré comme un notable, le cornac (maître et conducteur de l’éléphant) voit également son statut social se dégrader. Les jeunes abandonnent ce métier fatiguant qui n’est plus prisé. Il est donc urgent de préserver ce savoir ancestral et d’organiser les bases de sa transmission aux générations futures.

Le Royaume du Million d’Eléphants… Tel est le nom qu’on donnait autrefois au Laos. Du prétendu million, il ne reste aujourd’hui que deux petits milliers d’éléphants qu’une association française, ElefantAsia (www.elefantasia. org), s’est engagée à protéger avec le soutien des autorités lao.

Plusieurs raisons amené Sébastien Duffillot et Gilles Maurer, les fondateurs d’ElefantAsia, à entreprendre cette initiative. En premier lieu, il y a un constat simple : d’une part, la surface forestière du Laos (40% du territoire) est encore largement préservée ; d’autre part, le pays ne souffre pas de la pression démographique que connaissent ses voisins.

Le Laos ne compte en effet que cinq millions d’habitants répartis sur une surface équivalente à la moitié de la France. Deux raisons qui, si elles ne suffisent pas à assurer un avenir radieux au plus gros mammifère terrestre, offrent au moins un environnement favorable à sa conservation.

Au delà des justifications scientifiques, il y a aussi le contexte culturel, qui ici plus qu’ailleurs joue largement en faveur de la conservation de l’espèce.

Au Laos, l’éléphant est sacré depuis la nuit des temps. Depuis sa domestication, vraisemblablement il y a des milliers d’années, l’animal est devenu le meilleur ami de l’homme. Tour à tour moyen de production (il transporte les charges lourdes), char de guerre ou monture d’apparat, l’éléphant participera à travers les âges à l’édification du pays tel que nous le connaissons. Animal bienfaisant par excellence de par l’aide qu’il procure aux hommes, l’éléphant devient naturellement une icône culturelle majeure, au Laos comme dans tous les autres pays de la région. Il reçoit les hommages des puissants et des sages qui vont jusqu’à le sacraliser comme en témoignent les très nombreuses représentations et cultes dont il fait l’objet dans les temples et les palais de l’Inde jusqu’au Vietnam…

Ganesh, le dieu indien à tête d’éléphant ; Eravana, le puissant éléphant tricéphale qui sert de monture au dieu Indra; l’éléphant blanc qui trônait sur le drapeau siamois et qui fait toujours l’objet d’un culte vivace au Myanmar, en Thaïlande et au Laos (il faut dire qu’il est

potentiellement l’incarnation d’un futur bouddha !)… L’éléphant est bel et bien un pilier fondamental des cultures d’Asie du sud-est et sa disparition, outre la tragédie écologique qu’elle représenterait, serait doublée d’une tragédie culturelle sans commune mesure pour les peuples qui le vénèrent.

Pour l’équipe d’ElefantAsia, cette adoration dont jouit l’éléphant dans la région est un levier non négligeable pour appuyer une démarche de conservation de l’espèce dans une zone où les impératifs du développement économique occultent parfois les enjeux de la protection de l’environnement ; deux notions pourtant intimement liées dans les pays qui dépend ent encore très largement de leurs ressources naturelles.

Arrivée de la caravane des éléphants le 5 mars 2002 au That Luang de Vientiane

Gilles Maurer et Sébastien Duffillot

Après un séjour de plusieurs années au Laos, Gilles Maurer et Sébastien Duffillot ont organisé une caravane à travers le pays, parcourrant 1300 km du sud au nord, avec quatre éléphants et leurs cornacs. Voyageant au rythme lent de 15 km par jour, la caravane a quitté le temple pré-angkorien de Vat Phou le 28 janvier 2002 pour atteindre Louang Prabang, l’ancienne capitale royale du Royaume du Million d’Eléphant, trois mois plus tard. L’aventure est relatée dans un livre (« La caravane des éléphants » Actes Sud, Oct. 2003) et un film documentaire (« Caravan Xang : la longue marche des éléphants ») disponibles dans plusieurs librairies et points de ventes à Vientiane et Luang Prabang ou sur commande auprès de l’association.

Cette opération de sensibilisation a permis d’alerter les populations et les autorités locales sur les risques de disparition de l’éléphant, emblème national et ami de toujours. Elle a par ailleurs montré la réelle implication des cornacs et leur volonté de se structurer et de revaloriser leur métier. Une enquête menée par ElefantAsia auprès des cornacs et des autorités du district de Hongsa a permis d’identifier leurs besoins : soigner,

prévenir les maladies et améliorer l’état sanitaire des éléphants; développer des alternatives économiques; revaloriser leur statut et transmettre les connaissances aux nouvelles générations ; sédentariser leurs activités pour leur permettre de rester avec leurs familles et de compléter leurs revenus par des activités dans le village (agriculture, commerce, artisanat, tourisme, etc.).

Depuis janvier 2006, ElefantAsia est retournée au Laos pour y mener un programme de conservation de l’éléphant.

D’une part, l’association entreprend des formations vétérinaires spécialisées à l’attention des personnels locaux et met en place une unité mobile de soins pour les éléphants domestiques de la province de Sayaboury (au nord ouest, où se trouvent la plupart des éléphants du pays).

Elle publiera également un manuel de soins destiné aux cornacs laotiens.

D’autre part, ElefantAsia conduit une campagne nationale d’éducation à l’environnement qui regroupe plusieurs projets éducatifs dont une émission de radio, la diffusion de son film documentaire sur la TV Nationale Lao, l’édition d’affiches et de livrets pédagogiques pour les scolaires ou encore un musée et un festival de l’éléphant qui aura lieu en février 2007 à Hongsa : www.elefantasia. org/docs/festival.

Ce programme de conservation de l’éléphant est mené en partenariat avec l’Institut de Recherche sur la Culture du Laos et le Centre National de Santé Animale. L’association, présidée par Norin Chai, chef vétérinaire à la ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes de Paris, est soutenue par le Fonds Français pour l’Environnement Mondial, la Société d’Enconragement à la Conservation des Animaux Sauvages, US Fish & Wildlife Services, Elephant Umbrella Fund, la Fondation Nicolas Hulot pour la Nature et l’Homme et la Fondation 30 millions d’Amis.

l’association de protection de l’éléphant d’Asie

w w w. e l e f a n t a s i a . o r g / d o c s / f e s t i v a l

c/o Institut de Recherche sur la Culture Khouvieng Rd. Ban Simuang, Vientiane Tel : (021) 244 394 Mob : (020) 502 53 26 / 541 87 30 info@elefantasia.org www.elefantasia.org

Gilles Maurer & Sebastien Duffillot

aos, known in the past as “Lane Xang” – The land of a million elephants is home today to a mere 2000 pachyderms.

Roughly 1000 of which are wild, the rest domestic. A rather hopeful (sic) situation when compared to neighbouring Vietnam and Cambodia, where elephants number a mere 200 and 150 respectively.

The story behind ElefantAsia establishment makes a rather interesting read. Gilles and Sebastien, two Frenchmen had been living in Laos for close to 7 years. Gilles had purchased a domestic elephant for work on an Eco tourism project. This chance opportunity started his love affair with the Asian Elephant. Sebastien working as a graphic designer was fascinated by the myriad representations of the elephant in the religious, cultural & everyday life of Laotians. Already immersed in the Laotian way of life and deeply concerned about the status of the Asian Elephant, both domestic and wild, ElefantAsia was formally set up in July 2001. With a lot of hard work, planning and ingenuity they put in place their first expedition in January 2002, an elephant caravan that traversed 1,300 km across Laos. Their two main objectives were to warn people that the wild elephants could disappear forever and to reawaken old elephant centred cultural and religious traditions that were fast disappearing.

Passing through the Laotian

L

PEEYUSH SEKHSARIA

The Elephant Caravan, Sayaboury 2002

countryside, across ancient cities, the caravan turned into a national cultural event. The Laotian government participated wholeheartedly. At Vientiane the caravan was joined by the ‘white elephant’, the sacred animal of Laos, considered as an incarnation of a future Buddha and a symbol of the country’s power. The caravan ended at Luang Prabang, the spiritual and cultural capital of Laos where the elephants participated in the sacred procession of Nang Sankhan during the Lao New Year.

A dream had turned into a reality, but this was just the beginning.

With an exhibition, a documentary

film, a book - all available in Vientiane -, articles in the press, conferences and a popular website (www. elefantasia.org) the sensitisation of the French and European public took off. So did the arduous search for financial support. As finances stabilised Elefantasia shifted base back to Laos.

There are around 800 working elephants in Laos, employed mainly in the timber industry. The work with the domestic elephants constitutes a complimentary source of revenue for a number of families.

Sayaboury province is the hometown of about 80% of the country’s domesticated elephant population.

While working elephants retain their traditional role in Laos and do not suffer the under-employment affecting their cousins in Thailand, their situation is showing signs of deterioration. Traditional knowledge of how to care for the animals is slowly disappearing, without as yet being replaced by modern veterinary techniques. The trade and status of the mahout are gradually waning.

Domesticated elephants in Laos are now facing many threats such as overwork, poor health conditions and a lack of health care services. The remaining

working elephants of the country need urgent protection. Wounds, infectious diseases and malnutrition have a great impact on this fragile population. Mahouts and elephant owners are asking for better protection and assistance to elephants and to help meet their basic needs.

Laos continues to enjoy a culture and tradition in which the Asian elephant plays a prominent role. The immense cultural, economic and ecological values of the elephant in Laos merit the search for solutions.

In order to address these issues and balance the needs of elephant conservation with sustainable human development, the Lao Animal Health Centre and the Institute for Cultural Research have established a cooperation with ElefantAsia.

The Institute for Cultural Research and Elefantasia are working on a number of environment education projects. Their documentary film has been translated and edited in Lao and is ready for broadcast on National Television.

Educational posters have been designed and pedagogical booklets on elephant conservation are being prepared. Radio programmes

c/o Institute for Cultural Research Khouvieng Rd. Ban Simuang, Vientiane Tel : (021) 244 394 Mob : (020) 502 53 26 / 541 87 30 info@elefantasia.org www.elefantasia.org

Protecting the Asian Elephant

powerful wild spirit of the forests and butchered for its ivory, this animal and its unique relationship with man could soon become a thing of the past. The elephant is a flagship species, with its disappearance will disappear entire ecosystems and inestimable biodiversity and its disappearance will also bring about a cultural extinction man would never have imagined.

The Elephant Festival due in February 2007 in Hongsa, Sayaboury

w w w. e l e f a n t a s i a . o r g / d o c s / f e s t i v a l

are being created for the National Radio. An Elephant festival is being planned for February 2007 in partnership with the Lao National Tourism Administration with support from Honda New Chip Xeng and AGL. The Lao National Animal Health Centre and ElefantAsia have an Elephant Care and Management Programme underway.

The objective is training Lao vets and setting up an Elephant Mobile Unit that will register, vaccinate and provide treatment to elephants in need. With the services of an international car manufacturer, the unit will begin operations in 2007. An Elephant Care Manual for Lao mahouts is also in preparation.

Man and the Asian elephant share a unique relationship. Revered as a God, considered as a

ElefantAsia, for the Love of the elephants of Laos

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FOCALE A LTERNATIVE Magazine

Invités

Cult/Mag Juin 2011

16

Photographe

S comme Demange

Magazine photographique Focale Alternative

30 JAN/05 FEV 12 Hebdomadaire Paris OJD : 927420 Surface approx. (cm²) : 1184

13 RUE HENRI BARBUSSE 92624 GENEVILLIERS - 01 73 05 45 45

Page 1/2

Tourisme

Le nord du Laos

Jy yrjmu'L lj liidiiiuiui uu SIM i!/î._ VOYAGEURS 2109701300506/GMA/ACR/2

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à dos d'éléphant Un pays méconnu et hors du temps, que l'on découvre en descendant le mythique Mekong, cher a Marguerite Duras, et filant vers le Vietnam...

PAR MARIE-FRANCE PARRA

AI image de I elephant I animal fétiche natio nal il legne dans ce petit pavs enclave dAsie du Sud-Est une impi essionnante sérénité Ainsi a Luang Prabang, depuis la nuit des temps nen ni pei sonne ne pei tui be les cérémonies des bonzes La vie sat ticule le long du fleuve Mekong vel itable colonne vel tebi ale du pa\s qui file jusquen mel de Chine Sl les croisiei es du noi d au sud prennent leur essor des treks a dos d elephant pei mettent dc penctiei les paysages de montagnes de foi ets et de i i/iei es On partage ainsi la vie des cornacs tout en logeant chez I habitant Une belle initiative de touiisme solidaire lelavee aujouid hui pai I association française ElefanlAsia

Luang Prabang, l'envoûtante On succombe au charme suranné de I ancienne capitale i ovale du pays Classec au Pattimome mondial de I humanite la ville compte quelque soixante-six temples bouddhistes ct d mnombiablcs pagodes, animée pai le ballet incessant des tuk-tuks ces tri cycles taxis motorises A ne pas i ater le cérémonial du Jak bnl la quête matinale dcs centaines de moines en i obe de couleui safran

Trek pachydermique Ancien i ovaume Lan Xang pays au « million d éléphants » le Laos est une destination authentique pou i un tick a dos de pachvdeime H e u i e u x le voyageui qui pai ln a quèlques joui s poui un pei iple dans une auti e epoque A i aison dc dix kilomcti cs par jour la cat avane s infiltre dans I épaisse loret tiopicale, tiaveise les i i ^ i e i e s longe les i iv lei cs La cui lositc des v illageois au passage de la colonne d éléphants, s associe a une genei euse hospitalité Le son le bivouac s improv isc en veillée autoui de chants et d'échanges avec les autochtones Magique '

On plonge au plus profond des traditions De I ai t du tissage au port des costumes ancesti aux sans oubhei les cei emonies du bael (ou I on appelle les espnts a s uni! ) Au Laos les tiaditions seculanes ne sont pas du lolkloie Ici elles se v iv cnt au quotidien Poui picuve.le phosi mai che de nuit de Luang Prabang l'un des plus importants d Asie les ethnies de villages les plus iecules viennent v vendre lcui pi oduction ai tisanale bijoux sculptures en bois tissages de toute beaute Le summum le Festival dc I elephant (du ll au 19 fevrier 2012) Pourl occasion IcsKhmus en tuniques noues ainsi que les Hmongs e t l e u i s m cioyablcs coiffes en pelles fino font une haie d honneur au cortège des pachydermes •

NOS CONSEILS Y aller A R Pans/Luang Prabang via Hanoi, a partir de 708 € TTC Vietnam Airlines, tél.: OI 44 55 39 90. www.vietnam airlines.com.

Hébergement A Luang Prabang

«

r ' -^=

*yt

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Î

i S*

deSayaboury 4 jours/ 3 nuits en pension complète comprenant bateau, excursions guide A partir de 1650 € par personne

A rapporter

on craque pour I une

Des foulards ou

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la Lao Wooden House

sûr, maîs aussi du

A partir de 20 € par

papier dè riz imprime

personne, petit dej' inclus Plus chic I ho

Plus d'infos

tel Au Fil du Mekong,

Comptoir des Voyages

face au fleuve A partir

propose plusieurs

de 30 € par personne

circuits au Laos

petit dej inclus

Tel 0892231251

Circuit

www comptoir fr A emporter le Guide

La Voie du Cornac en partenariat avec

du Routard Cambodge

I association Elefant

Toutes les actions

Asia une caravane

de ('association

Laos 2012 (Hachette)

a dos d elephant au

ElefantAsia sur www.

cœur de la jungle

elefantasia.org.

Une gastronomie à découvrir Peu connue, la cuisine laotienne est une des plus délicates et savoureuses d'Asie. On ne se lasse pas du phd (soupe de nouilles et de viande), de la salade de papaye verte, du poisson du Mékong grille aux algues séchées, ou encore du poulet aux noix de cajou.

Le riz gluant, le khao niao, servi dans des petits paniers en raphia tressé, se vend aux quatre coins de la ville et sur les étals de tous les marchés. Bonne nouvelle : les aficionados de la gastronomie laotienne peuvent désormais suivre des cours de cuisine à Luang Prabang. Plus d'infos surwww.luangprabang-laos.com.

VOYAGEURS 2109701300506/GMA/ACR/2

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Vientiane Times - Laos - 28/12/06

RENCONTRE AVEC…. ELEFANTASIA au Laos

VIENTIANE – Janvier 2009 – Nous

Il faut, en effet, comprendre que, depuis

voilà au Laos : « le pays au million

plus de 4000 ans, l’animal est devenu

d’éléphants ». Dans le pays, comme

omniprésent dans la vie des populations

dans

rurales (85% des 6 millions d’habitants

le reste de l’Asie du Sud-Est revêt

une

que compte le pays (2)). Il a peu à peu

les

rois

remplacé les buffles dans les champs. Il

bouddhistes étaient prêts à presque

est courant aujourd’hui que plusieurs

toutes les folies pour la possession d’un

familles d’un même village se partagent

éléphant blanc. Dans la vie quotidienne

le temps libre d’un éléphant qu’ils ont

du peuple, l’éléphant gris constituait

domestiqué. Celui-ci leur permet de

quant à lui un bien de prestige pouvant

ramener les récoltes de riz des champs

être offert en tribut, notamment en

au village, ou encore à transporter du

cadeau de mariage. Ganesh, le chef des

bois

troupes divines, qui fut pourvu d’une

infrastructures.

bouddhiste,

l’éléphant

symbolique

particulière :

pour

construire

des

tête d’éléphant en remplacement de la sienne, était réputé sage. La croyance populaire a par la suite attribué cette qualité à l’éléphant. Par ailleurs, à travers les siècles, l’éléphant a aussi bien

été

employé

comme

monture

d’apparat pour le transport des princes que comme transport de marchandises par le peuple Lao. Comme autrefois, le © Un monde en développement

peuple Lao contemporain reconnait en l’éléphant les attributs suivants : la force, la longévité, la fertilité, la sagesse et le caractère sacré (1).

Pourtant, aujourd’hui, le Laos n’est plus que

le

pays

aux

mille

cinq

cents

éléphants. En effet, le pachyderme court un sérieux danger qui laisse entrevoir son extinction.

(1) Sources : www.elefantasia.org

(2) Sources : www.wikipedia.org

Avec le soutien de:

Fort de ce constat et d’une première

auprès de ces femelles en âge de

expérience réussie dans le domaine (3),

procréer. Cette stratégie pourrait éviter

Sébastien et Gilles ont décidé en 2002

l’extinction

de

dans

Cependant, une femelle qui enfante,

créée,

c’est un éléphant qui ne travaille pas

Elefantasia, pour en faire une réelle

pour ses maîtres. C’est un animal qui

institution

des

ne rapporte aucune ressource à ses

Laos.

propriétaires. C’est pourquoi, peu de

L’équipe d’Elefantasia connaît bien les

femelles en captivité donnent naissance

dangers

les

à des petits. En partant de ce grave

animaux gris. Sur 560 pachydermes

constat, Elefantasia a développé un

domestiqués au Laos, la région de

programme

Sayabouri en compte à elle seule 448

années à venir de subventionner les

(soit 75 % de la population domestiquée

propriétaires durant toute la période de

totale). Parmi ceux-ci, on note cinq

gestation de leur éléphant (20 à 24

décès pour seulement deux naissances.

mois) et pendant les premières années

De ce fait, la population des éléphants

d’allaitement où le petit ne peut survivre

est vieillissante. Ces vingt dernières

sans la présence permanente de sa

années, le Laos a fêté peu de naissances

mère.

s’investir

à

l’association

qu’ils

pour

pachydermes

parmi

plein

la

ont

sauvegarde

domestiqués

auxquels

les

temps

animaux

du

s’exposent

domestiqués

des

qui

mammifères

permettra

dans

gris.

les

et

nombre de femelles fertiles ont été vendues à l’étranger. Il semblerait donc que le renouvellement de la population des pachydermes laos repose sur la réserve des 46 jeunes femelles qui pourront

enfanter

durant

les

15

prochaines années. La reproduction des éléphants est l’une des priorités qui ressort

du

rapport

annuel

l’association.

En

apparemment

indispensable

survie

de

programme

l’espèce de

effet,

il

© Elefantasia

serait pour

d’engager

reproduction

de

la un

intensif

Mais il existe d’autres problèmes liés à la

domestication

sauvages.

Le

de plus

ces

souvent,

éléphants tombent malade.

(3) Entre janvier et avril 2002, Gilles et Sébastien ont parcouru1 300 km à dos d’éléphants à travers le Laos. Cette caravane de quatre pachydermes avait pour but de faire redécouvrir l’éléphant à la population locale. Cette première expédition a eu un réel impact auprès des laos. L’évènement a été largement relayé par les médias nationaux et a attiré les foules tout au long de son parcours, autant dans les zones rurales que dans les villes.

Avec le soutien de:

animaux les

45% des pathologies rapportées sont

L’équipe

liées

une

recensement des éléphants domestiqués

alimentation inadaptée : plaies infectées

et de les enregistrer dans une base de

dues

données.

au

surmenage

aux

chaines

épuisement,

et

à

de

diarrhées

travail,

chargée

Les

d’élaborer

vétérinaires

le

qualifiés

vers

forment aussi les cornacs afin que ces

intestinaux. Dans la plupart des cas

derniers soient susceptibles de soigner

bénins, les cornacs (4) sont capables de

eux-mêmes leur animal. Un kit complet

réagir et d’apporter les premiers soins

de premiers soins leur est remis lors de

nécessaires à la guérison de l’animal

la formation. L’unité mobile revient

malade. Cependant, dans des situations

vérifier l’état de santé des éléphants

plus

les

enregistrés deux fois par an. Lorsque les

connaissances médicales suffisantes, ni

animaux sont malades, l’équipe leur

le matériel et les médicaments adéquats

apporte gratuitement les soins et les

pour intervenir rapidement et en toute

médicaments adaptés à leur souffrance.

délicates,

sécurité.

En

ils

effet,

et

est

n’ont

de

pas

nombreuses

maladies se répandent sur le territoire

Sébastien nous apprend que le vrai

lao et les éléphants, qui sont en proie à

problème du travail des éléphants n’est

différentes infections provoquant bon

pas à chercher auprès des locaux qui

nombre

contaminent

utilisent leur animal pour transporter

Afin de remédier à

les récoltes saisonnières des champs au

leurs

d’hémorragies,

congénères.

ce problème, Elefantasia a mis en place

village.

Non,

après

des

siècles

de

une unité sanitaire mobile dans la

domestication, les éléphants ont en fait

province de Sayabouri.

trouvé leurs tortionnaires ailleurs, il y a quelques décennies. Il s’agit des grands industriels asiatiques et européens qui déciment le Laos de ces forêts de teck.

Ce bois noble est une ressource des plus

lucratives

transforment

en

pour divers

ceux

qui

la

meubles

de

jardin et commodes de chambres à coucher. Bien sûr, dans la plupart des © Elefantasia

cas, les locaux sont impliqués dans la destruction des forêts et l’exploitation des éléphants puisque les industriels

(4) Un mahout, ou cornac (dérivé du mot indien cornaca) est à la fois le maître, le guide et le soigneur de l'éléphant. On est cornac de génération en génération. Normalement un cornac s'occupe d'un seul éléphant au cours de sa vie. Cette relation entre l'homme et l'animal est particulièrement développée en Asie où l'éléphant reste encore un moyen de transport de matériaux dans les zones difficiles.

leurs allouent directement des contrats.

Mais, il s’agit avant tout pour eux de gagner leur vie, dans un des pays les plus pauvres au monde.

Avec le soutien de:

Un cornac emmène alors son éléphant

De ce fait, en plus d’assurer les soins

sur les terrains les plus accidentés – là

sur le terrain, Elefantasia prend très à

où les machines des industriels ne

cœur d’informer sur le sujet. En 2007,

peuvent pas accéder – afin de lui faire

l’association a lancé le premier festival

tirer de longs troncs jusqu’à la route la

lao

plus

programme :

proche. Là

attendent

de

gros

dédié

aux

éléphants.

Au

démonstrations

des

camions qui transporteront le précieux

activités quotidiennes réalisées par les

bois

éléphants

jusqu’aux

usines

de

domestiqués,

défilés

de

transformation. Dans ces conditions, un

pachydermes

éléphant peut trainer jusqu’à 8 tonnes

traditionnels ethniques, … En 2008, le

de

le

festival, qui s’étend sur trois jours, a

commerce des pachydermes a explosé.

attiré 50 000 personnes et a généré plus

Un adulte qui se vendait 7 000 dollars il

de 1 500 000

y a 10 ans, s’acquiert aujourd’hui entre

la population locale. Depuis sa première

12 000 et 15000 dollars. La traite des

édition en 2007, le festival connait de

éléphants n’est pas rare, même au-delà

plus en plus de succès, autant auprès

des frontières laos.

des

bois

par

jour…

Du

coup,

parés

des

tissus

dollars de revenus pour

laos

que

internationaux.

des

touristes

L’occasion

de

se

retrouver autour d’un thème qui les concerne tous. Tous ont, en effet, un rôle à jouer dans la sauvegarde des éléphants sur le territoire : les laos, d’une

part,

éléphants

en

prenant

qu’ils

soin

des

domestiquent

de

manière traditionnelle, et les touristes, d’autre part, en choisissant dans leur pays d’origine des produits qui n’ont pas été développés sur l’autel des forêts ravagées par des éléphants exténués au travail,

contraints

propre

habitat

et

de

détruire

leur

leur

source

de

nourriture. En 2008, le festival aura

© Elefantasia

permis aussi aux autorités nationales et Mais qui se soucie des pachydermes ?

locales de collaborer autour de ce sujet

Le

majeur

Laos

a

peu

à

peu

perdu

sa

pour

l’avenir

du

pays.

population d’éléphants sans même que

Elefantasia les a accompagnées durant

l’opinion publique ne s’en aperçoive

deux mois afin de transférer toutes les

réellement.

compétences nécessaires à la bonne Avec le soutien de:

organisation d’un événement d’une telle

moins, et les régions isolées profitent

envergure. Ainsi, les autorités locales

aussi de la manne touristique. Enfin,

ont dorénavant la capacité de mettre en

sur chaque séjour vendu, 5% est investi

œuvre

directement dans le développement et la

de

manière

autonome

une

prochaine édition du festival. D’autre

mission quotidienne de l’unité mobile.

part, en encourageant les échanges économiques

autour

de

cet

animal

sacré, Elefantasia visait aussi à faire naitre des alternatives pour le futur des éléphants du pays. Peu à peu, les propriétaires se rendent compte que leur animal est susceptible de générer des revenus autrement que par le travail du bois ou des champs. Certains © Elefantasia

se sont même associés à Elefantasia dans un projet de tourisme durable.

A travers un programme nommé « Way of the Mahout » - à la façon d’un cornac –

l’organisation

prône

un

tourisme

responsable. L’itinéraire de deux à trois jours

dans

province expérience

les

de

profondeurs

Sayabouri,

inoubliable.

de

est

la une

Des

petits

groupes de six personnes maximum se baladent

à

dos

d’éléphant

et

apprennent, en compagnie de vrais cornacs, à prendre soin de ces bêtes parfois têtues : baignade dans la rivière, montage et démontage de l’équipement, cours de langue …. Les pachydermes sont, en effet, capables de comprendre plus

de

60

commandes

orales

et

tactiles. Elefantasia met en avant les avantages

d’une

telle

activité :

la

population locale est employée, la forêt

Cette initiative n’est pas la première du pays dans le domaine du tourisme.

Depuis quelques années, les camps d’éléphants se sont multipliés au Laos, notamment dans la région de Luang Prabang, temples

conscience

de

sa

très

visité

bouddhistes.

Un

pour

ses

camp

en

particulier a connu un succès certain auprès des touristes intéressés par le destin

des

animaux

légendaires

du

pays. Aujourd’hui associé à plusieurs agences de voyages de la ville, ce camp propose des journées durant lesquelles les visiteurs peuvent être en contact direct prolongé avec les pachydermes.

En un sens, les activités proposées sont quelque peu les mêmes que celles développées

dans

le

programme

l’organisation Elefantasia.

est protégée par ses habitants qui prennent

site

valeur

économique, les éléphants se fatiguent Avec le soutien de:

de

L’agence prône un tourisme éthique,

éléphants changent avant tout de milieu

avec une partie des bénéfices reversée

naturel. Ils ne trouvent plus la trentaine

aux populations locales, et une autre

d’espèces de plantes nécessaires à leur

investie directement pour le bien-être

bonne

quotidien

camp.

malade. Le camp a de cette façon perdu

Cependant, après plusieurs tentatives

deux animaux depuis le début de ses

auprès des employés, nous ne sommes

activités.

pas parvenus à obtenir des informations

différence

très précises sur le pourcentage reversé

« The way of the Mahout » permet aux

au camp et aux villageois. Par ailleurs,

éléphants de rester dans leur région

les activités proposées se font plus

originelle et de continuer à évoluer dans

rapidement. La baignade ne dure que

leur

15 minutes, la promenade consiste en

compagnie d’un seul et unique cornac,

une courte découverte de 20 minutes

responsable de sa bête. Dans ce cas,

autour du camp qui ne se trouve pas au

c’est

cœur de la forêt mais seulement à ses

l’éléphant, et non le contraire.

des

éléphants

du

alimentation…

Il

s’agit

le

là

proposée

habitat

et

de

par

naturel,

touriste

qui

tombent

la

grande

Elefantasia.

chacun

vient

en

jusqu’à

abords.

Lorsque les animaux ne tournent pas avec des touristes sur le dos, ils sont attachés pour qu’ils ne puissent pas s’enfuir. La nuit, ils sont emmenés dans la forêt toute proche afin de se nourrir par eux-mêmes. Le camp ne peut, en effet, fournir les 250 kilos de plantes et © Un monde en développement

de racines nécessaires à l’alimentation quotidienne d’un pachyderme, d’autant plus que la structure compte sept animaux. Ces derniers viennent, pour la plupart, de la région de Sayabouri. Ils ont

parcouru

des

centaines

de

kilomètres dans un camion pour arriver jusqu’au camp. Ils sont souvent loués à leur

propriétaire

en

échange

d’une

La

vraie

éléphants

alternative

au

consisterait

travail

donc

en

des la

création d’activités économiques telles celles issues du tourisme, et non pas, comme on pourrait le penser de prime abord,

à

l’abolition

pachydermes.

somme importante, ou pour les plus vieux d’entre eux, vendus car ils ne sont plus rentables pour le travail du bois.

Cependant, en changeant de région, les Avec le soutien de:

du

travail

des

En effet, d’autres pays avant le Laos ont

Nous

expérimenté les problèmes liés à la

l'équipe d’Elefantasia : Gilles pour

domestication des éléphants, et dans de

ses

nombreux cas, les issues n’ont pas été

Sébastien

pour

des

Vientiane

et

plus

glorieuses,

notamment

souhaiterions

précieuses

remercier

informations son ses

accueil

et à

explications

s’agissant de l’abolition du travail de ces

instructives. Cette rencontre nous a

derniers.

le

permis

de

décidé

enjeux

liés

En

gouvernement

1989, thaïlandais

lorsque a

mieux à

la

comprendre

les

disparition

de

d’interdire le labeur des pachydermes

l’éléphant sauvage au Laos. Nous

dans le pays, les propriétaires se sont

leur souhaitons bonne chance dans

retrouvés sans alternative pour gagner

leurs

leur vie. Beaucoup d’animaux ont été

manquerons

vendus dans des zoos ou des camps et

France

sont

universelle,

devenus

des

attractions

pour

programmes pas cette à

touristes en mal d’exotisme. D’autres

innombrables

errent encore aux jours d’aujourd’hui

notre planète.

futurs de

et

ne

relayer

en

problématique

classer dangers

parmi que

les

court

dans les rues de Bangkok, malades et amaigris, essayant de se frayer un chemin sur les trottoirs de la « cité des

Pour obtenir plus d’informations sur

anges », en compagnie d’un propriétaire

les activités d’Elefantasia, consultez

qui fait la manche aux feux rouges. En

le site internet de l’organisation

somme, des animaux bien loin de leurs

www.elefantasia.org

milieux naturels … Espérons que les premières mesures entreprises au Laos évitent au pays de connaitre une telle issue.

Pour

définitivement

que le

le pays

Laos au

reste million

d’éléphants…

© Un monde en développement

Avec le soutien de:

Index

12

February 3, 2007

Arts & Culture

Vientiane Times Weekend

The caravan, pursued by a horde of children, arrives in a cloud of dust.

- Photos Thierry Renavand

Living in harmony with elephants PHONESAVANH SANGSOMEBOUN

S

triking photos of a caravan of elephants on display at the T’Shop Lai gallery in Vientiane have drawn visitors into a nostalgic atmosphere of ancient traders riding atop elephants, wishing that they could follow.

These photos create quite an impression on visitors, as they show the close relationship between traditional Lao journeymen and their elephants, immersing viewers in a journey across the country, from north to south.

Interesting moments along the way have been captured and framed by professional documentary photographer, Mr Thierry Renavand, who has been inspired by the charm of nature, and the Lao culture and people.

Mr Renavand has lived for nearly four years in Laos and is now working as a photo journalist for a French press

agency.

“Travelling with the caravan was very interesting, but quite a challenge,” he says. Fortunately, during his trip he didn’t confront any difficulty that the intelligent, dynamic elephants, could not overcome. His fascination with nature and his elephant friends overcame his exhaustion.

“It was a fruitful experience to approach the Lao way of life in this way, especially in the rural areas, where people are relatively pure, bound closely to nature and religion,” he recalls. “They are never in a rush and time seems unimportant for them.”

He said that when he embarked on his journey from the north to the south, he was impressed by people’s reactions, especially those of the children, who enjoy biking and running through the dust with their bare feet to admire the caravan.

As the caravan passed through each province, people treated the riders and their

elephants respectfully, welcoming them with shy smiles. Sometimes, villagers offered food to the elephants, and crowded around the huge creatures.

“While accompanying the caravan,” he says, “I experienced various lifestyles and saw the relationship between religion and the elephants. In particular, I learned how these people live in harmony with animals and nature.

“I feel that the relationship between people and elephants in Laos is very strong and ancient. It has been a tight knot for decades. Elephants are also linked to various episodes in the life of the Buddha.”

He travelled for about three months with the caravan, and says he probably took more photos in the south, because they stayed longer there.

Aside from photographing the elephant caravan, he also took photos of monks in each temple and the historic sites they passed, along with

‘Sing Thong’ takes his morning bath, after being led to the water by his driver.

Children rush to watch the elephant caravan pass through their village.

important buildings relevant to local culture, art and Buddhism.

“I don’t think I took more pictures in any one area compared to the others. Each province in Laos is interesting,” he says. “The pictures that involve people,

especially their daily life, normal activities, and religious ceremonies are the ones I like the most.”

This is the second showing of the exhibition, after it first opened in a gallery in Luang Prabang. The photos intrigued both locals and foreigners who came to view them and to appreciate the value of traditional cultures and the close relationship between people and animals.

“Although Lao people love photography, I don’t always get feedback about my photos,” he said, adding that maybe this is because people are shy, or that an understanding of what makes a good photograph is not as widespread in Laos as in Europe. What Lao people appreciate about his photographs tends to be different from what Westerners respond to, he said.

These photos will be important to Lao people, because the tradition of travelling by elephant is definitely under threat in Laos, as in many other Asian countries.

This is because their natural habitat is shrinking every day; with agriculture expanding, and the logging of forests extending further and further, their future is highly endangered.

Today, there are only some 50,000 domestic and wild elephants left in Asia, including 2,000 wild elephants in Laos, formerly known as Lane Xang, ‘the kingdom of a million elephants’.

The demise of the elephants would be like the death of a whole culture. The aim of the expedition was therefore to heighten awareness and change international and local opinions about the issue. For many, this expedition was one of rediscovery of old traditions, reviving hope among many villagers that this part of their culture may continue.

“I am mainly attracted by people and culture. I think people used to live in better harmony with nature,” Mr Renavand says. “It is terrible to see how human beings are now destroying their environment.”

Index

10

Feature

February 16, 2007

Vientiane Times

Tourism brings hope for elephants’ future M. VONGSAM-ANG

W

hat is today known as Laos was once a part of the Kingdom of Lane Xang, which means ‘the land of a million elephants’, a name that is now more than 650 years old.

Elephants have had important symbolic connotations and historical associations in Laos ever since, and are dear to the hearts of the Lao people.

Unfortunately, as time has passed by, it is no exaggeration to say that the elephant has come under dire threat, and their number has reduced drastically over time, due to many factors.

“The elephant is endangered today because of the loss of its forest habitat. Economic and technological change has limited the number of domesticated elephants needed in traditional

occupations,” said an expert from the Institute for Cultural Research, at the National Institute of Science, Mr Thammalay Chanthamoungkhoun.

There are only about 2,000 elephants left in Laos today, including both wild and domesticated elephants. There are around 5,000 elephants in Asia, according to Mr Thammalay, who is also a coordinator of the French nonprofit organisation, Elefant Asia.

There are elephants living in the forests that remain intact around the country, such as in north-western Xayaboury province, he said.

The province’s Hongsa district is famous for the elephants it is home to. The expert training and handling capabilities of local mahouts from the district have become a focal point of Lao elephant-lore.

In this expert’s opinion,

Elephants on their way to an important event in the southern province of Champassak.

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elephants are sacred and superb animals. They have been one of mankind’s best friends since time immemorial.

The province will host an elephant festival this weekend in Hongsa district to give visitors a chance to discover the marvels of the culture and its surrounding natural splendour.

The event will promote Laos as one of the last countries in Asia that is still home to a large number of the animals.

“The festival is intended to raise awareness of the need for action to protect elephants in Laos. The Asian elephant is part of the vital cultural and natural heritage of Laos, and the region,” Mr Thammalay said.

This will be the first time that the province has welcomed visitors from inside and outside the country to pay tribute to its elephants and to enjoy cultural activities and entertainment, a “meeting point for the past and present,” he said. About 50 elephants will take part in the event.

However, the future challenge for elephant preservation in the province, Mr Thammalay explained, is that the forests have been rapidly destroyed in recent years. If this continues, the animals will disappear from Laos in the next 20 to 50 years because of the lack of food and natural habitats.

Elephants and farmers will face intensifying problems; elephants are forced to steal

food from farms, as the jungle around them shrinks.

Today, domesticated elephants in the province are being sold to neighbouring countries, as farmers have ceased to put them to work.

Formerly, they had hauled logs to earn money for the mahouts’ families, but their work on the farms has been replaced by modern technology, he said.

The price of a large, adult, male elephant can be as high as US$20,000, and about half as much for an adult female.

The festival is a good example of how to promote the protection of elephants before they disappear from the country, leaving only the image and memory of the animal after which the country of Laos was formerly named.

VACANCY FOR NATIONAL CONSULTANT (Mid-Term Project Evaluation Assignment) Concern Worldwide is an International Relief and Development Organisation working in Lao PDR since 1992, and is looking to recruit consultants for Mid-Term Project Evaluation Assignment.

Purpose of the Evaluation: The purpose of the evaluation is to draw out all the lessons – both positive and negative – of the experience gained during the project implementation.

Applications from teams, agencies or individuals are welcome.

Timeframe: 14 days starting from 17 – 31 March 2007.

Team should include: ¾ One consultant national livelihood expert will be engaged to complement the skills of the team leader particularly in regards to local livelihoods context ¾ One local translator/interpreter will be hired to assist the team. Ideally they will be able to speak one of the ethnic minority languages in the project area as well as Lao and English (the latter two language skills are compulsory) The team should have experience in evaluating rural development projects. Applicants should include their expected remuneration for the consultancy services.

For the complete ToR, please refer to the website www.directoryofngos.org and go to Jobs Opening.

Applications should include CVs and details of relevant experience. Send to palash.bagchi@concern.net Concern Worldwide Lao PDR before 28th February 2007.

Index

Vientiane Times

Notice Notice Vientiane Times provides news updates twice daily at 11.30am and 6pm on our official website: www.vientianetimes.org.la.

For full information on events and developments taking place throughout Laos, please subscribe via our e-mail address to receive PDF or HTML files info@vientianetimes.org.la

The FFir ir st National English Langua ge Ne wspaper irst Languag Newspaper

ARY FEBRU MONDA Y 19, 2007 UAR AY FEBR MOND

ISSUE 42

4000 kip

Elephant festival draws jumbo crowd PANYASITH THAMMAVONGSA

XAYABOURY--Some 10,000 local people and foreign visitors descended on Hongsa district in Xayaboury province to witness the first Elephant Festival in Laos, from February 17 to 18.

Senior government officials and overseas guests, along with media from around the world, came to witness the festival and explore the

cultural village of Viengkeo, where the festival took place.

Close to 50 elephants took part, with 17 coming from Viengkeo, the largest population centre in the district.

“This is a wonderful festival and a historical event for Hongsa district. We want to preserve our elephants, as they are symbolic of our country.

For centuries they have been closely bound up with our history and the lives of

ordinary people,” said Xayaboury Governor Dr Lien Thikeo.

At the opening ceremony he pointed out that Xayaboury has always been home to more elephants than other provinces in the country, with the animals living in the villages and in the forest. But, he said, the elephant population was declining, and people no longer attributed them with the same importance as in the past.

The festival was organised

to rekindle an interest in elephants, and to encourage their care and preservation.

On the first day of the festival, visitors arrived on foot, by bus, boat, car, and even by helicopter to gaze at the majestic elephant procession, which grandly began the event.

The elephants gathered together in a rice field and paraded through the village to be blessed by monks, in front of an array of officials and crowds of fascinated

spectators.

On the same day, an elephant beauty contest was held to select the leader of the grand parade.

The winner was Phousinuan Yai from Viengkeo village, owned by Mr Nanvongsa Thivongsa. The runner up was Phousinuan from Phonxay village, owned

by Mr Thidsy, and in third place was Phoukhampheng from Viengkeo village, owned CONTINUED PAGE 2

Lao People’s Revolutionary Party Day Mar. 22

INSIDE

Vietnam boosts rubber investment in Laos PAGE 3 SME strategy under final debate PAGE 7

Local elders hold a baci for elephants at the Elephant Festival in Hongsa, Xayaboury province, on Saturday.

--Photo Vichit

Rice shortage drives villagers to collect UXO PAGE 10

Vientiane Times on CD-ROM

Govt to monitor mining projects MANICHANH PANSIVONGSAY

THE government has signed more than 100 agreements for mining projects with local and foreign investors in recent years, but few of them have been put into operation, said the Vice President of the Committee for Planning and Investment on Friday.

Mr Bounthavy Sisouphanthong said at a press conference that most projects are still in the survey and exploration phases.

“We need to properly monitor the implementation of concession agreements. At the same time we may slow down the consideration of new

applications for mining projects,” he said.

The central government will coordinate with provincial authorities to inspect projects already agreed to, but it will take time, according to the Deputy Director General of the Department for Promotion and Management of Domestic and Foreign Investment, Ms Thamma Phetvixay.

The government wants to assure all investors that it will continue to honour all the concessions and agreements it has entered into.

Mr Bounthavy told the press conference that the government recognises the important role played by

potential and serious private investors in the development of the sector, but it has to properly monitor implementation of mining projects in terms of benefits, social and environmental impacts, and sustainable development.

Recognising the current economic development of the country as being small-scale, it is the intention of the government, in line with its socio-economic development plan, to have a balanced investment scheme, according to the Vice President of the committee.

He said it was government policy to promote foreign investment and it was trying to speed up the process, so as not

--VientianeTimes www.vientianetimes.org.la - a member of Asia News Network --

to cause delays and confusion for investors.

Since 1986, the government has put considerable efforts into mobilising capital, technology and know-how to develop its natural resources to create jobs and generate revenue for the people in terms of hard currency.

The government has been working to address difficulties it has encountered during the past few years in attracting more investment into the country.

Many concrete measures have been put in place at the macro-economic level to revitalise and expand production, especially in agro-

based and export-oriented industries.

In general, industrial development is in its infancy, according to a press release on investment in the mining sector.

Mr Bounthavy said “During the past few years, through our utmost endeavours to encourage investment, we have attracted quite substantial investment in some of our relatively advantaged sectors such as hydropower and mining.”

The press conference was held in the Press Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and attracted a large number of diplomats and foreign investors.

Issues of Vientiane Times from 2001 to January 2007 have been recorded on CD-ROM. Now available at Vientiane Times office.

Corner Setthathirath/ Pangkham Roads, Nam Phu, Vientiane.

P.O. Box: 5723, Tel: (856-21) 216364, 217593.

Fax: (856-21) 216365 Email: info@vientianetimes.gov.la

CONTINUED PAGE 3

Index

2

HOME

February 19, 2007

Vientiane Times

New roads to improve remote villages MEUANGKHAM NORADETH

THE Swedish International Development Agency and provincial officials are supporting the construction of roads in Oudomxay province to raise local living standards.

“We are building gravel roads in Nga, Houn and Pakbaeng districts to help remote villagers improve their quality of life. We want to ease their poverty and help the government achieve its target of removing Laos from leastdeveloped country status by 2020,” said the Head of Office of the Communication, Transport, Post and Construction Department of the province, Mr Somxay Soulisack, on Wednesday.

“Realising the need for better access, the agency and provincial officials have

contributed more than US$290,000. Local villagers are supplying their labour for the project,” he said.

Roads in the three districts are very bumpy and are so narrow that they are only suitable for walking on, so it is hard for villagers to get around, Mr Somxay said.

Access between villages is difficult and hinders the work of provincial officials attempting to improve conditions.

Work on the roads began in 2006, and engineers expect to complete them by the end of next month.

The roads involved stretch for more than 48km and have an average width of 3.5 metres. The work in Nga district is almost complete, while the roads in Houn and Pakbaeng districts are almost half finished.

The new gravel roads will

Elephant festival...

by Mr Nanphet.

The elephants were colourfully decorated, and competed to be the most spectacular. The winner was cloaked in a specially woven red and gold cloth.

The village was abuzz with a variety of attractions, including stalls selling silver and wooden handicrafts, elephant souvenirs, local snacks, and clothing.

There were exhibits detailing the work and life of elephants and their mahouts.

The elephants gave a demonstration of their work in logging, and did a short circus performance. A film showed the journey of the Elephant Caravan that took place in Laos in 2000, and local youngsters performed traditional dances.

On the second day, the 50 elephants paraded in front of spectators, and took part in a baci ceremony. The younger elephants, aged two to three years, gave a training demonstration, and there was a lecture on elephant conservation.

The children of Viengkeo primary school took part in a drawing competition, and visitors toured a photo exhibit.

“On Saturday, the festival revolved around three main components - the work of elephants in logging and training, and the procession,” said Hongsa District Governor Mr Somvang Indavong.

“During their two days here, visitors can take elephant rides around the village and explore our beautiful natural surroundings,” he said.

Hongsa is the largest district in the province, with Viengkeo village having the largest elephant population, he said.

“In this district we respect elephants and regard them as auspicious. They play a part in our religion, as well as being closely bound up in our everyday lives. We have lived with elephants, as have our ancestors, for as long as we can remember,” he said.

He explained that local people used elephants to carry logs from the forest to use in building their homes, and also for the transport of goods.

“Elephants work well once they have been trained. In Hongsa we say “Ao xang khao kheuan”, meaning that if you can bring an elephant to the enclosure, it can be easily trained,” he said.

Mr Somvang explained that the ao xang khao kheuan ceremony was a respected traditional festival in Hongsa, and was held annually to train elephants from November to January.

A baci ceremony is also organised at Lao New Year every April, in order to acknowledge the work of the elephants and the benefits they bring to the community.

According to Viengkeo Village Head Mr Nankham Keomany, Viengkeo was declared a cultural village in 1999. It has a population of 1,054, and 241 households.

“We don’t have any guesthouses or hotels, but everyone here has spruced up their homes to accommodate visitors. We are charging 25,000 kip per person,” he said.

President of the Lao National Tourism Authority Mr Somphong Mongkhonvilay said in a media interview, “As you all know, Laos used to be called The

Lao Press in Foreign Languages Director General Savankhone Razmountry

Vientiane Times is published by Lao Press in Foreign Languages

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link neighbouring villages, Mr Somxay said.

“When the roads are finished, travel between villages will be easy in all seasons, and living standards, especially amongst poor families, will be improved as it will be easier for them to get their goods to market.”

Villagers in the three districts produce a variety of marketable agricultural products, especially maize and animal products.

Last year the department tested the viability of the road repairs by resurfacing 5km of road with gravel in Houn district, and found that it made life easier for local people.

“Before the new surface was laid it was difficult for people to get to hospital and take their produce to sell at nearby markets or in neighbouring villages,” Mr Somxay said.

FROM PAGE 1 Land of a Million Elephants.

This festival aims to raise awareness among the public of the need to help preserve our dwindling elephant population in a way that is sustainable. We also want to promote our ecotourism projects to the region and to the world.”

A visitor from New Caledonia, Ms Bertille, said “I heard about the festival when I was in Luang Prabang. I came here by boat, as I really wanted to be present at such a special occasion. I’ve never seen anything like it before – it’s fascinating to see so many elephants and everything else that’s going on here.”

“The people in this village are very hospitable, and I have enjoyed staying with a family as part of the homestay that was arranged for us. At first I thought I would stay in a guesthouse, but the house where I’m staying is just lovely,” she said.

To add to the interest of the event, the district arranged for about 50 stallholders to set up booths selling a variety of handicrafts. These were made in various districts of the province, as well as in Luang Prabang, Huaphan, Luang Namtha, Khammuan and Champassak provinces and in Vientiane.

Local traders came from Xayaboury, Hongsa, Kaenthao, Xienghon and Ngeun districts, hoping to make a healthy profit at the historic event. On a hot day, visitors were only too pleased to take advantage of the local dishes and cool drinks on offer.

Xayaboury province has a total of 500 domesticated elephants and a further 200 to 300 that live in the wild.

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Health workers bag up duck carcasses in Dongsavath village.

More poultry culled to curb bird flu VIENGSAVANH PHENGPHACHAN

HEALTH workers culled about 450 ducks in Phonpapao Thong village, Sisattanak district, on Friday, after tests showed that tissue samples were infected with the H5N1 virus.

Health workers slaughtered infected birds belonging to Mr Khamphong, whose poultry were bred on an open paddy field.

The sample from his farm, collected on January 28 and tested in Vietnam, demonstrated the presence of the H5N1 strain of avian flu on February 9.

The emergence of avian influenza among these ducks was one of two simultaneous outbreaks detected in Vientiane. Poultry belonging to Ms Vankeo, in Dongsavath Neua village, were also found to be infected.

Some of Mr Khamphong’s ducks died between January 17 and 20, while another 100 ducks became weak, producing no eggs, according to a report

from the Vientiane Agriculture and Forestry Department.

However, the ducks became stronger when the weather warmed up, producing eggs again as usual, the report said.

The Vientiane Administration Office announced the outbreak of bird flu in Dongsavath village, Sisattanak district, when the test results from dead poultry found in two residential backyards in Dongsavath village proved positive.

A Vientiane Department of Health official, Dr Phonpasueth Ounaphone, told the Vientiane Times yesterday that no suspicious cases had previously occurred in those areas.

“We will closely monitor the situation and conduct checks on people living near Ms Vankeo, her family members, and Mr Khamphong’s employees, but nobody has fallen ill yet,” he said.

There are five health workers volunteering in each of the villages identified as

‘yellow’ and ‘red’ zones, searching for people who may have contracted the disease from poultry or birds.

Information will be relayed to doctors immediately if residents show avian flu-like symptoms.

The administration office categorised various areas under surveillance as yellow zones, including Phonpapao Thong, Sangvuey, and Done Koy villages in Sisattanak district.

The yellow zones include Phonthan Tai, Meuangnoy, Xiengda, Nonvay, Khamsavath, Nonkor and Huakhua villages, along with Talatnoy market in Huakhua village and the night market in That Luang village, Xaysettha district.

In a bid to limit the disease, four checkpoints were set up in Donnokkhoum, Sangveuy, Donkoy and Nonghai villages, adjacent to Dongsavath village.

The infected ducks lived on a large pond, about 1.4 kilometres away from residential communities.

Blind students have difficult walk to school KHONESAVANH LATSAPHAO

BLIND students at the Lao Rehabilitation Centre on Khouvieng Road face danger every day as they walk to school along this busy main road.

They go to and from school on foot and often bump into vehicles parked along both sides of the road.

“They are hurrying to get to school, but sometimes they get hurt in accidents,” an official from the centre, Mr Vilaivanh, said on Thursday.

Students use their canes to guide them, but at the times they walk to and from school, the roadsides are crowded with vehicles. They most commonly bump into large vehicles such as 4WDs, as their canes slide underneath them.

The centre is located opposite Nongchan Park, and

accommodates about 30 blind students, but only offers the first two years of primary school on site.

Students in years three to five go to Phaxay Primary School and afterwards to Phiavat Secondary School.

“These schools are about 1.5 kilometres from the centre,” Mr Vilaivanh said.

There is no footpath on the side of Khouvieng Road that joins the centre, so students have to walk on the road, but parked vehicles make it difficult for them to walk safely.

“We have asked the Ministry of Communication, Transport, Post and Construction many times to see if they can do something to help us and they have said they will, but so far nothing has been done,” he said.

“I worry every day and am

very relieved when I see the students return safely for lunch and dinner,” he said.

The students come from different provinces, and most come from poor families, so they are not charged for their education or accommodation at the school.

“We welcome blind children from seven to fifteen years old as long as they are willing to study,” Mr Vilaivanh said.

When they have finished primary or secondary school, they can go for training at the Nongbone massage centre.

Other job opportunities for the blind are extremely rare in Laos.

“We can also send them to teacher training college if they don’t want to train in massage.

Our hope is then that some of them can become teachers at the blind school,” he said.

Index

4

PHOTO ESSAY

February 19, 2007

Vientiane Times

A monk sprays water over elephants during the baci ceremony at the Elephant Festival.

The elephant procession parades through Viengkeo village to a baci ceremony.

â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Photos Vichit

A mahout commands his elephant, from Sibounheuang village in Xayaboury province, to kneel as part of a performance at the Elephant Festival.

Foreign visitors ride a motorbike from Vientiane to Hongsa district to attend the Elephant Festival.

Viengkeo villagers in Xayaboury province prepare their elephants ahead of the parade at the Elephant Festival on Saturday.

A photographer from Lao Press in Foreign Languages, Vichit Chanthavong, takes a welcome break during the long and dusty drive to the festival.

Index

4

February 22, 2007

PHOTO ESSAY

Vientiane Times

Senior officials of Viengkeo village bring a three-year-old elephant to show how it is trained to follow the commands of its mahout.

Elephants demonstrate their cooperative work in logging at the Elephant Festival in Viengkeo village of Hongsa district, Xayaboury province, last Sunday. The festival was partly organised by ElefantAsia, a non-profit organisation founded in 2001 to support the conservation of Asian elephants.

Deputy Governor of Xayaboury province, Mr Khamsouk Thor (middle front row), hosts a farewell dinner at his home for TV, radio and newspaper reporters after they had finished reporting on the event.

Students from Kiettisack International School take an interest in the workings of Vientiane Times yesterday, taking a photo of a reporter writing an article.

–Photo Sisay

Marketing and Public Relations Manager of the Lao Press in Foreign Languages, Mr Phoutthasack Inthakoummane, explains the operation of the newsroom to visiting students. Students from year five of Kiettisack International School visited Vientiane Times yesterday.

–Photo Sisay Temperature (ºC) Min. / Max.

Location

Phongsaly

15/29

Vientiane

23/36

Xamneua

15/30

Pakxan

23/36

X.khuang

12/30

Lakxao

19/33

Oudomxay

09/33

Thakhek

23/37

Bokeo

15/33

S.nakhet

25/37

L.Namtha

09/32

Saravan

24/36

Location

A resident of Viengkeo village, Xayaboury province, catches fish in the river using a traditional fishing net known as a hae.

–Photo Vichit

Department of Meteorology and Hydrology Today’s Weather Forecast (Valid from 7 pm 21/ 02/ 2007 to 7 pm 22/ 02/ 2007) For more information, please visit our web page: http:// dmhlao.etllao.com/

Weather

Weather

Temperature (ºC) Min. / Max.

L.Prabang

15/36

Pakxe

23/36

Xayaboury

14/35

Pakxong

14/27

X.somboun

13/30

Attapeu

24/37

Phonhong

20/36

Xekong

23/37

Partly cloudy

Haze

Isolated Showers Mostly Cloudy

sunny Mist

windy Light rain

Index

Vientiane Times Weekend

Lifestyle

March 3, 2007

11

Home-stays give first-hand glimpse of rural lifestyle PANYASITH THAMMAVONGSA 25,000 kip per person per night.

A French tourist, Mr verseas visitors Fabien Offner, said the family who welcomed him was very who enjoyed the recent Elephant nice, and he met other Lao and Festival in foreign tourists who stayed in Hongsa district, the same house. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I travelled more than ten Xayaboury province, were lucky to also get an insight into hours to get here, and I am very the local culture and life of the pleased to be able to see the Elephant Festival,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I Leu ethnic people.

Residents of Viengkeo have only seen elephants in the village, where the festival was zoo before, so it was very staged, offered visitors from impressive to see them only one across the world a chance to metre in front of me, with their taste local life with home-stay strange trunks and their a c c o m m o d a t i o n , seemingly suspicious eyes.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;The man who owns the demonstrating their proud and house is a mahout, so we asked hospitable nature.

The people of Viengkeo him a lot of questions. He also village in Hongsa district took us into the forest one opened their doors to offer evening to see the elephants,â&#x20AC;? home-stay style he said.

He said sleeping in a local accommodation to visitors was the best during the weekend of the house festival. The concept was so opportunity to see how Lao popular that many houses now people live in the countryside, offer home-stay beds for and it was completely different from Vientiane. visitors throughout the year.

Villagers who open their Spic and span and pretty as a picture, the village houses a homes to accommodate tourists have been well briefed on fine collection of traditional bamboo and wooden homes. foreign language communiVillage homes built in typical cation skills, and can offer Viengkeo style are often reference guides and menus in bordered by wooden fences, both English and Lao. These made of the same material as resources give Lao and foreign the house and complementing people a better chance to communicate with each other. the overall design.

Before opening their Well established, Viengkeo village homes present a distinct homes, owners attended architectural style, and many training courses provided by are surrounded by mature provincial authorities, teaching gardens. Environmentally them how to prepare their

O

A local trader displays weavings by the women of Viengkeo village in Xayaboury province, for sale to visitors to the Elephant Festival earlier this month.

around Laos, and Hongsa district marked the end of his journey. He had always stayed in a hotel or guesthouse before, but in Viengkeo village he

Overseas visitors staying with a family in Viengkeo village have a chance to experience the local lifestyle by eating lunch with their host family.

Travellers also shopped for have their ancestors, for as long population in Hongsa district. handicrafts, sewn and woven as they can remember.

Travellers who wish to visit Viengkeo village has 17 Hongsa can get there by public locally.

For those who preferred an elephants, the largest transport, by road or river. added measure of freedom, fields and backyards were made available for camping.

Viengkeo was declared a cultural village in 1999, and today has a population of 1,054 in 241 households.

People living in the village use elephants as transport and in their work. They regard elephants as auspicious and have an innate respect for them.

As well as being closely bound to their everyday lives, elephants play a part in the villagersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; religion. Local people Travellers sleep under mosquito nets during their home-stay have lived with elephants, as in Viengkeo village, the site of the Elephant Festival.

Ă&#x2026;Â&#x2122;Â&#x201C;Â&#x203A;Â&#x201E;Ă&#x160;Â&#x2C6;Â&#x2022;Â&#x2122;|Â&#x2122;Â&#x201E; conscious, villagers weave bamboo bins, placed outside shops and homes, to keep the village clean. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We encouraged residents living on the main street to build wooden fences to enhance the villageâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s appearance for this first-ever elephant festival. We believe that a well-developed and clean village will encourage homestay tourists to stay longer,â&#x20AC;? said the village head, Mr Nankhamkeo Manyvong. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our village doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have any guesthouses or hotels, so everyone has spruced up their homes to attract visitors and house them in comfort,â&#x20AC;? he said.

Each home-stay costs

homes and cook and serve meals for visitors.

The villagers also learnt how to upgrade their bathrooms, with emphasis on the importance of providing clean water. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fascinating to see so many elephants, and also to get to know the people of this village, who are very hospitable,â&#x20AC;? said a visitor from New Caledonia, Ms Bertille. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I have enjoyed staying with a family. At first I thought I would stay in a guesthouse, but the house where Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m staying is just lovely.â&#x20AC;?

A traveller from Holland, Mr Keroen Le Sage, told the Vientiane Times during the festival that he had toured all

stayed in a villagerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s home where he learned things he hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t encountered previously. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I have a guidebook which instructs foreigners on the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;doâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;tsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in Laos, so during this weekend of living with local people, I have been able to speak with the owner of the house, and learn the correct pronunciation of words and taste Lao food I havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t seen anywhere else,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The owner and people here are very nice and they are always smiling. I really hope to come back again in the future.â&#x20AC;?

Aside from home comforts, visitors also enjoyed riding elephants in the nearby forest and could see for themselves how the local people lived.

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Index

6

Opinion

March 10, 2007

Vientiane Times Weekend

The white elephant: a national treasure

A monk gives sugarcane to a female white elephant at Dok Maidaeng Garden, next to the That Luang esplanade. During the early 1990s, the elephant appeared in public at the annual That Luang festival.

VIENTIANE TIMES

F

or past generations, the white elephant was one of the priceless symbols of the Lane Xang Kingdom.

People then thought the animal would bring them good fortune and ensure a bright future for the kingdom.

By the 1990s, Laos had just one female white elephant, named Nang Keoming Meuang Lao. The elephant came from a southern province and was exhibited to the public at the That Luang festival in the early 1990s. However, Nang Keoming Meuang Lao has not appeared in public for quite some time

now.

In 1999-2000, the country organised a huge tourism campaign to welcome visitors from around the world. A parade with elephants from around the country was a special part of the promotion and a welcoming ceremony was held at the That Luang esplanade, but the white elephant remained out of sight in Vientiane.

Another big event in the history of Laos was the 650th anniversary of King Fangum, who united the Lane Xang kingdom, held in Vientiane in 2002. A new statue was built and installed on open land at the fork between Samsenthai and Luang Prabang roads in Vientiane. Again, the white elephant did not participate in

the parade, in which only elephants from other parts of the country took part.

The latest elephant round-up took place on February 17 to 18 in Hongsa district, Xayaboury province, with more than 10,000 local people and foreign visitors gathering to witness the first Elephant Festival in Laos.

The festival calls to mind the very name of the Lane Xang Kingdom, the ‘land of a million elephants’. Foreign organisations, private companies and the provincial authorities, in cooperation with the Lao National Tourism Administration, organised and hosted the festival in Viengkeo village.

The province was chosen as the

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ANN is a network of leading English newspapers in Asia. It was formed in March 1999 to optimise coverage of major news events in Asia and provide member newspapers with reliable access to news sources. It also aims to promote professional journalism in the region and cooperation between members.

Members share news stories, feature articles, editorials and personality profiles.

With members in 13 countries, the network boasts a combined circulation of 14 million and a readership of more than 50 million.

ANN members comprise The Daily Star (Bangladesh), China Daily (People’s Republic of China), The Statesman (India), The Jakarta Post (Indonesia), The Daily Yomiuri (Japan), Sin Chew Daily (from Malaysia, in Chinese), The Star (Malaysia), The Dawn (Pakistan), The Philippine Daily Inquirer (Philippines) , The Korea Herald (RoK), The Straits Times (Singapore), The Island (Sri Lanka), The Nation (Thailand), Viet Nam News (Vietnam) and Vientiane Times (Laos).

site of the festival as it has around 500 domesticated elephants and a further 200 to 300 living in the wild.

The aim of the festival was to raise public awareness of the need to help preserve the dwindling elephant population and their habitat in a way that is sustainable.

The organisers sought to rekindle an interest in elephants, and to encourage their care and preservation.

There were 50 elephants to parade in front of spectators, with an elephant beauty contest to select the leader of the grand parade. Various exhibits detailed the work and lives of elephants and their mahouts.

However, yet again, the famous white elephant Nang Keoming

Meuang Lao failed to put in an appearance. After such a long absence from public view, people are wondering whether this national treasure is in fact alive.

Lao people have long had a close association with elephants, living together with them around the Mekong River for thousands of years, as recorded in Lao history and legend.

The older generation believed that the white elephant was the best and cleverest of all domesticated animals. At all major festivals, elephants were used as vehicles to lead the parades, and appeared at other events such as the annual Boun Pravet festival.

In days gone by, people used elephants as a mode of transport and in war, to protect the sovereignty of the nation.

For years they were used to haul logs from the forest for use in building their homes, and also for the transport of goods through the mountains.

For the South East Asian Games in 2009, which Laos will host, two white elephants have been selected as mascots. The male elephant is named thao champa or Mr Champa (national flower) and the female is called nang champior Miss Champi (native flower), and they will appear on a range of products to promote the games.

If the real white elephant were invited to appear at the opening ceremony, it would be a wonderful and appropriate complement to the games, especially as so many local people and overseas visitors have never seen a white elephant before.

If the national treasure were to reappear, and be on display to the public, it would prove a very attractive draw for visitors, and would give a unique flavour to the promotion campaigns.

In the coming years, the tourist industry may become the largest source of national revenue, with local people nationwide benefiting from tourism. If this is the case, the government’s goal of graduating from least developed country status by the year 2020 will not be far off.

FEEDBACK We, the board of directors of Lao Press in Foreign Languages, would like to request your comments and suggestions concerning the Vientiane Times and Le Renovateur, in order to improve their quality. We are seeking your feedback on the daily issues and the recently introduced Weekend issue of the Vientiane Times in regard to the following: Content: What styles and methods should we change, add or omit and what columns are not interesting to you?

Services: Which services should we improve, such as advertisements, distribution and online subscriptions?

Reporters: Are there any changes our reporters should make in the way they perform their duties?

We look forward to receiving your comments in order to better serve all our readers and customers.

Vientiane Times

Tel: (856-21) 216364, 217593 Mobile: 5599206-9 Fax: (856-21) 216365 Email: editor@vientianetimes.org.la or info@vientianetimes.gov.la

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Le RĂŠnovateur- Laos - 28/02/2007

Update - Laos - 02/2007

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Pasason - Laos - 19/02/2007

Pathet Lao Dailay - Laos - 23/02/2007

Vientiane Mai - Laos - 19/02/2007

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Setakit Sangkrom- Laos - 21/02/2007

Vientiane Times - Laos - 22/02/2007

Mahason - Laos - 01/2007

Vientiane Times - Laos - 15/03/2007

March 17, 2008

In Laos, Prized Elephants Are in Decline

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 9:07 p.m. ET VIENTIANE, Laos (AP) -- Connie Speight has swayed on elephant-back through unforgiving jungle and has adopted nine of the high-maintenance beasts. At 83, the retired American teacher is back in this Southeast Asian country to help save what remains of the once mighty herds.

Once so famous for its herds that it was called Prathet Lane Xane, or Land of a Million Elephants, Laos is thought to have only 700 left in the wild. ''Lots of people in Asia tell you how elephants are their proud national heritage,'' Speight says. ''But I tell them, 'It was your heritage, and what are you doing to bring it back?' Often precious little.''

Elephants in Laos are better off than in most of the 12 other nations that are home to the animals. The country has extensive forest cover and a sparse population. But like elsewhere, it's a race against time.

Poachers, dam builders, loggers and farmers are taking a deadly toll on the endangered species. ''The situation will become very dramatic in about 10 years if nothing changes,'' says Sebastien Duffillot, co-founder of France-based ElefantAsia. At their current rate of decline, Laos' wild elephants could be extinct within 50 years, he warns.

Domesticated elephants number about 570, a 20 percent drop over the last decade. In all, the World Wide Fund for Nature estimates, as few as 25,000 wild and 15,000 captive Asian elephants may be left. A century ago, Thailand alone harbored some 100,000.

Speight attended a recent elephant festival organized by Duffillot's conservation group ''to pay tribute to the emblematic animal of Laos.''

One of several elephant conservation efforts under way, the three-day fair featured some 60 elephants. They demonstrated skills in logging, took part in Buddhist ceremonies and walked in stirring processions.

In their heyday, elephants served as the country's trucks, taxis and battle tanks. Laos is communist-ruled today, but it used to be a kingdom that kept its independence by sending elephants as tribute to neighboring China and Vietnam.

Organizers said they hoped the annual festival, first held in 2007, might persuade elephant keepers to use their beasts in the fast-growing tourism business rather than logging.

For many youngsters in the dusty, Mekong River town of Paklay, the morning offering of fruit and snacks to the pachyderms was the first time they had touched an elephant's trunk.

Speight hopes that others in Laos will get the chance as Mae Dok, one of nine jumbos she supports in Southeast Asia, travels the countryside as an ''ambassador elephant'' delivering books to schoolchildren.

A female with a sunny disposition whose name translates as ''Mrs. Flower,'' Mae Dok was rescued from a

1 sur 2

18/03/2008 04:46

In Laos, prized elephants are in decline

'Land of a Million Elephants' fears it will lose its last pachyderms

DENIS D. GRAY Associated Press Writer AP Updated: 1:26 PM ET Mar 16, 2008

Connie Speight has swayed on elephant-back through unforgiving jungle and has adopted nine of the high-maintenance beasts. At 83, the retired American teacher is back in this Southeast Asian country to help save what remains of the once mighty herds.

Once so famous for its herds that it was called Prathet Lane Xane, or Land of a Million Elephants, Laos is thought to have only 700 left in the wild.

"Lots of people in Asia tell you how elephants are their proud national heritage," Speight says.

"But I tell them, 'It was your heritage, and what are you doing to bring it back?' Often precious little."

Elephants in Laos are better off than in most of the 12 other nations that are home to the animals.

The country has extensive forest cover and a sparse population. But like elsewhere, it's a race against time. Poachers, dam builders, loggers and farmers are taking a deadly toll on the endangered species.

"The situation will become very dramatic in about 10 years if nothing changes," says Sebastien Duffillot, co-founder of France-based ElefantAsia. At their current rate of decline, Laos' wild elephants could be extinct within 50 years, he warns.

Domesticated elephants number about 570, a 20 percent drop over the last decade. In all, the World Wide Fund for Nature estimates, as few as 25,000 wild and 15,000 captive Asian elephants may be left. A century ago, Thailand alone harbored some 100,000.

Speight attended a recent elephant festival organized by Duffillot's conservation group "to pay tribute to the emblematic animal of Laos."

One of several elephant conservation efforts under way, the three-day fair featured some 60 elephants. They demonstrated skills in logging, took part in Buddhist ceremonies and walked in stirring processions.

In their heyday, elephants served as the country's trucks, taxis and battle tanks. Laos is communist-ruled today, but it used to be a kingdom that kept its independence by sending elephants as tribute to neighboring China and Vietnam.

Organizers said they hoped the annual festival, first held in 2007, might persuade elephant keepers to use their beasts in the fast-growing tourism business rather than logging.

For many youngsters in the dusty, Mekong River town of Paklay, the morning offering of fruit and snacks to the pachyderms was the first time they had touched an elephant's trunk.

Speight hopes that others in Laos will get the chance as Mae Dok, one of nine jumbos she supports in Southeast Asia, travels the countryside as an "ambassador elephant" delivering books to schoolchildren.

A female with a sunny disposition whose name translates as "Mrs. Flower," Mae Dok was rescued from a lifetime of logging labor and may be pregnant _ something which sends Speight into rapture, given the dramatically declining numbers of breeding age females. ElefantAsia estimates that in 15 years there will only be 46 domesticated breeding cows under 20.

Speight, who taught natural history in Santa Barbara, Calif., has bought land for an elephant sanctuary in northern Thailand and radio collars to monitor calves released into the wild in Sri Lanka.

"If Laos could become a model for what a very poor country can do, that would wave a flag in surrounding countries, some of which are useless," she says.

elephant trek laos

Story + Images Mike Larder

66 outer edge

Vietnam Laos

Thailand

Cambodia

In the ancient and mystical land of Laos, trekkers are following in some very big footsteps to explore dense jungles and complex cultures, and to learn about the fate of the country’s elephants… rs Flower delicately plucks a leafy shoot from a convenient shrub and meditatively wafts it about her enormous bulk. She fans my picnic lunch with her great rubbery proboscis and bats away a hovering squadron of persistent insects.

Her exquisitely sensitive trunk could, in extremis, easily smash me to a gory pulp.

Instead, she examines my banana with interest, snuffling its sweet scent with her mobile nostrils and peering at me with tiny limpid eyes, set low and out of all proportion within her huge bulbous skull.

I offer her my fruit and she eases it from my palm with the muscle-packed and multifunctional tube that is her nose – a sensory device, battering ram, highpressure hose and knife, fork and spoon all in one.

Mrs Flower is an Asian elephant, and a lucky one at that…if you can call being seriously endangered lucky. For 22 of her 37 summers she has toiled in Lao’s verdant forests, dragging heavy logs from impenetrable jungles. Now she hauls tourists for a living, and they are an awful lot lighter.

Just over 1300 of her sacred relatives remain in the land-locked Peoples Democratic Republic of Laos, once known as Prathet Lane Xane – the Land of a Million Elephants. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature melancholically describes the Asian Elephant as being, “seriously threatened with extinction”.

There are 560 working elephants left in Laos and 700 wild ones, who are rapidly running out of habitat. The beleaguered species may well vanish within 50 years.

The Kings of the Forest are, despite their bulk, very thin on the ground.

outer edge 67

elephant trek laos

I

first meet my trekking companions at the Elephant Festival, when 74 working elephants descend on dusty Paklay – the animals resplendent in bright howdahs, painted toenails and garlanded with tiaras of wild flowers, and their mahout riders decked out in elegant uniforms.

Fifty thousand people attend the festival, and a couple of Frenchmen, Sebastien Duffillot and Gilles Maurer, are acting as event consultants. Sebastien and Gilles also champion ElefantAsia – a well-credentialed NGO dedicated to the health, breeding and restoration of elephants to Lao’s forests…an elephantine task indeed.

Shortly after the exuberant festival I join Sebastien and his compatriots Guilhem (a video journalist), and Gael and Pierre (Parisian teachers on holiday), on a unique ramble into the wilds of western Laos.

Sebastien and Gilles guide ecologically sensitive elephant treks, the proceeds of which assist ElefantAsia’s work. Mahout on such trips accept less pay for easier and more ethical work for their elephants. Logging takes a heavy toll on animals and the wise mahout are protecting a life-long investment.

We meet our caravan in Hongsa, where elephants, mahout and virgin trekkers eye each other apprehensively. By gripping giant ears, and with the assistance of arms proffered by the mahout, we scramble aboard.

Throughout the ensuing adventure we will take turns riding and walking.

Passing through the village of Ban Viengkeo, we cross a stream where our four elephants indulge in some playful water fights, squirting refreshing showers over themselves and us. Villagers emerge from their huts, wide-eyed with curiosity.

We climb steadily all morning, learning some important safety rules as we go: never creep up behind an elephant without yelling a throaty grunt, for example, and don’t approach one without a mahout.

Our Lao-style lunch consists of noodle soup, glutinous sticky rice, dried buffalo

68 outer edge

meat (I think) and leafy salad. We munch and gape at a panoramic view of distant hazy mountains and deeply shadowed valleys.

The swaying motion and lilting music from the elephants’ necklaces of bells becomes hypnotic and eventually the gloaming evening envelopes our tiring troupe. We reach our camp – a barren paddy field – and the weary elephants are led to the stream for a bath. Soon a cacophony of falsetto tooting and raucous trumpeting drifts from the creek.

Under a full moon, camp chairs appear. We eat simply and in the Lao way – squashing unidentifiable vegetables and meaty bits with balls of sticky rice. Then out comes a frosted old bottle of powerful liqueur. The Lao love a party and are enthusiastic imbibers of their own evil hooch, a lethal brew distilled from rice, best sipped with great caution. For safety’s sake I leave this little soiree early, carefully side-stepping piles of steaming elephant dung, and stumble to my tent.

The guttural babbling of the mahout unshackling their elephants wakes me.

Peering across my toes I see the cooks frying eggs. The peaks are still shrouded in a gossamer mist and Mrs Flower, freshly bathed and perky, appears through the veil and trots past waving her trunk in salutation.

“Isn’t she pretty?” Sebastien mumbles.

Mrs Flower is a very visible ambassador for ElefantAsia’s commitment to the future existence and repatriation of the Asian Elephant, the environment and the mystic Lao culture. She is also Seb’s favorite. “It’s lucky I have an understanding wife,” he quips.

“They say it’s polite to compliment a Lao woman by telling her she walks like an elephant”, chuckles Sebastien. “To watch an elephant walk is an exquisite sight, I wouldn’t try saying it to a French woman!”

Our journey continues almost vertically. As we clear the mist, sweeping views appear.

This is an enigmatic and beautiful land, but it wears the scars of a horrible recent history.

Laos is unfortunate in its location. The ancient landlocked country forms a strategic

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O Asian elephants are signiďŹ cantly smaller than their African cousins.

O An elephantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life span is similar to that of a human.

O Humanâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;elephant interaction can be traced back at

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least 3000 years.

O The Lao, fervent believers in reincarnation, consider the elephant to be second only to humans in nature.

O Elephants are very intelligent, and can understand at least 40 commands.

O An elephantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s trunk can pick up a ďŹ ve cent piece or a needleâ&#x20AC;Śor smash a tree to match wood.

O Elephant crap is prized as fertiliser and for medicinal poultices. It has wondrous healing abilitiesâ&#x20AC;Śand grows great veggies.

O Mahouts form a life-long partnership with their elephants. A boy mahout will interact with a baby elephant before he can speak.

O Elephants do not naturally hold each other tails. This engaging practice only happens in circuses, although a baby elephant will hold its motherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tail for support.

O Elephants were once used as war machines and mobile battering rams. Their size alone frightened the bejeesus out of adversaries who had never encountered such a creature.

O Elephants cannot jump or gallop but make very efďŹ cient submarines.

O In 1500 BC, an elephant and a monkey are believed to have succored the young, fasting Buddha by carrying water and honey to him, assisting him to reach enlightenment.

O Upon the Buddhaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s death, the elephant was the ďŹ rst to mourn at his side. A white elephant appeared in the pregnant Queens Mayaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dream telling her that her future son would be the Buddha. To this day the Lao believe a white elephant to be divine.

The caravan treks through a dry paddy ďŹ eld. ABOVE + TOP LEFT: Pak Lai Elephant Festival. TOP CENTRE: Gael rides Mrs Flower piloted by mahout, Sieng Khong. TOP RIGHT: Sebastien DufďŹ llot from ElefantAsia with Mrs Flower (Mae Dok).

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outer edge 69

elephant trek laos

buffer between China, Myanmar/Burma, Vietnam and Cambodia. During the Vietnam War, the Lao found themselves embroiled in a vicious international conflict. As American B52s sowed the country with a killer crop, death was dished out indiscriminately. The grindingly impoverished country remains the most bombed nation, per capita, on Earth.

Sebastien has lived and worked in Lao’s capital, Vientiane, since 1996, when the damaged country tentatively emerged from four decades of isolation, opened its borders to Thailand and discovered that it had been forgotten. He loves the culture and the country. Above all, he loves the elephants.

We halt for lunch in tiny Ban Nam Tap, watched by dusky, wide-eyed children clutching pet puppies. The elephants amuse the kids – showering themselves and anyone nearby with cooling creek water.

As we nimbly negotiate rock pools and mossy logs, the animal’s dexterity really becomes apparent. An elephant’s foot is one of nature’s masterpieces. They’re so well balanced and shock absorbed, that a fourtonne beast is possessed of a ballerina’s ability to move in virtual silence.

The clonking chimes of the elephants’ bells echo around the rearing cliffs, lulling us into a sleepy torpor. Pete snoozes peacefully, lodged sideways in his cosy and oscillating howdah and Gael gazes dreamily ahead. We are suspended in a time warp, as Lao itself has been for the last half century.

As the afternoon wears languidly on we trek through a tiered rice paddy, a slender teak plantation and follow a small river that dribbles into the Mekong. An elderly grandma beams a broad, toothless smile at us while washing herself, a squirming baby and her laundry in the trickling Houey En rivulet. We call greetings from our lordly height.

“Sabai dee bor?” (Hello how are you?) We are welcomed with a chorus of sabai dees and much clasping of palms under chins.

Sebastien, exuding boyish glee, hops up on Mrs Flower and settles comfortably astride her broad neck. “Now I’m a mahout,” he crows.

“Hrrow…Hrow!” Mrs Flower responds with a flute-like toot, and we proceed in grand style. The moment only slightly marred by an enormous, windy fart. “It wasn’t me!” protests our leader, maintaining his aplomb as we arrive to an awed reception.

We must make an engaging sight for the villagers of Ban Keng En. Our steeds are enormous next to the locals, and I measure over two metres myself. I feel like Gulliver entering the mythical land of Lilliput.

The ever-considerate Lao try not to stare, but the sight of the longest Falang (Westerner) they have ever seen must stretch their inherent good manners right to the very limit. Earlier in our journey, I had discovered that our Lao companions had christened me the ‘Moving Mountain’.

70 outer edge

We reach our camp and the weary elephants are led to the stream for a bath. Soon a cacophony of falsetto tooting and raucous trumpeting drifts over from the creek.

We slither off the weary elephants, dust ourselves down and remove uncomfortable wedgies. Under the golden glow of the late afternoon sun the entire population drifts from rosewood and rattan dwellings to greet us. Small children peer from behind mothers’ skirts. As honored guests, we are invited to a village baci celebration. Recent experience of the Lao’s ability to party suggests that this could be a long and lively evening.

After formalities are completed Sebastien promises us a Lao Beer from the “best little pub on the Mekong”. I’m gobsmacked. The ‘pub’ is a bamboo hut that teeters on thin poles. While we guzzle, the pachyderms cavort in the swirling eddies below.

Later, at the chief’s house, a baci awaits.

The Lao, essentially Buddhist people, believe that humans have 32 souls, just like elephants. A baci ceremony is conducted to re-gather and heal lost or damaged souls.

We sit on the floor, drink, chatter and share noodle soup, sticky rice, buffalo sausage and a decidedly malnourished chicken. The men crowd in, chanting and caressing our hands and arms. They are calling our errant souls back to our bodies and are banishing bad spirits. They tie loops of cotton strings around our wrists. The hallucinatory effects of the highly potent rice whisky are kicking in and our jolly party becomes noisier.

With a theatrical flourish, the chief separates two tin dishes, revealing the blank staring eyes of a chicken, sans body. The game starts: Russian roulette played with a litre of fermented hooch and a rooster’s head as the dice. We shake the bowls and reveal the severed head. It’s bad news if the beak points at you. I lose again, to the delight of my alcoholically enervated hosts.

I must drink, or risk causing disappointment and offence, but I have a plan. I sip, to loud encouragement from all assembled, but cagily dribble the potion though my shaggy beard and hope my already smelly T-shirt will absorb the liquor. I think I got away with it.

Bath Time in the Mekong. Sinouane leads the weary caravan into the Mekong for their play time. TOP RIGHT: Sebastien Duffillot rides in a ‘First Class’ howdah. RIGHT: Buffalo for lunch at Ban Nam Tap.

As an honored guest, I am then invited to sleep with the chief’s wife…and kids…and dogs…and, fortunately, the chief himself. I excuse myself from the raucous frivolity, locate the village’s communal water tap and sluice down the sticky remains of rice whisky.

Cleansed and refreshed I wander back to the chief’s house. All is now quiet but for the snoring chief.

Tomorrow we will say a sentimental farewell to our friends, the elephants, and our amiable support group. We will board, with some apprehension, a longboat for the 10hour slow voyage to Luang Prabang, against the swiftly flowing current of the Mekong.

In the meantime the Moving Mountain finally rests.

ElefantAsia is a not-forprofit organisiation based in France. It was chartered in 2001 for the express purpose of providing veterinary care for the remaining herds of wild and domesticated elephants.

ElefantAsia supports a mobile Sayaboury Elephant Care Unit (SECU), providing quality medical care to wounded and sick

elephants in remote areas.

ElefantAsia also supports educational programs for the mahout. Around 60% of Laos’ forests have been logged, and as the trees disappear, so do the elephants and the ancient knowledge and culture of the mahout. ElefantAsia are constantly on the lookout for vets from foreign countries who would be willing to work in Laos. For more about

the organisation see elefantasia.org.

Elephant treks take place over four or five days and groups contain between two and six people. Trips start from US$530 per

person. See elephant adventures.com for more information.

Mrs Flower, (‘Mae Dok’ in Lao) was purchased in collaboration with Elephant Asia, by the Elephants

Umbrella Fund (elephants umbrella.org), a US based NGO that raises funds to rescue and rehabilitate damaged elephants. She now spends her days as a living ambassador for ElephantAsia, trekking or delivering school books, turning up at weddings, parties…anything to further the peoples’ awareness of the grim situation Asian elephants are in.

outer edge 71

World Environment Day recognises endangered elephants in Laos.

By Ingrid Suter The Department of Livestock and Fisheries have recently released the latest statistics relating to domesticated elephant populations in Laos.

Several years of elephant registration data and

entire domesticated elephant population is ag

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Sunday Mail

TUNA DR DRAMA FISHY FUN F IN PORT LINCOLN

escape.com.au

ED: STATE COL: C M Y K

Page 3

PUB: MAIL ESCAPE DATE: 30-NOV-2008 PAGE: 1

November N o 30, 2008

JUNGLE BY

JUMBO EXPLORING THE STEAMY FORESTS OF LAOS BY ELEPHANT PAGES 10-11

Tahitian dreaming

Outback up front O

The pearl of the PaciямБc PAGES 4-5

Australia leads a tourist boom PAGE 12-13 A +

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NOVEMBER 30, 2008 I ESCAPE I SUNDAY MAIL I 1

escape.com.au

PUB: MAIL ESCAPE DATE: 30-NOV-2008 PAGE: T-10 ED: STATE

MAKIN

STEADY AS SHE GOES: The group carefully navigates a riverbed in Laos

COL: C M Y K

Laos was once known as The Land of a Million Elephants. MIKE LARDER found out why

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RS Flowerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122; delicately plucks a succulent leafy shoot from a convenient shrub and meditatively wafts her little posy about her lime bulk, creating cooling zephyrs and effectively disturbing a hovering squadron of persistent insects.

Mrs. Flower is an Asian elephant and a lucky one, if you can call being seriously endangered lucky. For 22 of her 37 summers she has toiled in the verdant Lao forests dragging heavy logs from impenetrable jungles. She now hauls much lighter tourists for a living.

A scant 1300 wild and domesticated of her relatives remain in the land-locked Peoples Democratic Republic of Laos, the fabled â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Land of a Million Elephantsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) describes the Asian elephant as â&#x20AC;&#x153;being seriously threatened with extinctionâ&#x20AC;?.

There are 560 working animals left in Laos and a further 700 wild ones rapidly running out of habitat.

The beleaguered species may well soon vanish.

I meet my trekking companions in Pak Lay. Our group includes Frenchman Sebastien DufďŹ llot who, with partner Gilles Mauer champion ElefantAsia, a non-government Organisation dedicated to the health, breeding and restoration of the elephants to the Lao forests. An elephantine task.

I will join Sebastien and fellow countrymen, Guilhem, a video journalist, and Gael and Pierre, teachers holidaying from Paris, on a unique elephant ramble into the wilds of western Laos. Proceeds assist ElefantAsiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work.

We meet our caravan in Hongsa in western Laos. Elephants, mahout (elephant handlers) and virgin trekkers eye each other

apprehensively ears and arm mahout we Passing throug of Ban Then, where our fou in playful wa refreshing show and their hum The swaying musical acc the elephants

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10 I SUNDAY MAIL I ESCAPE I NOVEMBER 30, 2008

www.carryforkids.org

www.sundaytelegraph.com.au/escape

escape.com.au

LUNCH BREAK: Meal time for elephant trekkers is a simple affair featuring local food

NG TRACKS

RIVER OF DREAMS: Crossing streams isn’t a problem when you’re riding an elephant

eventually induces a semi-hypnotic state. We lurch and sway, surefootedly probing an entangled trail, our elephants deftly maneuvering their lumbering bulk through rocky creek beds with silent finesse.

The gloam of the evening envelopes our tiring troupe. We reach our camp – a barren paddy field. Weary elephants are led to the stream for bath time.

Next morning the guttural

NATION

HERE: Vietnam Airlines flies to bourne and Saigon. Visit www. es.com.vn n Febuary Sayaboury will rnational guests to the third phants. The three-day gala e sacred elephant and the ulture. ww.elephantadventures. efantasia.org, www. brella.org

LAOS Pak Lay Vientiane THAILAND Bangkok angkok

Image: Google Earth

babbling of the mahout unshackling their elephants awakes me. Mrs. Flower, freshly bathed and perky, appears through the mist and trots past waving her trunk in salutation.

Warmed by the mellow winter sun our little convoy follows a winding, vine-entangled creek.

Progress is slow but precise and virtually silent. The clonking chimes of the elephants’ bells echo about the rearing cliffs lulling us into a sleepy torpor.

The afternoon wears languidly on.

We meander through a tiered rice paddy, a slender teak plantation and follow a small river that dribbles into the Mekong. An elderly grandma beams at us with a broad toothless smile while washing herself and a squirming baby in the Houey En rivulet.

We must make an engaging scenario for the villagers of Ban Keng En. A crowd of slack-jawed kids gathers atop a small cliff and gape. Small boys bob up from where they frolic in the rock pools, bronzed and shiny, surprisingly

finding themselves face to trunk with elephants.

We slither off the weary elephants, dust ourselves down and nd remove uncomfortable wedgies. Ban Keng En is a solidly constructed ucted and neatly brushed hamlet perched spectacularly on the precipice cipice of a small hill, overseeing a pristine istine pure white beach and the meandering eandering Mekong.

The entire population drift from their solid rosewood and d rattan dwellings to greet us. As honored guests, we are invited to a village celebration.

Recent experience off the Lao’s ability to party suggests gests that this could be a longg and lively evening. ay a Tomorrow we will say sentimental farewell to our friends the elephants and our amiable support group. ome We board, with some apprehension, a longboatt for the 10-hour slow voyagee to Loaung Prabang, against the swiftly flowing current off the Mekong.

!

Helping our big friends friend

ElefantAssia is a not-for-profit FrenchElefantAsia French-based organisiation chartered in 2001 to care ca for the domesticated remaining herds of wild and domesti elephants. ElefantAsia supp supports a mobile “Sayaboury Elep Elephant Care providin quality Unit” (SECU) providing medical care to wou wounded and sick elephants in remote areas. SEC SECU succes vets have successfully treated several h hundred ailing, exhauste exhausted or broken-down a animals.

ElefantAsia als also agai campaigns against abus of cruelty and abuse elephants and u unethical exploitation of the Visi www. creatures. Visit elefantasia.o for elefantasia.org informatio information.

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y. Gripping elephant ms proffered by the scramble aboard. gh the old world village we cross a stream ur elephants indulge ater fights, squirting wers over themselves man passengers. g motion and lilting companiment from s’ necklace of bells

JUNGLE BOOGIE: The group makes its way through the lush forest

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NOVEMBER 30, 2008 I ESCAPE I SUNDAY MAIL I 11

© THIERRY RENAVAND/GAMMA

19:55 CARAVAN XANG, LA LONGUE MARCHE DES ÉLÉPHANTS C’est l’histoire de quatre pachydermes, acteurs d’une longue marche de 1 300 kilomètres…

En trois mois, ils rallieront Luang Prabang, ancienne capitale royale du « pays au million d’éléphants », pour célébrer la fête de l’eau et le nouvel an laotien. Dans la magie de cette expédition, ils susciteront, à travers le pays, un élan de ferveur et de vénération, réveillant l’attention de tout un peuple pour cet animal menacé de disparition.

Le premier jardin nippon est le Japon lui-même, créé par les dieux. Un paradis qui a sa part sombre : les volcans, les tremblements de terre et les typhons. Les Japonais, sans doute à cause de ces phénomènes naturels d’une grande violence, ont une conscience aiguë du caractère éphémère de la vie, de la beauté et de l’harmonie.

21:45 VIVRE LES INVISIBLES Documentaire de 52’ réalisé par D. R. Dumond et produit par France 5/ADR Productions/Cobra Films.

2003.

Fatima et Hind, deux femmes d’origine marocaine, cherchent à résoudre les problèmes provoqués par les « invisibles », appelés « djinns ». Fatima est arrivée en Belgique à 17 ans. Elle pense avoir attiré le mauvais œil sur elle et sur son fils lorsqu’elle était enceinte. Khalid, l’oncle de Hind, se fait du souci pour elle. Au début, il pensait qu’elle souffrait d’épilepsie ou d’une maladie mentale, mais finalement il a acquis la conviction qu’elle était attaquée par des invisibles. Le monde des djinns continue à avoir de l’importance pour la plupart de la population maghrébine en Europe, quand il s’agit notamment d’expliquer le malheur ou la maladie et de leur donner un sens.

22:40 QUESTION MAISON 23:30 SILENCE, ÇA POUSSE !

Magazine de 26’ présenté par Noëlle Bréham et Stéphane Marie, et produit par CBTV. 2005.

Jardin : visite du Clos du Coudray, à Etaimpuis, en SeineMaritime/Sujet pratique : la place des outils/Portrait : Jacqueline Salmon, qui photographie les légumes.

23:55 ROUTE 66 — UNE LÉGENDE AMÉRICAINE Documentaire de 52’ réalisé par Thierry Derouet et produit par France 5/Bonobo Productions/Sylicone.

2003.

Ce documentaire permet de découvrir les lieux et les figures mythiques de la Route 66 en compagnie d’un groupe de soixante motards. Si la caméra s’intéresse plus particulièrement à deux ou trois bikers, le film retrace aussi l’histoire de cette route en mêlant images d’archives et extraits de films.

00:45 DERNIERS PARADIS SUR TERRE Kakadu — Au cœur de l’Australie sauvage.

Série documentaire produite par ABC/Kane Productions/BBC. Episode de 52’ réalisé par Rory McGuinness et Rebecca Scott. 1998.

01:40 SAFARI Caméra sauvage (2/2).

Série documentaire en 2 épisodes de 52’ réalisée par Michel Viotte et produite par Arte France/La Compagnie des Indes/Idéacom International. 2003.

Cette série réunit, pour la première fois à la télévision, les plus belles prises de vues animalières et les archives les plus rares, collectées pendant près de quatre ans dans des collections du monde entier, à propos des safaris.

Cette cassette VHS qui sourit signale l’autorisation donnée aux enseignants d’enregistrer le programme en toute légalité pour l’utiliser avec leurs élèves.

Documentaires soustitrés par télétexte pour les sourds et malentendants.

SEMAINE N° 33 DU 13 AU 19 AOÛT 2005

27

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Laos - Octobre 2007 - Association Elefantasia Coproduction : ARTE G.E.I.E, Free Studios, en association avec la TSR RĂŠalisation : Romain GuĂŠlat (26mn)

Le Laos, le pays au million dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ĂŠlĂŠphants, pourrait perdre son emblème national. A lâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;horizon 2030, ces dĂŠbonnaires pachydermes sont menacĂŠs de disparition. La jeune Sarah a accompagnĂŠ lâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;association française Elefantasia qui, grâce Ă son unitĂŠ mobile de vĂŠtĂŠrinaires, espère inverser la courbe.

Cette expĂŠdition est une petite rĂŠvolution pour 4BSBI. Elle prend progressivement conscience que derrière la protection de la forĂŞt et des ĂŠlĂŠphants, il y a des hommes, des femmes et des enfants qui survivent dans des conditions extrĂŞmement difďŹ ciles.

Pour Sarah, ce voyage tombe Ă pic. Elle qui hĂŠsitait entre la mĂŠdecine vĂŠtĂŠrinaire et la mĂŠdecine humaine, elle a dĂŠsormais fait son choix : ce sera la mĂŠdecine humaine.

Sarah â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Etudiante en mĂŠdecine 4BSBI nâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;a pas encore fĂŞtĂŠ ses vingt ans. Actuellement ĂŠtudiante en mĂŠdecine, elle a dĂŠjĂ passĂŠ le cap très sĂŠlectif de la première annĂŠe. Elle se passionne depuis son enfance pour les animaux.

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Vanishing Asia

OST IN le to save Asia’s elephants

Clockwise from top, hiding nasty- flavored tablets in sticky rice is one way to sneak them past an elephant’s acute sense of taste; veterinarian Bertrand Bouchard fills a syringe with antibiotics while colleague Vatsana Chanthavong looks for an injection site; inspecting a cyst on an elephant’s back, Mr. Bouchard is startled into laughter when the animal unexpectedly trumpets; Mr. Bouchard’s hand, bloody after he cut into a large cyst on an elephant’s leg.

Elefantasia offers donors opportunities that range from “adopting” a baby elephant to supporting a mahout family.

The organization also runs elephant treks in the Sayaboury province of Laos and operates a small museum in the Laotian city of Luang Prabang Prabang.

Elefantasia National Animal Health Center Ban Khounta Box 3804 Vientiane, Laos % 856-20-502-5326 Web: www.elefantasia.org

( To see a slideshow, click on Asia.WSJ.com.

W8 FRIDAY - SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 4 - 6, 2009

Luke Duggleby for The Wall Street Journal

| T H E WA L L ST R E E T J O U R N A L A S I A .

N LAOS

By Simon Montlake

Botene, Laos hen French explorer Henri Mouhot passed this way in 1 1861, he found the roads so rugged—“devil’s pathways,” he e called them—that the only way to travel was on the back of an elephant, without which “no communication would be possible.” His appreciation for the animals grew to be n nearly poetic.

“This colossus is no rough specimen of natural handiwork,” he wrote, “but a creature of especial amiability and sagacity, designed for the service of man.” Back then, every village had elephants—some as many as 100.

But a century and a half later, the colossus is in peril. Across much of Asia, working elephants are being rapidly replaced by trucks and tractors. In Thailand, some elephants and their drivers, called mahouts— once prized as royal cavalry— are now reduced to begging.

In Laos, the population of captive elephants has fallen by as much as a fifth over the past decade, to below 500, and as logging

quotas are tightened, demand for their services seems likely to decline further.

Elefantasia, a French nonprofit elephant-conservation organization working in Laos, Laos sees an opportunity in this. this HaulHaul ing logs is dangerous work for elephants, and discourages owners from breeding their animals—pregnancy lasts nearly two years, during which the female can’t work. That leads to an aging, sickened population. Elefantasia works closely with owners and mahouts to improve veterinary care, and promotes This is part of an occasional breeding by seeking sustainable series on Vanishing Asia. alternatives to logging—namely, in Laos’s growing tourist sector.

As urbanization continues The Asian elephant, which apace across the region, once ranged from Syria to China, historical sites and isn’t as large as its African countraditional ways of life are terpart. It also has smaller ears rapidly disappearing. In the and less hair, and is less likely to coming months, Weekend have tusks. At the time of Mr. Journal will take a look at Mouhot’s journey, the elephant population in Thailand alone efforts around Asia to may have been 100,000, estipreserve the past. mates Richard Lair, an American elephant authority who works as an adviser at the Thai Elephant Conservation Center in Lampang. Now, according to the WWF, the number across Asia might not be much more than 40,000—16,000 in captivity and as few as 25,600 in the wild, primarily in India.

While changing economies have reduced captive-elephant numbers, wild elephants are threatened both by the growth of human settlements, which squeezes their forest home, and by poachers who covet their ivory tusks. In Laos, where recent estimates put the wild-elephant population at 700, poaching is increasing. In March, five elephants were slain for their ivory in a wildlife sanctuary that is popular with tourists. Experts say the country is a key transit point for illegally traded wildlife in Southeast Asia, with China as a leading buyer.

As alarming as the decline in numbers is how the remaining wild elephants live, mostly in isolated herds

that are cut off from one another by development, inside tracts of forest. It translates into less mixing of the gene pool and a greater likelihood of inbreeding, with its risk of hereditary diseases and birth defects. “That’s when population biolotar gissts start to panic,” says Janine Brown, an expert on Asian ele ephant reproduction at the National Zoo in Washington.

Communist-ruled Laos, sparsely populated and sidelined by y globalization, should be a haven for the endangered species.

A 13th-century 1 ruler named it the Land of a Million Elephants, an nd its people venerate the elephant as a symbol of power and spirituality. In 1909, a French traveler found townspeople accustomed to elephants milling through the streets. “They are as inoffensive as our own cows in France,” she wrote. As recen ntly as two decades ago, it was possible to see elephants hauling g rice and people between villages in the rugged hinterland.

Even today, timber companies rely on intrepid elephants to exttract valuable hardwood logs from remote hillsides. But with itss forests in decline, Laos is trying to put the brakes on logging.

Conservationists say this could be a blessing for eleph hants—if more can eventually be employed in tourism. Tourism m offers a way to regenerate the stock of captive elephants, by y holding out the promise of a payday for owners who allow fem males to breed. (Across Laos, only 10 captive elephants are fem males below the age of 10, so an acute shortage of breedingag ge cows—a calf reaches adulthood at age 12 to 15—lies ah head.) A cute elephant calf, of no use to loggers, is a gold mine forr tourism, says Elefantasia co-founder Sebastian Duffillot.

“T The day after it’s born it starts making money,” he said.

Founded in 2006, Elefantasia concentrates its conservatio on efforts on the northern province of Sayaboury, where the va ast majority of working elephants live. Its vets, who travel the e region during the November-to-June dry season, also he elp keep official records; all sales of elephants, for example, are e supposed be registered with the government. Their task is ccomplicated by the nomadic life of logging elephants, their ow wn spotty databases and rutted dirt roads that are as impa assable in the wet season as during Mr. Mouhot’s time.

On a recent afternoon, the organization’s mobile unit—a wh hite Ford Ranger—pulled up outside a house. In the front yard, Hongchang, a 56-year-old female elephant, stood under a ffruit tree, her hind leg tethered by a metal-link chain. A cro owd gathered to watch the vets, two French and one Lao, alll wearing green Elefantasia T-shirts. The three, who began as volunteers with the organization and are now part-time em mployees, inspected the animal and spoke with her owner.

Bertrand Bouchard, one of the French vets, stared at a discolore ed bulge around the elephant’s stomach, where mahouts fasten n harnesses used to drag heavy logs. It appeared to be an absce ess—an inflammation where pus gathers—the third that Mr. Bo ouchard had seen that day. He pushed down on Hongchang’s thiick gray skin; the bulge felt like a stone under a blanket.

“We have to treat this,” he said. “If it’s an abscess that go oes deeper it could be really dangerous.”

That wasn’t all. An overgrown toenail on Hongchang’s right hin nd leg had become infected and would need treatment. The ow wner, My Maphun, explained that he had pulled her off a logging job the previous month because of the foot wound. But he sh hook his head no when asked whether they could drain the abscess, apparently fearing it would extend the furlough. a It’s a fairly common reaction among owners, who have paid upward of $12,000 for a full-grown elephant. As logging quotas in Laos are scaled back, they feel an added urgency to push their elephants harder to earn their keep.

In the past, mahouts in Laos treated sick elephants with natural remedies, but much of this traditional knowledge has seeped away. Today, vets say, imported antibiotics—sold over the counter—are given to elephants without checking the right dosage or possible side effects.

Far from discouraging the practice, local livestock officials often suggest drug combinations based on hearsay.

Lifelong mahouts have strong bonds with their elephants and are keenly attuned to their suffering, said Gilles Maurer, the other founder of Elefantasia. Those who mistreat their animals are usually younger and in some cases are rotated by an owner between different elephants, just like a driver for a taxi company.

But modern medicine is a whole new ballgame for even the most dedicated mahouts. “The traditional knowledge didn’t say how many milliliters of antibiotics you have to give to an elephant,” Mr. Maurer said.

As Mr. Bertrand and his colleagues circled the infected toe, Hongchang chomped calmly on palm-tree branches piled in the yard. The mahout carefully looped the chain around her hind legs and stepped back. Then, Mr. Bertrand went to work with a large needle, a crop-

WEEKEND JOURNAL

| FRIDAY - SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 4 - 6, 2009

W9

sprayer full of liquid disinfectant and a pair of scissors, cutting away at the infected flesh.

As he cut, the mahout prodded Hongchang with a stick and grunted at her. It seemed to work. The injured elephant snorted and tried to retract her foot, but soon relented. The vets finished their work and dunked her leg in a metal dish of soapy disinfectant.

The operation over, Vatsana Chanthavong, the Lao vet, gave Mr. My a first-aid kit in a clear plastic box and explained about follow-up care. In addition to the free treatment, every owner that the team visits receives the kit, which includes vitamins, syringes, deworming pills and giant cotton swabs for cleaning wounds.

Strictly speaking, Ms. Vatsana, 25, isn’t a vet. She’s studying agronomy in Vientiane, the Laotian capital, with a specialization in animal science. That’s because Laos has no veterinary school, though some livestock officials trained as vets in the Soviet Union in the 1980s. Elefantasia, which has 10 employees, relies heavily on volunteer vets from France and other countries.

Its next major project is to build an elephant hospital in Sayaboury’s provincial capital that can provide routine and emergency care, as well as train a new generation of animal doctors.

Land already has been allocated by local authorities, and now Mr. Duffillot is looking for sponsors to donate equipment, including an ultrasound imaging machine that costs $10,000. The organization, whose annual budget is only $180,000, has backers that include individuals, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Global Environmental Fund, pharmaceutical company Bayer HealthCare and some foreign embassies in Laos; it gets no money from the Laotian government.

“We’re getting quite good at getting small things for free,” Mr. Duffillot said.

The ultrasound, whose uses include detecting pregnancies, is a crucial tool. Without a turnaround in breeding, the odds look grim for Laos’s working elephants. On average, five to 10 captive elephants die annually, while only one or two are born, according to

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FRIDAY - SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 4 - 6, 2009

From the top down, two old friends greet each other; Mr. Bouchard, watched by an anxious mahout, works on the cyst that would bloody his hand; the elephant-care kit that the visiting vets give to the owners of each animal they inspect.

Elefantasia’s data. And, as more female elephants pass the age of 30, when the National Zoo’s Ms. Brown says pregnancy becomes less likely, there are fewer chances at success. Zoos in the U.S. and Europe have struggled to reproduce their elephants; some have turned to artificial insemination. In 2007, Thailand became the first Asian country to successfully breed an elephant this way; the calf is at the Lampang conservation center.

For Mr. Duffillot, the answer for Laos lies not in a test tube but in the community of elephant owners. With the right incentives, he argues, owners would be happy to let their females mate and produce a valuable calf.

Under a baby-bonus contract drafted by Elefantasia, owners can hand over their pregnant females so they can give birth in a sanctuary attended by vets and stay there with their baby for another year or more. In return, the owner would receive a free handtractor as a sweetener and retain ownership tracto of the e female and calf. Elefantasia would try to ffind work for both animals at an Elefantassia-approved camp where visitors could pett, ride and gawk at them. ““The aim is to create the new generation of th he species in Laos,” said Mr. Duffillot. “But we don’t want them to (work in) logging, so th hat must be agreed in the contract.” Under terms of the draft contract, an owner d who reneges would forfeit a 20% stake in both elephants to the organization.

Thailand offers an example: Around half its 2,700 domestic elephants work in tourism, primarily in camps; that compares with fewer than 10% of Laos’s captive elephants.

A generation ago, Thai elephants also slogged through forests pulling logs, says Mr. Lair of the Thai Elephant Consservation Center. A logging ban in 1989 force ed a switch to other employment, fortunately y at a time of rapid tourism growth. “If loggin ng goes in Laos what else are you going to use e them for? You can’t keep them in backyards as pets,” said Mr. Lair.

Bu ut tourism isn’t a panacea for captive elephants, say experts. Not all are suited to it, an nd some camps abuse their animals.

Still, lletting elephants loose in the wild, an altern native that some advocate, is impossible wiithout extensive, properly maintained and guarded g parks and sanctuaries.

“Itt would be great to say elephants should be free and happy and to give them | T H E WA L L ST R E E T J O U R N A L A S I A .

lots of land,” said Ms. Brown of the National Zoo. “But the fact is that the world doesn’t work that way.”

Bounlay Thamamavong owns a male elephant that, at age 17, has reached his prime working years. His brother works as its mahout, a typical division of labor in rural Laos. The elephant brings in around $2,650 a year in lease payments from loggers and the sale of ivory from his tusks, which are sawn off and regrow. (The ban on ivory sales applies only to international trade.)

But as logging companies in Sayaboury begin scaling back, Mr. Bounlay has begun to think the unthinkable: getting out of the business. His late father—who before retiring had owned three elephants—had advised him never to sell, Mr. Bounlay said, “but if there’s no work to do then it’s not worth keeping an elephant.” His wife, he added, reckons they should sell now and use the proceeds to buy a car. It’s tempting. “I see other people with cars and I think, I don’t want to work in the forest,” he said.

While some owners are happy to trade up, others say they’d rather hang onto their elephants and put them out to pasture if tourism doesn’t pick up the slack. Keeping an elephant isn’t so expensive assuming there’s forest for them to feed on, as there is in Laos—and Mr. Duffillot said there’s an intangible magic to having an elephant that runs deep in this traditional country, only slowly emerging into modernity.

Messrs. Maurer and Duffillot saw that firsthand in 2002 when they organized a three-month elephant caravan across Laos, an event that was the genesis of Elefantasia.

Villagers showed up in droves to see and touch an animal that is known for wisdom and strength and is said to confer longevity on those who pass under it. Rare white elephants— Laos has two—are a symbol of national prosperity and peace.

Since 2007, Elefantasia has organized an annual three-day elephant fair in Sayaboury that attracts tens of thousands of visitors, mostly Lao, who come to watch displays of strength and ingenuity. It’s another nudge for owners and mahouts to see the potential for tourism to employ their elephants.

Like all conservationists, Mr. Duffillot believes that biodiversity is worth fighting for.

He’s also stirred by the bond between man and animal. “Elephants are dear to the heart of all Lao people and that’s why we’re here,” he said.

On the next-to-last day of their four-day mission, the vets stopped by a house to check on a female elephant. Her owner had heard about Elefantasia’s breeding program and wanted a piece of the action. The previous month, he explained, he had let her loose in the forest where wild males roam, hoping nature would take its course. Florence Labatut, the other French vet, inspected the elephant, in good shape at 31 except for the loss of sight in one eye. Without an ultrasound, though, there was no way to know whether she was pregnant. Ms. Labatut prescribed vitamins and rest and told the owner to stay in touch.

The terms of the Elefantasia contract aren’t yet all settled. It’s also contingent on opening the planned elephant hospital and finding a nearby sanctuary for expectant mothers, as well as hooking up with tour operators to monetize the resulting calf.

Then there’s the question of whether to buy insurance to cover them against the death of the mother while giving birth.

Ms. Labatut is hopeful the barriers can be overcome. “It could work,” she said, “if we have the money.”

Simon Montlake is a writer based in Bangkok. *

THE SUNDAY EXAMINER MAGAZINE, September 14, 2008 — C1

Cover story A trek through the backblocks of Laos on the back of an elephant proved an unforgettable experience for former Examiner photographer MIKE LARDER.

M

RS Flower delicately plucks a succulent leafy shoot from a convenient shrub and meditatively wafts her little posy about her blimp lime bulk, creating cooling zephyrs and effectively disturbing a hovering squadron of persistent insects.

She fans my picnic lunch with her great rubbery proboscis and bats away the airborne irritants.

Her exquisitely sensitive trunk, in extremis, could easily smash me to a gory pulp.

Instead, she examines my banana with interest, snuffling its sweet scent with her mobile nostrils, peering at me with her tiny limpid eyes set low and out of all proportion within her huge bulbous skull. I offer her my fruit.

She eases the banana from my palm with the powerful, muscle packed and multifunctional tube that is her nose, sensory device, battering ram, high-pressure hose and knife, fork and spoon.

Mrs Flower is an Asian elephant and a lucky one, if you can call being seriously endangered lucky.

For 22 of her 37 summers she has toiled in the verdant Lao forests dragging heavy logs from impenetrable jungles. She now hauls much lighter tourists for a living.

A scant 1300 wild and domesticated of her sacred relatives remain in the land-locked People’s Democratic Republic of Laos, the fabled Land Of a Million Elephants.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature melancholically describes the Asian elephant as ‘‘being seriously threatened with extinction’’.

There are 560 working animals left in Laos and a further 700 wild ones rapidly running out of habitat.

The beleaguered species may well vanish within 50 years.

The kings of the forest are, despite their impressive bulk, very thin on the ground.

I had met my trekking companions, in Paklay for the Festival Of Elephants.

I was to meet Frenchman Sebastien Duffillot who, with partner Gilles Maurer champion ElefantAsia, a well credentialed non government organisation dedicated to the health, breeding and finally restoration of the elephants to the Lao forests. An elephantine task.

Seventy-four local working elephants, resplendent with brightly decorated howdahs, painted toenails and garlanded with tiaras of wild

Former Tasmanian’s spectacular journey highlights bid

ELEPHANT flowers with their elegantly uniformed mahout descend on dusty Paklay.

Fifty thousand people show up for the festival. As with all things Lao, a kind of controlled chaos ensues.

Sebastien and Gilles acted as event consultants to the local communist tourism officials. The festival was an exuberant success.

I then join Sebastien and fellow countrymen, Guilhem — a video journalist — and Gael and Pierre — teachers holidaying from Paris — on a unique ramble into the wilds of western Laos.

Sebastien and Gilles operate a boutiquely rugged and ecologically sensitive elephant treks deep into the remote, sparsly peopled and ‘‘forgotten’’ country. Proceeds help ElefantAsia’s work.

The mahout are willing to accept

C4 — THE SUNDAY EXAMINER MAGAZINE, September 14, 2008

less money for easier and ethical work for their elephants — logging takes a heavy toll.

The wiser mahout, the Lao eqivilent to western heavy haulage contractors, are protecting their life long investment.

We meet our caravan in Hongsa in western Laos. Both elephants, mahout and virgin trekkers eye each other apprehensively.

Gripping elephant ears and arms proffered by the mahout we scramble aboard.

Passing through the old world village of Ban Then we cross a stream where our four elephants indulge in some playful water fights, squirting refreshing showers over themselves and their human passengers.

Elephants love water. The Lao

‘Elephants’ feet are an engineering masterpiece, so well balanced and shock absorbed that a five tonne elephant . . . has a ballerina’s ability to move in virtual silence.’

villagers emerge from their huts, wideeyed with curiosity.

We climbed steadily all morning, gradually learning some important safety rules, like never creep up behind an elephant without yelling a throaty grunt. And never approach one without a mahout.

Our Lao-style luncheon menu consists of noodle soup, glutinous sticky rice, dried buffalo meat (I think) and leafy salad.

Delicate balance . . . the elephant caravan makes its way through the not-often-visited countryside of a Laos, with villagers providing a generous hospitality at stops along the way.

to save gentle Asian giants from extinction

RESCUE We munch and gape at a panoramic view of distant hazy mountains and deeply shadowed valleys.

The swaying motion and lilting musical accompaniment from the elephants’ necklace of bells eventually induces an semi-hypnotic state.

We lurch and sway, sure-footedly probing an entangled trail, our elephants deftly maneuvering their lumbering bulk through rocky creek beds with silent finese.

Elephants’ feet are an engineering masterpiece. So well balanced and shock absorbed that a five tonne elephant for all its misshapen bulk has a ballerina’s ability to move in virtual silence.

The gloam of the evening envelopes our tiring troupe. We reach our camp — a barren paddy field.

The travellers gather at the ‘‘beaut pub’’ on sticks at Ban Keng En, left, as the elephants head for the beach.

Weary elephants are led to the stream for bath time. There is much falsetto tooting and raucous trumpets drifting over from the creek.

A full moon rises.

Camp chairs appear, as does a bottle of Pasti, saucisson and a reeking cheese.

Our Lao staff, accustomed as they are to some gastronomically yucky delicacies, reel back pinch their noses and giggle hysterically. The Lao love a party and are enthusiastic imbibers of their own evil hooch, a lethal brew distilled from rice.

We eat simply and in the Lao way, squashing unidentifiable vegetables and meaty bits with balls of sticky rice. Then out comes a frosted old bottle of the powerful liqueur, best sipped with great caution.

I leave this convivial little soiree,

carefully side stepping large piles of steaming elephant dung and stumble to my tent.

Next morning the guttural babbling of the mahout unshackling their elephants awakes me.

Peering across my toes that protrude from my little tent, I see the cooks frying eggs. I also smell coffee. It is barely light, the surrounding heights shrouded in a gossamer mist.

We slurp on hot coffee and hungrily devour fried eggs mopped up with the ever-sustaining sticky rice.

Mrs Flower, freshly bathed and perky, appears through the mist and trots past waving her trunk in salutation. ‘‘Isn’t she pretty?’’, Sebastien mumbles.

Continues next page

Mike Larder, aka The Moving Mountain, on the back of his sure-footed chariot.

THE SUNDAY EXAMINER MAGAZINE, September 14, 2008 — C5

Cover story

‘

They say it is polite to compliment a Lao woman by watch an elephant walk is an exquisite sight though,

Frenchman Sebastien Duffillot with his beloved Mrs Flower.

From previous page Mrs Flower is a very visible ambassador for ElefantAsia’s commitment to the future existence and repatriation of the Asian elephant, the environment and the ancient, mystic Lao culture.

She is also Seb’s favourite. ‘‘It is lucky I have an understanding wife’’, quips Flower’s gallant admirer.

Several mugs of coffee later everybody feels much livelier. Our journey continues almost vertically. Emerging from the mist reveals sweeping panoramas.

Laos is unfortunate in its geographic location. The ancient land-locked country forms a strategic land buffer between China, Burma, Vietnam and Cambodia.

The subjugated Lao found themselves embroiled in a vicious international conflict.

The US military spread death en masse from the bellies of the whispering death, the B52s sowing the country with a deadly crop.

The grindingly impoverished country remains the most bombed nation, per capita, on the planet.

Duffillot has lived and worked in Laos’s capital Vientiane since 1996 when the enigmatic country tentatively emerged from its four decades of isolation opening its borders to neighboring Thailand. They found that they were a forgotten race.

He loves the culture and the country.

Above all, he loves the elephants.

We halt for lunch in tiny Ban Nam Tap, watched by dusky, wide-eyed children clutching pet puppies.

The elephants, meanwhile, amuse the awed kids, showering themselves and anyone nearby with a sprinkling of convenient stream water.

Warmed by the mellow winter sun our little convoy follows a winding, vineentangled creek.

It is here, as we nimbly negotiate rock pools and mossy logs that the dexterity of the elephant becomes apparent.

Progress is slow but precise and virtually silent.

The clonking chimes of the elephants’ bells echo about the rearing cliffs lulling us into a sleepy torpor. Pete snoozes peacefully lodged sideways in his cozily oscillating howdah.

Gael gazes dreamily ahead, seemingly suspended in a state of bliss, a frangipani bloom woven into her hair. We are suspended in a time warp as indeed Laos has been for the last half-century.

The afternoon wears languidly on. We meander through a tiered rice paddy, a slender teak plantation and follow a small river that dribbles into the Mekong River.

An elderly grandma beams at us with a

broad toothless smile while washing herself, a squirming baby and her laundry in the trickling Houey En rivulet. We call greetings from our lordly height. ‘‘Sabai dee bor’’ — hello how are you? We are welcomed with a chorus of sabai dees and much clasping of palms under chins.

Sebastien, exuding boyish glee mounts Mrs Flower and settles comfortably astride her broad neck. ‘‘Now I am a mahout,’’ he crows. ‘‘Hrrow . . . hrow’’, he grunts dramatically.

Mrs Flower responds with a flute-like toot, and we proceed in grand style.

The moment only slightly marred by an enormous, windy fart. ‘‘It wasn’t me,’’ protests our leader and maintains his aplomb as we arrive to an awed reception.

We must make an engaging scenario for the villagers of Ban Keng En. A crowd of slack-jawed kids gathers atop a small cliff and gape. Small boys bob up from where they frolic in the rock pools, bronzed and shiny, surprisingly finding themselves face to trunk with elephants.

I’m a lengthy 2m plus and I feel like I have entered the mythical land of Lilliput.

The ever-considerate Lao try not to stare but the sight of the longest white Falang (Westerner) they have ever seen stretches their inherent good manners to the limit.

Earlier in our journey, I discover that our Lao companions have christened me, the towering shaggy bearded westerner, The Moving Mountain.

We make our grand entrance. This is pure Spielberg. I unconsciously search for the cameras, microphones, lights but nup!, this is for real.

I’m jerked from my reverie. Am I the first Australian ever to have set foot here? Whoh!

We slither off the weary elephants, dust ourselves down and remove uncomfortable wedgies.

Ban Keng En is a solidly constructed and neatly brushed hamlet perched spectacularly on the precipice of a small hill, overseeing a pristine pure white beach and the meandering Mekong.

The late afternoon sun streams down coloring the afternoon with wash of burnished golden light.

The entire population drift from their solid rosewood and rattan dwellings to greet us.

Small children peer from behind their mothers’ skirts.

As honoured guests, we are invited to a village Baci celebration. Recent experience of the Lao’s ability to party suggests that this could be a long and lively evening.

Everywhere charcoal fires are preparing the evening meal. After formalities are completed Sebastien promises us a Lao beer

from the ‘‘best little pub on the Mekong’’.

It is spectacular, he promises.

The Mother Of Water — the Mekong — morphs into a thundering swirling torrent during the wet season. Now, in the dry, the river is low and sanguine.

I stand gobsmacked. The ‘‘pub’’ is a bamboo hut that teeters on worryingly thin poles. Guzzling a Lao beer from atop the cliff we watch our four pals, the pachyderms, wallow and cavort in the swirling eddies of the Mekong.

Mrs Flower submerges amid a maelstrom of bubbles and hissing foam, her trunk poking above the surface, snorkeling and rotating like a ship’s radar scanner. The team, except me, (I’m not abandoning my source of crisply refreshing Lao beer) join the elephants.

Later, at the chief’s house, the Baci is awaiting us. The essentially Buddhist people believe that, like the elephant, humans have 32 souls. A Baci ceremony is conducted to regather and heal lost or damaged souls.

We sit on the floor, drink, chatter and share noodle soup, sticky rice, buffalo sausage and decidedly malnourished chicken.

The men crowd in, chanting and caressing our hands and arms. They are calling our errant souls back to our bodies and are banishing bad spirits.

They tie loops of Lao cotton strings around our wrists. The hallucinatory effects of the highly potent rice whisky are kicking in and our jolly party becomes noisier.

With the theatrical flourish, the chief separates two tin dishes revealing the blank staring eyes of a beheaded chicken. The

Group aims to care for elephants ElefantAsia is a not-for-profit French based organisation chartered in 2001 for the express purpose of providing veterinary care for the remaining herds of wild and domesticated elephants.

ElefantAsia supports a mobile Sayaboury Elephant Care Unit, providing quality medical care to wounded and sick elephants in remote areas.

It also supports educational programs for the mahout and Lao vets of which Laos has very few qualified large animal specialists.

A ceremony in the Festival Of Elephants at Paklay.

C6 — THE SUNDAY EXAMINER MAGAZINE, September 14, 2008

SECU vets have so far successfully treated several hundred ailing, exhausted or broken down animals.

Foot damage from razor sharp bamboo, eye and foot damage and skin lesions and severe injuries from snapped chains are taking their toll of the dwindling population.

Elephant diseases are similar to bovine cows.

As the forests disappear — 60 per cent of Laos’s forests have been logged — so do the elephants, a living shrine to the Lao people, and the ancient traditional knowledge and culture of the mahout.

telling her that she walks like an elephant’, chuckles Sebastien. ‘To personally, I would not like to try saying it to a French woman!

’

An elephant and its mahout take a bath at the end of a long day. game begins. Russian roulette played with a litre of fermented hooch and a very dead rooster’s head as the dice.

We shake the bowls and reveal the severed head. It’s bad news if the beak points at you., I lose again to the delight of our alcoholically enervated hosts.

You have to drink otherwise cause disappointment and offence. I hit on a plan. My beard has reached a certain rampant shagginess.

I sip, to loud encouragement from all those assembled, but cagily dribble the potion though my beard and hope my already smelly t-shirt would absorb the liquor. I then smack my lips and emit an appreciative ‘‘Mmmmmm’’.

I think I got away with it.

As an honoured guest am invited to sleep with the chief’s wife, and kids and dogs and, fortunately, the chief himself.

I excuse myself from the raucous frivolity, and locate the village’s communal water tap and sluice down the sticky remains of rice whisky.

Cleansed and refreshed I wander back to the chief’s house. All is now quiet but for the snoring chief.

Tomorrow we will say a sentimental farewell to our friends the elephants and our amiable support group. We board, with some apprehension, a longboat for the 10-hour slow voyage to Loaung Prabang, against the swiftly flowing current of the Mekong.

In the meantime The Moving Mountain rests.

The elephant safari is greeted by bemused villagers.

French tourist Gael in her oscillating howdah on her elephant.

Despite their size, the elephants move almost silently through any terrain.

THE SUNDAY EXAMINER MAGAZINE, September 14, 2008 — C7

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Wednesday 11 August 2010

On the road with the elephants of Laos Fiona MacGregor Share 0 comments 9 Aug 2010 Massive, majestic and much mistreated, the elephants of South East Asia deserve respect.

ElephantsHwere apparently the favoured mode of travel for Laos’s ancient gods and kings, and it’s not difficult to see why. Few forms of transport confer quite the level of panache conferred by six tons of majestic pachyderm.

Admittedly, it seems unlikely that gods and kings were helped on to their gigantic mounts courtesy of a hard shove on the bum from beneath while someone else dragged them up by the wrist from above. But despite my inelegant introduction, Mae Bountom, a 14-yearold female elephant, seems content to carry me as a passenger and, with a determinedly pronounced “Pai” from Phonxay, her mahout (the person who looks after and works an elephant), we’re off.

It takes a little getting used to, this swaying elephantine gait. Swing, loll, swing, loll ... I think I’m starting to get the hang of it then we start to go down hill and it becomes: swing, scoop, loll, swing, scoop, loll, and I’m forced to wiggle myself into a more balanced position and grip tight on the wooden bars of my seat. But eventually I start to relax.

The Laos earth is a bright rust red and the path we follow cuts a garish gash through luminescent green paddyfields and shady forests. The mahouts sing as we go along, with the occasional accompaniment from their charges.

Elephant rides are a popular tourist attraction across the region. But for many visitors to Laos, the country once known as Land Of A Million Elephants, the desire to spend time in the company of one of these endangered creatures is tainted with concern for their welfare. It is fair or right to use such intelligent animals in this way?

“That depends on how they’re treated and how treks are run,” explains Sebastien Duffillot, co-founder of elephant protection NGO Elefantasia, who points out that humans and Asian elephants have a working relationship dating back 4,000 years.

The organisation is hoping to revive the fortune of the nation’s drastically declining elephant population by encouraging foreign visitors and local mahouts to become involved heraldscotland.com/…/on-the-road-w…

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On the road with the elephants of Lao…

in welfare-conscious trekking and put Laos at the forefront of responsible elephant tourism in Asia.

Bordered by Thailand to the west, Vietnam to the east, China to the north and Cambodia to the south, laid-back Laos, home to some of the most dramatic waterfalls in South East Asia, has been steadily carving a place for itself on the tourist map over the past 10 years.

It offers the most gentle of introductions to the region. Prettily-painted colonial-era houses with wooden verandahs make for picturesque towns where there are plenty of European delicacies for those visitors reluctant to indulge in local favourites such as dried buffalo skin or chicken embryos masquerading as ordinary boiled eggs.

From high on top of Mae Bountom I get a chance to appreciate just how beautiful this mountainous and verdant landscape is. Despite their great bulk, elephants can pass through surprisingly small spaces. I’m amazed, as we navigate our way through patchwork paddy-fields, to see how their huge feet can pick their way along the narrow tracks less that a foot wide.

Golden sunlight warms wooden houses as we pass through traditional villages. Chillis dry in the sun and piglets and chickens root around in shady corners beneath the stilt-raised houses. Wide-eyed children stare in astonishment at our approach, scampering off squealing until they’ve gathered enough courage to sneak back for a closer look at the passing giants.

There are fewer than 1,000 wild elephants left in Laos, and approximately 500 domesticated ones. Widespread logging, which has destroyed the elephants’ natural habitat, poaching and changing lifestyles mean many young people have had little contact with these animals.

In Laos, most working elephants are used for logging. As beasts of burden, they are often overworked and too exhausted to mate, says Sebastien Duffillot. A two-year pregnancy, and a further two years before a calf can be weaned, means that breeding is seen as a liability by owners who use their animals in the gruelling logging industry. “Elephants start logging at the age of 14,” says Duffillot. “But, because they are very cute, they can generate income at birth in a tourist facility.”

They certainly are cute. One of the elephants I meet is just six, and if you crossed a hyperactive puppy with a small tractor the potential for chaos would be similar. At one point the spiky-haired youngster stumbles in boggy ground, panics and careers into the back of Mae Bountom, prompting a minor stampede.

Thankfully it doesn’t take Phonxay and the other skilled mahouts long to get the elephants under control and, this being Laos where relaxed is the default mode, calmness is soon restored and we return to sauntering through the trees.

Elephants, it seems, have to learn a lot of lessons as they grow up. Seeing the adult elephants carefully assessing new riders, or sussing out routes they’re taking for the first time – checking the stability of bridges with their sensitive trunks before crossing, for example – suggests these lessons add up to produce extremely bright creatures. heraldscotland.com/…/on-the-road-w…

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On the road with the elephants of Lao…

“Reconverting logging elephants into tourism is not a simple task,” says Duffillot.

“Elephants are fragile creatures despite their imposing stature. Some elephant camps in South East Asia are no better than open air prisons for elephants and abuses are frequent in poorly managed camps.”

Trekking company Elephant Adventures, which works alongside Elefantasia, organises forest treks which last several days, during which those taking part get to learn about bathing, feeding and caring for the elephants while exploring the varied Laos landscape.

Part of the cost of the trip covers a donation to a mobile vet unit which provides care to domesticated elephants across Laos. Duffillot says he would like to see this model emulated throughout Laos and other parts of South East Asia.

According to Elefentasia’s information guide, key areas of concern include whether the animals have access to sufficiently varied food (not just fruit) and fresh water; whether the mahouts are injuring the elephants’ skin with the steering hooks they use to direct them; and whether the elephants are flapping their ears and tails (a happy sign) or repeatedly swaying their heads back and forth (often a sign of stress).

As the sun sets, I watch Mae Bountom head out to her forest resting place for the evening, her impressive silhouette framed black against gold. I realise with a pang that with so few elephants left in Laos such sights, without action, may soon be a thing of the past.

GETTING THERE Emirates operates daily flights from Glasgow to Kuala Lumpur via Dubai. Prices start from £515 per person. For more information visit www.emirates.com/uk or call 0844 800 2777.

Air Asia operates flights from Kuala Lumpur to the Laos capital, Vientaine. Prices vary considerably, but a current promotion has flights available in August starting at £35.

WHAT TO DO Elephant Adventures offers four and five-day elephant caravan tours for small groups.

Each guest has their own elephant during the trip. They are accompanied by experienced mahouts and guides. The route covers Laos’s diverse landscapes, finishing on the banks of the Mekong River.

Elephant Adventures gives 5% of its turnover to the mobile elephant clinic operated by the Elefantasia NGO, which provides veterinary care to Laos’s domesticated elephants.

Tour prices start from £418 per person. For more information visit www.elephantadventures.com FIND OUT MORE For more about elephants in Laos and the work of Elefantasia visit www.elefantasia.org

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To the circus: conservationists warn of elephant exodus from Laos Once worshipped as gods, the endangered elephant population of Laos is under threat from a legal loophole Fiona MacGregor guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 1 0 August 2 01 0 1 1 .57 BST

Mahouts (elephant keepers) are being offered incentiv es to conserv e the elephant population of Laos.

Photograph: Dav id Longstreath/AP

It may be known as the Land of a Million Elephants, but conservationists are warning that the imminent exportation of more than a third of Laos's remaining domesticated elephant calves to a Chinese circus could prove disastrous for the endangered species.

Once worshipped as gods, the animals are still considered sacred by many in Laos, but loss of habitat and tradition means there are now just 20 domesticated elephants under the age of 10 left in the country.

The agreement with the circus company will see seven of these youngsters, along with four older animals of breeding age, exported from the remote Thongmixay district, in Laos's Sayaburi province, to southern China this autumn.

Although Laos signed up in 2004 to the CITES international agreement against trading endangered wildlife, a loophole is being exploited. Elephants are being taken out of the country on "long-term loans" to zoos and circuses in foreign countries but are never returned.

With the most recent government estimates suggesting there are now as few as 600 wild and only 480 domesticated elephants left in the country, hopes for the survival of the species in Laos are pinned on breeding programmes involving the domesticated population. The loss of so many young elephants will place that under threat, the NGO ElefantAsia has warned. The group has official responsibility for the animals, having been charged by Laos's department of livestock to manage the Laos Elephant Care and Management Programme.

"We are very concerned to see so many elephants – especially young ones and females – being exported to foreign countries," said Sebastian Duffillot, co-founder of ElefantAsia.

"The best and healthiest animals have been leaving the country steadily for several years despite existing laws condemning the export of live elephants."

Korea and China are the main destinations for the "loaned" elephants. Because elephants are privately owned, ElefantAsia has no mandate to prevent the animals leaving the country. "Laos needs to protect its elephants by any means if the country wants to keep

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To the circus: conservationists warn ofâ&#x20AC;Ś

a sustainable population," said Duffillot.

Although companies from these countries pay the animals' transport costs into the country, they often renege on paying return costs, leaving it impossible for the elephants' owners to take their animals home if and when their contracts eventually runs out. In one such example it is understood that 19 elephants were sent to Korean circuses in 2002/3, all of which have now been sold there and not returned to Laos.

It is understood the elephant handlers - mahouts - in this latest deal have been offered $150 dollars a month to work with their elephants in the Chinese circus. This represents a considerable income in Laos, where average earnings are just $30 a month.

Traditionally known as "Lane Xang", meaning "land of a million elephants", the working relationship between humans and elephants in landlocked Laos, one of the world's least developed countries, dates back 4,000 years. The rapid decline in numbers is due to a combination of habitat loss, poaching and animals being killed after threatening people and their property.

Elephants are still held in high esteem in Laos culture, where the religious mix of Buddhism and animism sees them considered sacred beings. Women bring their babies to be blessed by elephants, but the reality of life for the average domesticated elephant is far from divine. Most working elephants are used as labour in logging camps. Grim working conditions and long hours take a toll on their health as elephants are used to destroy the forest homes of their wild relatives.

ElefantAsia is keen to encourage mahouts to turn away from the logging industry and use their animals in sustainable, welfare-conscious tourism projects.

The organisation is involved in a number of breeding programmes including the recent launch of an innovative maternity leave scheme for elephants in which mahouts are given financial incentives and offered alternative work if they breed their elephants â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a process which can take an elephant out of work for four years, with a two-year gestation period and a further two years spent nursing their baby.

But if Laos keeps losing its elephants to other countries such projects will simply not be possible. "The law against all forms of exportation of live elephants must be enforced more firmly if the Land of a Million Elephants wants to keep its population alive," said Duffillot.

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ElefantAsia, pour la protection des éléphants d'Asie Fondée en 2001, ElefantAsia est une association qui protège les éléphants d’Asie à travers des actions de conservation et une campagne de sensibilisation du public. Son objectif est de contribuer à la sauvegarde de l’éléphant sauvage et domestique, patrimoine naturel et culturel menacé, en s’inscrivant dans une politique de développement durable de la société.

Sites de l'action

Laos

Enjeux et objectifs

Depuis 1996, l'UICN (Union internationale pour la conservation de la nature) classe l'Elephas maximus (l'éléphant d'Asie) dans la catégorie des espèces menacées. D'après les membres de l'association, au Laos, on compte 560 éléphants domestiques et moins d'un millier à l'état sauvage. Avec la régression des forêts, leur habitat est très menacé et les conflits hommeséléphants sont nombreux, notamment dans les zones cultivées.

Par ailleurs le service vétérinaire est presque inexistant pour les éléphants domestiques qui représentent une composante fondamentale du patrimoine asiatique.

L'objectif de l'initiative est de protéger les éléphants d’Asie.

Actions et résultats

Sébastien Dufillot et Gilles Maurer ont fondé ElefantAsia en 2001. Cette association française agit au Laos où elle travaille à la sensibilisation des acteurs locaux et des touristes.

Elle intervient également au niveau vétérinaire afin d'améliorer la santé des éléphants, de relancer leur reproduction aujourd'hui quasi nulle et de former les cornacs (maîtres d'éléphants) aux soins à apporter aux animaux.

En octobre 2006, l'association a installé un bureau au département de l’élevage laotien pour lancer son programme de soins vétérinaires. Avec le Centre thaïlandais de conservation de l’éléphant, elle a formé 6 vétérinaires et mis en place une unité mobile (une voiture équipée et deux vétérinaires) qui sillonne le Laos. Les vétérinaires ont entrepris le recensement et le suivi sanitaire des éléphants domestiques au Laos. L'association participe à la rédaction d'un manuel de soins vétérinaires de base à l'attention des cornacs laotiens.

Le personnel local comprend une secrétaire, un vétérinaire au Centre national de santé animale et deux vétérinaires en province.

Le budget de l'association est d'environ 100 000 €.

Partenaires

Fonds français pour l’environnement mondial, Elephant umbrella fund, US fish and wildlife services, Fondation 30 millions d’amis

Résultats

En 2007, une centaine d'éléphants (et autant de cornacs) ont reçu des visites et/ou des soins de l'unité mobile vétérinaire. D'ici la fin 2008, ElefantAsia espère avoir enregistré la totalité des éléphants de la province de Sayaboury (490 environ). A terme, toutes les provinces comptant des éléphants domestiques seront couvertes.

En ce qui concerne les alternatives économiques, 50 cornacs ont participé au Festival de l'éléphant l'année dernière (voir zoom), 70 y participeront cette année et une douzaine de cornacs de Hongsa sont employés à tour de rôle pour les randonnées en éléphant.

Zoom

L'association a organisé en février 2007 la première édition du Festival annuel de l'éléphant, à Vienkèo dans la province de Sayaboury au Laos. Dès le premier jour, plus de 10 000 visiteurs laotiens et occidentaux ont pu participer à différentes activités (concours de dessin, conférences...), assister à des cérémonies et à des démonstrations (cornaquage, élection de l’éléphant de l’année, bénédiction des bonzes...).

46 éléphants étaient présents, le plus gros rassemblement d'éléphants domestiques au Laos depuis plus de 30 ans. Selon le département du commerce de Hongsa, le festival a généré plus de 130 000 $ (environ 89 000 €) de revenus direct en trois jours dans le district et les habitants en ont directement profité (hébergement des visiteurs, vente d'artisanat, cornacs, taxis...). Fort de son succès, le festival aura lieu chaque année en février. En 2008, il se déroulera dans le district de Paklay, toujours dans la province de Sayaboury.

Nom Fonction Téléphone e-Mail Adresse postale

Sébastien Dufillot et Gilles Maurer Fondateurs et volontaires +856 20 502 53 26 info@elefantasia.org ElefantAsia Laos - C/o National Animal Health Center - Ban Khounta PO Box 3804 Vientiane (Laos) www.elefantasia.org

Site web

9 rue du Colo 75012 Paris 01 42 65 20 8 redaction@re Date de mise 10/12/2007 9RWUH F

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Laos - Octobre 2007 - Association Elefantasia Coproduction : ARTE G.E.I.E, Free Studios, en association avec la TSR RĂŠalisation : Romain GuĂŠlat (26mn)

Le Laos, le pays au million dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ĂŠlĂŠphants, pourrait perdre son emblème national. A lâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;horizon 2030, ces dĂŠbonnaires pachydermes sont menacĂŠs de disparition. La jeune Sarah a accompagnĂŠ lâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;association française Elefantasia qui, grâce Ă son unitĂŠ mobile de vĂŠtĂŠrinaires, espère inverser la courbe.

Cette expĂŠdition est une petite rĂŠvolution pour 4BSBI. Elle prend progressivement conscience que derrière la protection de la forĂŞt et des ĂŠlĂŠphants, il y a des hommes, des femmes et des enfants qui survivent dans des conditions extrĂŞmement difďŹ ciles.

Pour Sarah, ce voyage tombe Ă pic. Elle qui hĂŠsitait entre la mĂŠdecine vĂŠtĂŠrinaire et la mĂŠdecine humaine, elle a dĂŠsormais fait son choix : ce sera la mĂŠdecine humaine.

Sarah â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Etudiante en mĂŠdecine 4BSBI nâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;a pas encore fĂŞtĂŠ ses vingt ans. Actuellement ĂŠtudiante en mĂŠdecine, elle a dĂŠjĂ passĂŠ le cap très sĂŠlectif de la première annĂŠe. Elle se passionne depuis son enfance pour les animaux.

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Vientiane Times provides news updates twice daily at 11.30am and 6pm on our official website: www.vientianetimes.org.la.

For full information on events and developments taking place throughout Laos, please subscribe via our e-mail address to receive PDF or HTML files info@vientianetimes.org.la

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WEDNESD AY MA Y 23, 2007 WEDNESDA MAY

Deputy Prime Minister leaves for China PAGE 3

ISSUE 118

4000 kip

Visitor arrivals to Laos jump PAGE 7

International Children’s Day June 1

Drawn from the heart PAGE 10

Median strip on Kaysone Phomvihane Road to reduce accidents VIENTIANE TIMES

VIENTIANE authorities will begin installing a median strip along Kaysone Phomvihane Road in June as part of an initiative to reduce road accidents and maintain order on the capital’s streets.

A senior official from the Vientiane Urban Development and Administration Authority, Mr Khamphet Phonglatlasy, told Vientiane Times on Monday that the project would take four months to complete.

“We are preparing concrete blocks and other equipment to start the project,” he said.

Mr Khamphet explained that many drivers did not respect traffic regulations, which was why a median strip along this road was necessary.

Drivers often use incorrect lanes and turn without regard for lines painted on the roads, causing many accidents, and the project aims to tackle this problem by forcing drivers to

slow down and stay in the correct lanes.

Villagers The 7.4-kilometre strip will prepare to start at Km5 in Phonphanao bury an village, Xaysettha district, and finish in Don Noun village, and elephant that by will be financed by the was killed illegal Swedish International hunters in Development Cooperation Borikhamxay Agency and the Nordic province, last Development Fund. month.

Authorities initially wanted to build a nine-kilometre strip running from Hongxeng canal in Phonkheng village to Don Noun, but there was not enough funding.

The remainder of the strip will be built when financing becomes available.

When asked why authorities did not build the median strip while the road was being rebuilt, Mr Khamphet responded that authorities had planned to do this, but there was insufficient EKAPHONE PHOUTHONESY funding at the time.

He maintained that work on THE protection of endangered wild elephants in Borikhamxay CONTINUED PAGE 2 province will eventually become impossible if illegal hunters of the giant animals are not arrested, provincial officials have warned.

According to a report from the Borikhamxay Agriculture and Forestry Department, investors and the government to export electricity to other another elephant was killed in countries stipulate that only 5 to April in the Namkading 10 percent of the supply will go National Protected Area, to local villagers,” Mr bringing the number of elephant killings in the Homphone said.

“The only way to ensure new province since 2006 to three.

There are now thought to factories have a sufficient electricity supply is to establish be just five elephants more hydro-power projects to remaining in this protected produce enough energy for the area.

A police officer working in country.”

Current hydro-power the economics unit in Bolikhan projects primarily built for local district, Mr Sysouphan supply in Laos include Nam Lorvanxay, who is involved in the investigation of the latest Ngum 5, Nam Lik 1 and 2.

Mr Homphone explained elephant killing, said the that, previously, information hunters had taken the about new industry had not been elephant’s tusks, toenails and comprehensive enough for various organs that are sectors to make plans for valuable because they are used projected demands on the electricity grid.

Electricity du Laos, the country’s main electricity company, is already earning almost US$20 million a year from exports of electricity to Thailand and Vietnam, but around US$8 million of its electricity has been bought back from these countries to meet local needs.

Another elephant killed in Borikhamxay

More local power needed to meet industrial growth VIENTIANE TIMES

THE government has announced plans to introduce more hydro-power projects to supply electricity to meet growing local demand, particularly with the growth of new industry around the country.

It will also conduct detailed surveys on the number of factories being built in Laos each year, and what additional electricity demands there may be in the future.

Director General of the Ministry of Energy and Mines’ Department of Electricity, Mr Homphone Bouliyaphon, said yesterday that Laos currently does not have enough reserve electricity to supply new factories being built amid the country’s growing economy.

Most of the hydro-electricity produced in Laos is intended for export to neighbouring countries, but can be bought back when local demands increase because of new industrial developments. This has an impact on the national economy.

“Today, agreements between

CONTINUED PAGE 2

--VientianeTimes www.vientianetimes.org.la - a member of Asia News Network --

in some traditional medicines.

He said the investigation team had talked to villagers who said they heard a series of gunshots coming from the area before they arrived on the scene to find the dead elephant.

The hunters had apparently used firearms to shoot the animal in the head.

Mr Sysouphan confirmed that the previous two cases involved elephants killed using the same technique, and they were continuing to investigate, as these killings were illegal under the country’s forestry laws.

The Deputy Director of the Namkading National Protected Area, Mr Manisengphet Phakhounthong, told Vientiane Times this week that, until now, police had been unable to find the people responsible for illegal wildlife hunting.

“It is going to become ever more difficult to protect these wild animals if we cannot arrest the perpetrators of these acts,” Mr Manisengphet said.

“To stop the illegal hunting of

wild elephants, the search for those who are responsible must become more urgent.”

He said forestry officials were concerned about the continued hunting of endangered wildlife in protected areas, which would have a negative impact both on the animal population and on the forest itself.

“Wildlife is crucial for the survival of the forest, as they help to balance the ecosystem,” he said.

He said that elephants were on the list of protected wild animals along with tigers, and forestry officials were determined to find the hunters and punish them.

He said forestry officials were cooperating with various international NGOs to launch a campaign in nearby villages, to help locals understand the importance of wildlife. If people are more aware of how many wild animals are endangered and what impact this is having on the forests, this might encourage them to

play more of a role in protecting the animals.

But this is a slow process, Mr Manisengphet said, because in the past villagers have had problems with elephants damaging their crops and are generally not concerned if they are killed.

He confirmed that forestry officials were increasing their patrols and inspection measures in the protected areas to reduce the opportunity for wildlife hunters to kill endangered animals.

But, he said, this would not solve the problem completely, as it was not limited to the protected areas.

For instance, one of the main problems was that people were continuing to consume wildlife in various forms, giving illegal hunters more of a reason to continue killing endangered species.

Discouraging locals from buying or eating wildlife was part of the awareness-raising campaign in nearby areas, Mr Manisengphet said.

Index

18

January 2, 2007

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Vientiane Times

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January 23, 2007

18

一匹の子供は死に、今や子供を産むには年を 取りすぎている。陸に囲まれたラオス人民民 主共和国の中で、彼女の同族は多く見積もっ てもわずか８５０頭しかいないのだ。現在の 流れが続けば、ラオスの亜種とラオスの象使 い 文 化 は 年 も す れ ば 消 え て し ま う だ ろ う。 象と人間の寿命はほぼ同じくらいで、仏教徒 のラオス人に言わせれば、魂の数は人間と同 個なのだそうだ。

じ

果実をけだるげに摘み取ったかと思うと、力 強く多機能な筋肉のチューブで薮を切り裂 く。それは鼻であり、感覚器官であり、破壊 槌であり、高水圧ホースであり、またナイフ・

２００７年に伐採地から救出された 歳の 気品あるミセス・フラワーは、その非常に敏 感 な 鼻 先 で、 極 め て 繊 細 な 動 作 を 行 う こ と が で き る。 そ の 鼻 先 は 針 を 拾 い 上 げ る こ と も、実に洗練された仕草で私の手からそっと フルーツを持ち上げることも出来る。唇が大 きな音を立てるとともに、バナナが彼女の洞 穴のような口に飲み込まれていく。マスカラ 40

を塗ったようなまつげの向こうでコケティッ シュに目配せして、彼女は高い枝から熟した

58

フォーク・スプーンである。 彼 女 は そ の 年 の 生 涯 の う ち 回 の 夏 を、 緑深いラオスの森の中、普通なら人の入り込 めない森の奥深くから重い荷物を引き出すと いう重労働に費やした。ミセス・フラワーは 37

貴重な木材、ラオスのゆたかな森の奥深くの チークや紫檀といった木の幹を運搬する過酷 な苦役のうちに年老いて行く運命を負わされ ていた。従って、彼女はいずれ疲弊し切って 早死にする運命だった。彼女の産んだたった

非合法的手段で伐採され、国境地帯にまで及 んで姿を消しつつある。一般のラオス人はほ とんどその恩恵を受けてはいない。

しい国のひとつである。豊かな森は伐採が続 いており、象しか立ち入れないはずの険しい ジャングルにまで侵入してきている。貴重な 木材の宝庫である森の多くは合法的あるいは

ラオスは国土の広さはイギリスとほぼ同じだ が、人口は多く見積もっても６５０万人のラ オ 族 が ま ば ら に 住 む の み で、 地 球 で 最 も 貧

象の苦悩

32

象使いたちは、伐採した木材のメートルご とに報酬を受け取っている。手に入れるのに

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上：療養中の患者、トン・クアムが ナム・ティエン湖の水を飲む。

左：ECC のガイド、マイテ・コルヌ デットと、４ヶ月の雄の赤ちゃん象。

特集・ラオス

象の水辺

MIKE LARDER

象は多くのアジア文化で崇拝の対象となっているに も関わらず、自然環境の乱開発と破壊によってその 数は急速に減少しており、統計が示すように現在で は他の種と同様研究対象となっている。ラオスにあ る「象保護センター」と「エレファントアジア」は、 この穏やかで巨大な生き物を保護し回復させるため に熱心に取り組む 2 つの NGO 団体である。 文・写真

今朝の象使いの歌声は格別に素晴らしい。漂 う 霧 の 合 間 の ど こ か か ら、 竹 製 の ベ ル の 柔 らかな音とラオス人の若者が彼の象に向け て歌う澄んだ声が聞こえてきて私は目覚め る。 ぎ し ぎ し 音 を 立 て る 私 の 小 屋 の 下 で は 鼻の先から尻尾の先まで厚い皮に覆われた 動 物 の 群 れ が 行 進 し て い て、 大 き く 太 い 足 を 踏 み 鳴 ら し つ つ、 お し ゃ べ り を し な が ら 歩 く 彼 ら の 生 涯 の 友、 象 使 い た ち の 後 を つ い て い く。 昇 り ゆ く 太 陽 が い つ の 間 に か 霧 の覆いをかき消し、鏡のように静かな湖と、 葦が生い茂るその浅瀬で多くの象たちが潜 水 艦 の よ う に 潜 っ た り、 転 が っ た り、 水 を 吐 き 出 し て い る。 お 風 呂 の 時 間 だ。 こ の 数 少ない幸運な象たちの楽しい遊びの時間で ある。 伝説に謳われた﹁百万の象の国﹂ラン・サ ン に 新 た な 陽 が 昇 る。 か つ て は 農 耕 馬 の よ うにありふれた動物だったラオスの象の数 は、 も は や 種 を 維 持 で き な い ほ ど に 減 少 し て い る。 現 在 で は 野 生 の 象 と 役 畜 化 さ れ た ものを合わせても８５０頭ほどしか残って いない。幸いにも、象保護センター︵ＥＣＣ︶ は 非 常 に 熱 心、 か つ 十 分 な 資 格 を 持 つ フ ラ ン ス の 団 体 で、 生 存 と 絶 滅 の 間 の 致 命 的 な バランスを変えることを目的としている。

ミセス・フラワーとのデート

ミセス・フラワーはそのような象の一頭だ。 彼女と一緒にフルーツをいただく。彼女はそ の繊細な鼻先でフルーツを熱心に品定めし、

甘い香りを楽しんでいる。開けた口から少し 涎を垂らしながら、マエ・ドク︵彼女のラオ 語名︶はその巨大な頭には不釣り合いなほど 小さく静かな眼を低く下げて私を覗きこん

だ。その金色の、知性にあふれた目を見てい ると催眠術にかけられるようだ。

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7 0 2013 www.airasia.com/travel3sixty

とした特権のようだ。

をもたらすのだ。象に麻酔をかけ、ジェロー ンはラオス人アシスタントとともに仕事に かかる。傷を洗浄し、野生の蜂蜜を混ぜたも の と 西 洋 の 抗 生 剤 で 殺 菌 す る。 さ ら に 調 べ ると、右の目に膿瘍が見つかった。ジェロー ンによればどちらの傷もじきに治るが、保護 区 の 中 で 時 間 を か け た 療 養 が 必 要 だ。 こ の 治 療 は 無 料 で、 象 使 い は 象 が 仕 事 に 戻 れ る ようになるまで村に滞在することができる。 私 た ち の グ ル ー プ は 夕 食 に 戻 っ た。 ラ オ ス 式の豚肉と鶏肉と魚の料理、そしてタケノコ のサラダと米だ。象使いがふらりと入って来 ておしゃべりし、ラオスの最新トップ から 何曲かを歌ってくれる。お腹いっぱいになっ て、私たちが桟橋まで並んで歩いていくと、 薄布のランタンが深紅の残照の中でぼんや りと浮かび上がっている。 私 は ぎ し ぎ し 鳴 る 小 屋 に 戻 り、 ベ ッ ド に 侵入していた何匹かのヤモリを追い出すと、 象がいなくなった世界のことを思った。 まで。 www.airasia.com

エアアジアでラオス、ビエンチャンへ行こう！日本からは

クアラルンプール経由で行けます。詳しくは

行き方

40

象たちの遊び場所 セ ン タ ー で は 頭 の 象 の 面 倒 を 見 て い る。 象 の 飽 く な き 食 欲 に 対 し て、 保 護 区 で は で き る だ け 自 然 の 食 物 の み を 与 え て い る が、 そ の 量 は 木 の 葉 で 毎 日 ２ ５ ０ に も な る。 私のＥＣＣ訪問におけるハイライトは３頭 の 赤 ち ゃ ん 象 と の ふ れ あ い で あ っ た が、 そ の う ち の ２ 頭 は 施 設 内 で 産 ま れ た 象 だ っ た。 毎 日 午 後 に な る と、 象 使 い が 森 か ら 赤 ち ゃ ん 象 を 連 れ て き て、 ひ と り ひ と り と の ミ ー ト ＆ グ リ ー ト・ セ ッ シ ョ ン が 行 わ れ る。 分ほどのハイキングか、﹁スキニー・ボート﹂ で の 少 し 心 も と な い 船 旅 で、 湖 畔 の 小 さ な 洞 窟 に 隠 さ れ た 託 児 所 に 行 く こ と が で き る。 子 象 た ち は 陽 気 な 子 犬 の よ う に 跳 ね 回 り、 浅 い 水 た ま り で 転 げ ま わ っ て、 小 さ な 鼻 で 訪問者に泥水を浴びせたりもする。ある４ヶ 月の子象が、なぜか浮き橋からぶら下がって い た 私 の つ ま 先 に 興 味 を 持 っ た よ う だ。 そ の子が私の足に吸いついたり鼻息を吹きか け た り し て い る 間、 母 親 象 が 私 の 頭 上 か ら 覆 い か ぶ さ る よ う に し て、 場 合 に よ っ て は 命取りになりそうな太い鼻で私の首を撫で て い る。 な か な か い い 気 分 で あ る。 彼 女 の 大事な子供につま先を弄ばれるのはちょっ 20

キ ャ ン プ に 戻 る と、 緊 急 の 要 件、 し か も 実 に 憂 慮 す べ き 事 態 が 起 こ っ て い た。 私 の グ ル ー プ が 話 を し て い た と こ ろ、 エ レ フ ァ ン ト ア ジ ア の 上 席 獣 医 で あ る ジ ェ ロ ー ン・

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ラ ッ ソ ー セ に 連 絡 が 入 っ た。 尻 尾 を 怪 我 し た 象 が 運 び 込 ま れ た と い う も の だ。 象 は ご ろ ご ろ と 唸 り、 苦 痛 の あ ま り 大 き な 啼 き 声 を 上 げ て い る。 心 配 し た 象 使 い は 上 に 乗 っ て、 傷 つ い た 動 物 を 落 ち 着 か せ る 音 を さ さ や い て い る。 ト ン・ ク ア ム の 尻 尾 は 刃 物 で

反対ページ : 保護区の象は象 の家を建てるなど日常的な活 動を補佐している。

kg

切 り 落 と さ れ、 悲 痛 な ま で に 痛 々 し い 切 り 株 の よ う な 跡 を 残 し て い た。 象 の 毛 は 幸 運 の お 守 り を 作 る の に 使 わ れ る た め、 毛 が 生 えた尻尾だけでも利にさとい盗人には大金

象たちが象使いとともに午後 の水浴を楽しむ。

10

ひと財産をかけた象が働けば働くほど象使い の家族は収入を得ることができ、また象が働 けるようになるまでの 年間に及ぶ投資の元 も得ることができる。ラオスの象使いたちは、 彼らの生活と文化が危険に晒されていること は自覚している。象の数が減少すれば、残っ た象たちの仕事量が増えることになる。従っ て象の価格は高騰し、平凡なラオス人がどん なに頑張っても手が届かないほど高価になっ てしまった。サーカスは子象を手に入れるた めに巨額の金を支払い、時にはまだ幼すぎる 時期に母親から引き離してしまう。健康な雄 であれば、控えめに見て 万ドルは下らない だ ろ う。 他 に も、 象 は 国 境 を 越 え て 取 引 さ れ、道端で物乞いをしたり、観光客向けの象 キャンプでとぼとぼと歩かされたりする運命 が待っている。過剰に働かされ、過度に重い 荷を乗せられ、十分な餌はなく、繁殖もでき ないほど疲弊させられている。 象 を 守 る 奥 深 い 森 を 維 持 す る 必 要 が あ る。 森を守らなければ、ミセス・フラワーの消え ゆく仲間たちは今後も自分たちや象使いを 支える環境そのものを破壊し続けなければ

ならない。ベトナム戦争後、 年に渡ってほ ぼ鎖国状態にあったラオスは、 年代後半に なってから西洋商業主義のいかがわしい恩 恵を受けることになった。かつては今で言う トラクターのような存在であり、今でも感傷 的に﹁森の王者﹂と呼ばれる象たちは、地上 から次第に姿を消しつつある。３頭の象が産 まれるごとに 頭が死んでいる計算だ。生き 残っている中でも役畜として働いている雄 は疲れ切っていて交尾もできない。妊娠可能 な雌は ∼ 頭ほどしかいないと言われて い る が、 そ れ も ラ オ ス 西 部 に 散 ら ば っ て し まって、出会いのチャンスはほとんど無いに 等しいのである。

心優しい巨大動物

を 引 く こ と に 長 け て い る。 し か し、 引 く 力 が 強 大 で あ る に も 関 わ ら ず、 彼 ら は 意 外 な ほ ど に 背 中 が 弱 く、 重 い も の を 乗 せ る こ と はできないのだ。 ミセス・フラワーはまず 歳のコニー・ス ペイトが運営しているアメリカのＮＧＯ﹁エ レ フ ァ ン ツ・ ア ン ブ レ ラ 基 金 ﹂ に 買 い 取 ら れ た。 彼 女 は 現 在、 Ｅ Ｃ Ｃ と 常 に 資 金 難 に 悩 ま さ れ て い る Ｎ Ｇ Ｏ﹁ エ レ フ ァ ン ト ア ジ ア﹂のアンバサダーを努めている。エレファ ントアジアは移動獣医医療、緊急治療、教育、 持続可能かつ倫理的な雇用機会を提供して おり、象使いとその巨大な相棒を支える﹁エ レファントベビー・ボーナス制度﹂も運営し ている。仕事が軽くなればより多くの子供が 産まれることになるので、象使いたちは動物 の負担を減らすために実用的な小型トラク タ ー を 提 供 さ れ る。 こ れ ら の Ｎ Ｇ Ｏ の 元 に や っ て 来 る 象 の 大 半 は す で に﹁ 傷 物 ﹂ で あ る。 木 材 を 運 ん で 生 活 し て い る 象 は、 切 れ た鎖ひとつで簡単に活動不能な怪我を負っ てしまう。そうなるともう象は用無しになっ てしまうのだ。

真の聖域 昨年 月にオープンした﹁真の聖域﹂はＥＣ Ｃ に よ る 複 合 施 設 で、 ユ ネ ス コ の 保 護 を 受 け て い る ラ オ ス 王 国 の か つ て の 首 都、 ル ア ン・ プ ラ バ ン か ら 車 で 約 ４ 時 間 の 場 所 に あ

に 再 建 さ れ、 病 気 や 怪 我 を し た 象、 妊 娠 中 あ る い は 子 育 て 中 の 象 と、 彼 ら の 貴 重 な 子 供たちのための１０６ヘクタールに及ぶ保 護区となっている。 ＥＣＣが他の搾取的な象キャンプと違う のは、ここでは訪問客が実際に住み、働き、 あ る い は 象 使 い た ち や そ の 家 族、 そ し て 象 たちとともに過ごすことができる場所だと い う 点 で あ る。 象 使 い た ち は ど う や っ て 象 と接し、背中に登り、首周りにまたがるのか、 そして一般にどのように象と親密な付き合 い を す る の か を 教 え て く れ る。 こ の 保 護 区 の 方 針 は 訪 問 客 と 象、 そ し て ラ オ 族 の 家 族 た ち を す べ て 融 合 さ せ る 事 に あ る。 訪 問 者 とボランティアはラオ族のスタイルで生活 し、 食 事 を と も に す る。 単 に 観 察 す る だ け で は な く、 ボ ラ ン テ ィ ア は 森 で 象 と と も に 仕 事 を し て、 道 を 整 備 し た り、 食 料 を 採 集 し た り、 病 気 の 動 物 の 治 療 や 身 繕 い の 補 佐 をする。 センターに歩いて入ると、私と相客を﹁サ バ イ デ ィ ー﹂︵ こ ん に ち は。 元 気 で す か？︶ と い う た く さ ん の 挨 拶 で 迎 え て く れ る。 サ フラン色の袈裟を着た若い僧侶のグループ と、 バ ー シ ー の 儀 式 を 行 う 指 導 者 た ち が 詠 唱 し、 私 た ち と 大 き す ぎ て 部 屋 に 入 れ な い ４ 頭 の 象 に 綿 の 糸 を 絡 ま せ る。 こ れ は、 失 わ れ、 あ る い は さ ま よ い 出 て い く 魂 を 集 め 直 す た め の も の だ。 仏 教 徒 は、 象 に は 人 間

と 同 じ く の 魂 が あ る と 考 え て い る。 荘 厳 な 儀 式 は パ ー テ ィ と ご ち そ う で 終 る。 ラ オ ス 人 僧 侶 た ち は だ い ぶ 寛 い で い て、 数 人 が ｉＰｏ ｄで何かを聴いている。

32

16

80

40

90

2

83

る。取り壊される寸前だった伝統的なラオス の村が、エレファントアジアとＥＣＣによっ て 保 存 さ れ た。 村 は 湖 を 臨 む の ど か な 半 島

11

60

人間と象の共存関係は 千∼ 万年前まで遡 ることができる。象は兵力として使われ、ま た神として、あるいはステイタスシンボルと して敬われてきた。彼らは恐るべき戦車とな り、どんなに勇敢な男さえも恐怖で逃げ出す ほど圧倒的であった。また、象は本来重い物 2

15

30

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VETLIFE N°44 - JUILLET-AOÛT 2012

Jérôme Lassausaie : Nous avions contacté l’association ElefantAsia pendant nos études et pris connaissance de la possibilité de venir faire des missions de longue durée. Nous avons donc repris contact avec eux en 2011 au moment où on allait être diplômés et nous avons décidé de partir pour six mois.

Le vétérinaire précédent, le docteur Bertrand Bouchard qui était là depuis trois ans rentrait en France au mois de septembre 2011, du coup l’association cherchait quelqu’un pour prendre sa suite. Nous sommes arrivés en octobre, juste à temps pour prendre le relais…

Adeline Bret : Nous sommes partis six mois parce qu’on voulait vraiment avoir le temps de connaître le terrain, de se familiariser avec le pays et surtout d’entreprendre un projet pour le développer au maximum avant de laisser la main à d’autres. Dans l’idéal, ElefantAsia est toujours preneur de personnes qui restent plus longtemps mais comme c’est du bénévolat, il faut pouvoir se financer…

Comment vous êtes-vous retrouvés tous les deux au fin fond du Laos à soigner des éléphants ?

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Jérôme et Adeline :

Justement, comment vous êtesvous financés ?

A. B. : Nous avons eu quelques aides pour partir, notamment celle d’un laboratoire et celle de l’association des anciens élèves de notre école (NDLR : VetAgro Sup) et du conseil général de Savoie…

En gros, cela nous a permis de financer nos billets d’avion… Sinon, comme nous avons été diplômés en juin, on a profité des deux mois d’été pour travailler et mettre de l’argent de côté. En fait, les six mois que l’on passe au Laos ne

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Sayaboury, province du nordouest du Laos. Dans un écrin de nature exceptionnelle, le Centre de conservation des éléphants a ouvert ses portes en 2011. Entre le lac et la jungle, quelques bungalows, un hôpital, une nursery et un vaste site qui permet d’accueillir en toute bienveillance les pachydermes du pays, les blessés comme les mères pleines.

C’est dans cet endroit spécial et hors du temps que Jérôme et Adeline, jeunes vétérinaires récemment diplômés ont décidé de tenter l’aventure du volontariat international.

Trombinoscope

PAROLES DE VÉTO

J. L. : Pendant la première partie de notre mission, nous gérions toutes les activités vétérinaires au départ de Vientiane, toutes les missions de routine réalisées par le programme laotien de management des éléphants domestiques qu’ElefantAsia subordonne.

Votre mission a donc été organisée en deux étapes bien différentes ?

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J. L. : L’association recrute des vétérinaires déjà diplômés parce qu’il leur faut des gens autonomes sur place. Nous n’étions pas les seuls candidats, il y avait un autre Français qui désirait partir. Lorsque nous sommes arrivés au Laos, un Italien travaillait avec l’association sur place au Centre de conservation de l’éléphant (Elephant Conservation Center). Il s’occupait du démarrage de l’hôpital. Nous avons commencé notre mission à Vientiane, la capitale avant de rejoindre le site de Sayaboury au mois de février 2012.

Étiez-vous les seuls à postuler ?

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sont pas très dépensiers… Sur le site de l’ECC, nous sommes nourris, logés et indemnisés lorsqu’on part en mission. Pendant notre séjour à Vientiane, nous avons dû financer nous-mêmes le logement et notre nourriture…

un début de carrière éléfantastique Profession : Vétérinaire volontaire pour l’ONG ElefantAsia : conservation, soins aux éléphants domestiques et sensibilisation du public à la cause de l’éléphant.

Études : VetAgro Sup Promotion 2011

Âge : 24 ans et 25 ans

Noms et prénoms : Jérôme Lassausaie et Adeline Bret

CV

VETLIFE N°44 - JUILLET-AOÛT 2012

Le cornac n’est pas le propriétaire mais le maître d’un éléphant pour toute son existence, c’est lui qui le dresse, le monte, le fait travailler, le lave et le nourrit.

ElefantAsia communique auprès d’eux pour les inciter à amener leur éléphant à l’hôpital pour leurs soins et suivi.

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VETLIFE N°44 - JUILLET-AOÛT 2012

ElefantAsia a été fondée en 2001 à Paris et est présidée par le Dr Norin Chai, responsable vétérinaire à la ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes de Paris. « Les compétences demandées pour un séjour à ElefantAsia ne sont pas vraiment liées à l’animal que l’on soigne mais plutôt au terrain et au lieu sur lesquels on travaille », explique Jérôme Lassausaie.

A. B. : Un éléphant est un animal comme un autre… L’organisation interne pour les soins est la

Quelles compétences vétérinaires particulières un éléphant demande-t-il ?

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même… La vraie différence est qu’un éléphant pèse entre deux et quatre tonnes donc l’approche de l’animal n’est pas la même qu’avec un chat ! Il faut avoir dans l’idée que n’importe quel geste peut être dangereux. Il faut toujours garder cela en tête…

Dès que l’on veut faire un traitement, la posologie et donc les quantités sont énormes. Au Laos, il y a en plus le problème de l’approvisionnement en médicaments : en gros, on bricole entre ce que certains volontaires peuvent ramener de France quand ils viennent et ce qu’on arrive à acheter en Thaïlande, des produits en général destinés aux humains.

Par exemple, quand nous voulons mettre un éléphant sous anti-inflammatoire, c’est 15 comprimés par tonne donc pour un éléphant de 4 tonnes, c’est 60 comprimés par jour a lui faire avaler.

J. L.: Les compétences demandées pour un séjour à ElefantAsia ne sont pas vraiment liées à l’animal soigné mais plutôt au terrain et au lieu sur lesquels on travaille. Au niveau du diagnostic, nous sommes tout de même relativement limités, ne disposant pas d’instrument de test. Les possibilités de traitement

Trombinoscope

Dans le cadre de ces missions de routine, nous avons essayé de visiter tous les districts du pays qui abritent des éléphants et de faire un check-up de chaque animal : nous leur mettions une micro-puce pour les enregistrer, puis nous renseignions notre base avec les données médicales de l’éléphant, les coordonnées du propriétaire, etc. À côté de cela, nous les vermifugions et leur donnions des soins de base. Le reste du temps nous faisions aussi de l’organisation, du management, de la recherche de fonds pour ElefantAsia, etc.

A. B. : La deuxième partie de notre mission s’est faite au Centre de conservation de l’éléphant. Nous avons continué à mettre en place l’hôpital et reçu notre premier patient. Nous avons chaque jour entraîner les éléphants en « séjour » chez nous à s’acclimater à la présence humaine et à certains exercices qui font partie des ordres donnés par les cornacs.

PAROLES DE VÉTO

MAYLIS DETRIE

J. L. : L’association manque de fonds pour acheter du matériel pour l’hôpital. Tout n’est pas encore agencé, nous allons bientôt recevoir deux microscopes et plus

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Les actions d’ElefantAsia ont un vrai impact au Laos, l’association a l’air d’avoir une bonne visibilité…

Que lui manque-t-il aujourd’hui ?

sont également limitées étant donné qu’on ne peut pas sortir l’éléphant de sa forêt pour le soigner.

C’est sans doute le plus frustrant, de ne pas pouvoir aller aussi loin que ce qu’on voudrait.

A. B. : Évidemment, la grosse spécificité de l’éléphant, c’est sa trompe.

C’est l’élément le plus dangereux pour un vétérinaire puisqu’elle est mobile en permanence, et c’est en général elle qui cause les accidents : en un dixième de seconde, un éléphant peut te tuer avec…

« C’est une expérience unique qui nous a notamment permis de voir presque 200 éléphants en six mois donc la moitié de la population domestique du Laos en très peu de temps et ça, c’est une vraie chance… », raconte Jérôme Lassausaie.

« La grosse spécificité de l’éléphant, c’est sa trompe, c’est le plus dangereux pour un vétérinaire puisqu’elle est mobile en permanence, c’est en général, elle, qui cause le plus d’accident… En un dixième de seconde, un éléphant peut te tuer avec… », rappelle Adeline Bret.

tard un échographe et un appareil radio, un frigo, un congélateur.

Sachant que sur le site de l’ECC, l’énergie disponible est limitée.

On ne fonctionne qu’au solaire donc il nous faut un matériel spécifique. Il faudrait installer un groupe électrogène.

Une salle de soins coûtant 15 000 dollars va également être construite, dans laquelle se trouveront un travail de contention et un palan pour lever un éléphant.

A. B. : Si un cornac, informé que l’hôpital existe, décide d’y amener son éléphant, c’est déjà un énorme progrès parce que lorsqu’un éléphant reste trois semaines avec

Finalement, quel bilan faites-vous de votre expérience ?

J. L.: C’est une expérience unique qui nous a notamment permis de voir presque 200 éléphants en six mois donc la moitié de la po-

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nous, nous ne faisons pas du tout le même travail que lorsqu’on le voit une petite heure dans une journée pendant une mission.

Au dernier Festival de l’éléphant (NDLR : 17-19 février 2012), un fascicule a été distribué aux propriétaires pour les informer de l’existence de l’hôpital… après, au Laos, l’info circule vite dans le monde des cornacs et des propriétaires.

Plus d’informations sur: http://elefantasia.org/ et http://www.elephantconservationcenter.com/

UNE VOLONTÉ DE PRENDRE UNE DIMENSION INTERNATIONALE L’ouverture en 2011 du Centre de Conservation des Eléphants en partenariat avec les instances publiques et privées laotiennes est donc une victoire de plus pour Elefantasia.

Présente au Laos depuis de nombreuses années, l’association cherche aujourd’hui à passer le relais aux autorités locales. « Elefantasia prend son envol vers une dimension plus internationale. Notre objectif est de développer et financer des projets de ce type partout où les éléphants sont en danger. » explique notre confrère. « Pour en savoir plus, n’hésitez pas à vous rendre sur notre site internet, et pourquoi pas, à nous soutenir ! »

UN TRAVAIL EN PARTENARIAT AVEC LES POPULATIONS LOCALES Le Docteur Norin Chai, responsable vétérinaire à la ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes de Paris et président de l’association Elefantasia, explique : « L’objectif de l’association est de travailler en lien très étroit avec les populations locales.

En effet, sans prise en compte des réalités économiques et sociales de terrain, nos actions n’auraient qu’une influence réduite sur conservation des animaux.

Le travail des éléphants fait partie intégrante de la culture laotienne, chercher à changer cet état de fait serait utopique. C’est la raison pour laquelle notre action est orientée sur le conseil et la formation aux soins des éléphants « captifs », c’est à dire mis au travail par les cornacs. En limitant la surexploitation de ces animaux, et en les maintenant en bonne santé, nous préservons indirectement les éléphants restant à l’état sauvage. »

ElefantAsia, association française à but non lucratif fondée à Paris en 2001, œuvre en faveur de la sauvegarde de l’éléphant d’Asie.

Au Laos, on ne compte plus aujourd’hui que 1 500 éléphants dont 500 domestiques. Si la tendance se confirme, les pressions économiques et les changements de modes de vie feront disparaître l’éléphant sauvage d’Asie et son habitat d’ici une vingtaine d’années.

Après avoir organisé La Caravane des Elephants à travers le Laos en 2002, l’association a lancé un programme de conservation des éléphants.

Tout savoir sur ELEFANTASIA

VETLIFE N°44 - JUILLET-AOÛT 2012

Propos recueillis par Maylis Detrie

A. B. : On ne sait pas trop pour l’instant, mais nous sommes vraiment attirés par un projet à la campagne. On a envie de soigner tous les animaux ! C’est donc l’activité mixte qui nous attire. On aimerait réussir à travailler proches l’un de l’autre pour continuer à vivre ensemble… donc nous ne sommes pas vraiment exigeants sur le lieu !

Rentrer travailler en France est en revanche incontournable pour nous. En restant trop longtemps à l’étranger, on s’éloignerait de notre milieu d’origine. Vétérinaire dans les campagnes françaises a toujours été mon ambition de départ.

Si j’attends trop et que je ne pratique pas sur d’autres animaux, c’est bête, mais j’ai peur d’oublier !

Votre projet futur ?

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pulation domestique du Laos en très peu de temps. C’est une vraie chance ! Et puis, c’est très gratifiant d’avoir donné beaucoup de notre temps et de notre énergie et de voir que ça porte ses fruits.

A. B. : C’est une expérience qui te pousse à te débrouiller par toimême et à avoir un véritable esprit d’initiative… Tu te retrouves seul vétérinaire au Laos avec des éléphants devant toi et il faut que tu fasses avancer le projet. Tu peux oublier tout ce que tu as appris à l’école, car ici la théorie ne marche plus : le système D est roi !

Par exemple, pour soigner Thongkham, un éléphant qui a la queue coupée en deux par la chute d’un rondin de bois, nous avions décidé de faire des pansements à l’argile. Nous sommes donc allés un matin à la rivière pour en récupérer, puis nous l’avons fait cuire et sécher pour faire notre soin. Le passage par la récolte à la rivière était obligatoire, car nous n’avons jamais réussi à en acheter !

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