Operational Model - Dak Lak's Future Elephant Sanctuary.

the needs of domesticated elephants (such as having enough water for all seasons of the year, or performing daily or seasonal activities during the year, or responding to climate change or other factors…)

- Management zones: In the conservation area, it is necessary to divide into different functional zones with appropriate management methods: zones for scientific research, zones used for education, entertainment, tourism...

- Amenities and infrastructure: these are factors that affect domesticated elephants, so careful consideration must be given to design and location so as not to affect the landscape and conservation work.

- Research and monitoring program: Conservation area management can only be carried out effectively when there is sufficient information and understanding about the conservation area. Therefore, the research and monitoring program must be an important part of the management work. In addition, to achieve better management results, it is also necessary to combine the research work of the conservation area with the management work of the whole region.

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- Management program for elephants and their habitat: need to pay attention to have necessary intervention plan, sometimes need to protect elephants with special measures (artificial insemination or storing elephant sperm)...

- Education program: conservation areas are places with optimal conditions to organize education for people about nature and the relationship between nature and humans, to sustainable development, especially of elephants.

- Usage management program.

- Bioregional management program.

16.2.4. Operational model - Dak Lak's future elephant sanctuary.

Practical actions to protect and develop the province's domesticated elephant herd: implement a plan to monitor the domesticated elephant herd to expand the conservation area accordingly; monitor the elephant's habitat and plant more food for elephants during the dry season; attach microchips to domesticated elephants for easy management; create the most favorable environment for elephants during the breeding season; only exploit and use elephants at the prescribed level; conduct 24/7 patrols in the conservation area; build infrastructure for investigation work including a positioning system, walkie-talkie communication system, weapons (if necessary), resting places and guard huts; expand the patrol area during the dry season when elephants are released to graze in the fields; empower the conservation area management board staff to enforce the management regulations of the domesticated elephant conservation area...

Education and awareness: publish newsletters to raise community awareness of elephant conservation; plan and implement education and awareness strategies

awareness of the conservation area among the community; develop regulations on elephant conservation and their habitat to promote to tourists and residents; establish an electronic information page on the Dak Lak domesticated elephant conservation area; regularly organize camps for local youth and launch campaigns to mobilize, promote and raise awareness of domesticated elephant conservation.

Community participation in management: establishing an elephant breeders association to exchange and learn experiences; managing and building conservation areas must be based on the opinions, concerns and aspirations of local people; propagating and mobilizing people to confidently participate and contribute to the elephant conservation area; comprehensively assessing the involvement of local people in tourism and ecotourism development activities; developing and implementing an environmental development and conservation fund to contribute to building infrastructure for villages and hamlets...

Support livelihoods for local people: Plan, implement, and evaluate pilot jobs that generate sustainable income and do not impact the environment for local people (such as working as elephant riders, elephant caretakers, making handicrafts, serving ecotourism and tourism, etc.); implement credit programs in cooperation with social policy banks, helping local people have capital to do business and generate income; create relationships between people and production companies (handicrafts, etc.), tourism companies to create jobs for local people, etc.

Management structure: establish a management board to coordinate and manage the reserve; develop a draft management plan for the reserve and submit it to the higher authorities for approval; promote cooperation with agencies at all levels in Dak Lak province to jointly manage the reserve; implement long-term regulations for the reserve; establish a conservation system with financial support and "self-collected" finance along with a strict legal system; deploy and implement plans to prevent, manage, improve and mitigate human impacts on the lives and habitats of domesticated elephants.

Capacity building: conduct a training needs analysis for the staff of the reserve management board, develop and implement a staff training strategy for the management board, select training programs for elephant conservation training courses; organize tours and consultations for representatives of the people and officials to learn about conservation management and elephant care in the country and abroad, typically Thailand; improve and train the capacity of officers participating in patrolling and patrol enforcement in the reserve; share management experiences with other reserves in Vietnam.

Sustainable finance for the reserve: Get input from different stakeholders (tourism companies, private organizations, even conservation areas...) to build a sustainable financial mechanism for the reserve; implement service fees for elephant riders; implement a fee collection system for visiting the reserve; deduct 15% of the reserve entrance fee to contribute to supporting the development of activities and infrastructure serving the lives of the people; develop a funding strategy and seek potential funding sources; develop partnerships in the public or private sectors to mobilize funding sources to support the conservation and management of the reserve; fine 50% of the income from elephants if the elephant owner does not comply with the regulations of the reserve (using elephants beyond the prescribed limit...)

Remaining issues: Time, adequate support and successful integration of local and provincial authorities are needed. Building trust with local people and developing a strong core workforce to manage the reserve will be crucial to its effectiveness. In addition, the addition of a national strategy and legal support for the reserve, together with management and sustainable development plans, is essential for elephant conservation.

Future challenges: maintaining the quality of elephant habitat; expanding the management board's patrol area in the reserve, especially in the dry season; developing the number of elephants, implementing artificial insemination and sperm preservation; maintaining ecotourism activities in the reserve; policy mechanisms for the reserve...

16.2.5. Develop solutions for organizing and managing conservation areas

a. Conservation of domestic elephants in Dak Lak with its own unique features:

- People who own elephants in the area consider elephants as their own property and are not willing to put them in conservation areas. Therefore, the State needs to have appropriate policies to collect elephants from their owners.

- There is a tendency to sell elephants outside the province in the form of renting elephants for tourism when the elephant-raising community is unable to continue raising them.

- Domestic elephants are not cared for properly and are being exploited unreasonably for tourism business, so they are facing the risk of extinction.

- Dak Lak is where wild elephants often appear, herds of wild elephants often move back and forth between Dak Lak and the Cambodian border.

After the results of analysis and collection from the investigation of the current status of the Dak Lak domestic elephant herd and the decline of the elephant herd. A proposed direction of the research team aims to

Preserving the Dak Lak domesticated elephant herd is to build a conservation area for the Dak Lak domesticated elephant herd along with some organizational and management solutions.

Solutions for Dak Lak elephant sanctuary: proposed solutions to establish and operate an elephant sanctuary through 2 phases:

Phase 1: Establishing a conservation area requires State funding. Aims: to concentrate the elephant herd that is being raised scattered in households that are not being cared for and are being exploited improperly, to concentrate the elephants in the conservation area so that the elephants can adapt to the living conditions and activities in the conservation area.

Phase 2: The reserve has begun to be able to self-finance (but still needs funding from organizations) with the aim of increasing the number of domesticated elephants by creating suitable conditions for elephants to mate and reproduce, stabilizing the reproduction rate of Dak Lak domesticated elephants each year, and at the same time being able to implement the Dak Lak domesticated elephant conservation model following the Thai model (combining tourism with elephant conservation activities: elephants are trained to perform activities such as circus, soccer, massage, taking photos with visitors... and of course visitors have to pay extra for these activities of the elephants). Financial solutions for the reserve: it is necessary to develop a reasonable capital management policy. In addition, at those reserves, the management board must also introduce "self-finance" policies to be able to operate longer term and need to combine investment funds from foreign organizations and domestic benefactors.

b. Difficulties in establishing and managing conservation areas:

The gradual encroachment of the conservation area and the narrowing of the conservation area directly affect the conservation effectiveness. In addition, it is very difficult to encourage people to bring elephants to the conservation center. Therefore, there are two proposed directions:

- Build a completely new conservation area including areas with conditions and areas suitable for the needs of the elephant population. The conservation area has full conditions for food, water, and nutrients to meet the elephants' essential needs.

- Using the area of Yokdon National Park and Nam Ka Biosphere Reserve with available infrastructure conditions to combine elephant conservation and biodiversity of other species.

In summary, there is a lot of work to be done in elephant management and conservation. To achieve a successful solution and an effective sanctuary for elephants, raising individual awareness and community understanding of the conservation and protection of their own elephants is a key factor.

16.3. DEVELOPING MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS AND TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS TO CONSERVE DOMESTIC ELEPHANTS

16.3.1. Orientation

First of all, there should be strict and clear policies of the State regulating the rights and obligations of elephant breeders; laws to protect and care for elephant reproductive health; regulations on the exploitation and use of elephants in life and in reasonable tourism services. That is the basis for all activities in the program of management and conservation of domesticated elephants.

Mobilize or buy elephants back from the people to concentrate elephants in one place.

16.3.2. Solutions

16.3.2.1. Establishment of an elephant breeders association

In order to facilitate the mobilization, dissemination and exchange of experiences on elephant-related issues for individuals and families raising elephants, contributing to helping elephant-raising people have a stable income, calling on elephant owners to gather their domestic elephant herds to create more opportunities for them to "contact" each other to improve their reproductive capacity, as a basis for calling for investment and attracting capital from domestic and international conservation organizations. The implementation location will be Yok Don National Park - Buon Don District and Nam Ka Biosphere Reserve - Lak District.

The association was established to analyze for people to understand the problem of raising elephants in a concentrated environment, to exchange experiences on caring for and raising elephants... and especially, income will be increased when consulting together to solve problems surrounding elephants.

The association will consist of a president, vice president and members. The organizing committee will receive a monthly subsidy. The authorities at all levels need to pay attention and provide financial support to maintain the association’s activities. The association itself must know how to “collect” funds to find sources of funding to maintain its activities (establish a fund; open training classes for elephant riders and elephant hunters to participate in festivals, reenact hunting scenes, or operate a tourism company as a form of additional income; establish a committee in charge of organizing festivals, etc.)

The association will organize activities, gather periodically every month to create connections between elephant owners and between elephant owners and the government, and domestic and international elephant conservation organizations; gather elephants periodically for health checks; gather elephants during estrus so that elephants have more opportunities to interact with each other and avoid attacks on people by male elephants; disseminate to elephant owners the importance and the threat of extinction of elephants...

16.3.2.2. Establishment of a center for conservation and development of domesticated elephants

The aim is to create a place to protect, care for the health, ensure adequate food, and create the best living conditions for domesticated elephants. At the same time, establish a model of a "production" elephant herd including male and female elephants of reproductive age to produce and provide baby elephants for domestication. Domestication is also carried out right in the center.

There is a management board established (center director, department in charge of care and nurturing techniques and management programs, department in charge of organizing activities and managing finances to maintain operations... and there are staff with experience in conservation, care and nurturing of elephants)

The center should be headquartered in Yok Don National Park and should have an additional facility in Nam Ka Nature Reserve to facilitate elephant movement and gathering.

The center will collect elephants that meet standards, ensure good reproductive capacity and elephants from households that are no longer able to care for them, and at the same time encourage elephant owners to bring elephants to the center with appropriate rights and obligations (such as: not being forced to pay high prices when renting elephants, avoiding unhealthy competition in tourism, receiving a more stable income, not having to pay for elephant care, ensuring the health of elephants, maintaining national identity and increasing the number of elephants, which means having more income...) At the same time, people must also comply with the time of gathering and living of elephants, taking care of elephants according to instructions and especially not overusing elephants' labor, must let elephants have time to rest and forage... if violated, they will be punished according to the center's regulations. The center is also a place to apply indigenous knowledge combined with advanced techniques to breed and raise elephants (in vitro fertilization techniques, sperm collection and preservation techniques, research on food sources - minerals, electronic chips to monitor elephant herds, etc.), at the same time, research and learn more about elephant diseases and treatment methods, conduct close inspection and supervision of hunting organization, hunting time as well as the number of elephants hunted, check the environment where the elephants are tamed and taming techniques (avoid taming that causes elephant deaths due to rough and unsanitary training grounds). To ensure these purposes, before establishing, it is necessary to survey the location, environmental conditions, suitable food sources for elephants along with a minimum ecological space large enough for the elephants to live, forage and develop. A fence system is built to protect and isolate the elephants from human disturbance while controlling the movement of the elephants and can unchain the elephants' legs to make it easier for the elephants to mate. In the area, plant some plants that are favorite food sources for elephants such as: bamboo, reed, wild banana, corn, etc. Apply scientific and technological advances to

The reproductive process of elephants such as in vitro fertilization techniques, techniques for collecting and preserving elephant sperm. Establishing artificial lakes to provide water for elephants in the dry season. Creating additional mineral salt supply points in the grazing environment.

It is necessary to establish a separate area for the care and grazing of pregnant female elephants, especially to prevent possible unforeseen events.

For relatively well-off elephant owners, the “insurance economy” model is applied in the conservation center model (“self-insurance” model: people will sign an “insurance” contract with the center when bringing elephants in at the level of 50,000,000 VND for 10 years, people will pay 340,000 VND per month. After 10 years, if the elephant is still alive, people will receive the full 50,000,000 VND. If the elephant dies before 10 years from the date of signing the contract, the elephant owner will only receive the total amount of money accumulated up to the time of the elephant’s death. The center will be responsible for planning to use the money contributed by the people to invest, create profits, and compensate for the extra part of the “insurance” contracts. The center can also use that accumulated money to build craft villages to create jobs for the local people, and on the other hand, also create profits...).

16.3.2.3. Elephant management, exploitation and use program

For domesticated elephants serving tourism, there should be specific regulations on prices, working regimes, nutrition regimes, rest time and minimum foraging time per day for elephants serving tourism to ensure the benefits of elephant keepers and ensure the health of elephants.

There are regulations on the age, size and time of sawing ivory, popularizing the technique of sawing ivory to avoid sawing too deep into the pulp, which will affect the health of the elephant, sometimes causing infection, which cannot be cured, the elephant will stop eating and die. Manage the exploitation of elephant tail hair to make rings reasonably, avoid affecting the health and shape of the elephant (losing the aesthetic), at the same time there are regulations on collecting fees for products originating from elephants to limit and also create costs for the "center for conservation and conservation and development of domestic elephants". Create opportunities for the management board of the Center to learn experiences or training courses from other countries on elephant care and treatment. From there, establish veterinary facilities specializing in the care and treatment of elephants.

Do not overuse elephants, let them rest when they are tired from work; especially limit the use of pregnant elephants in heavy work.

16.3.2.4. Elephant Reproduction and Health Research Program

Elephant Reproduction Research Program: Conduct artificial insemination of elephants if after one year there is still no pregnancy in a favorable environment

such as at the “Center for Conservation and Development of Domestic Elephants” (needs financial support from the government and international organizations) along with the preservation of sperm for use when necessary. Instructions on how to care for and raise elephants during estrus and pregnancy, choosing healthy elephant breeds (such as: Mkăo, Aro, KDRăo) for breeding.

Elephant health research program: including a program to protect domesticated elephants - prevent and treat elephant diseases (organizing additional veterinary facilities specializing in caring for and providing free medicine to treat elephants, having a separate medicine cabinet for elephants, having a veterinarian on duty to examine and periodically check the health of elephants, having a special care regime when elephants are sick...), a research program to supplement food for elephants in the dry season (planting additional food plants for elephants on unused or rarely used areas, planting in buffer zones...)

Electronic chip program for domesticated elephants : according to the government's decree with the purpose of controlling the movement of elephants when grazing for easy searching, observing data to know which areas elephants often visit, thereby identifying the elephant's favorite food sources, creating a database for analysis, understanding more about elephant life, and controlling elephant poaching.

Program for hunting and taming wild elephants : includes a specialized elephant hunting committee consisting of experienced people, under the close supervision of the "elephant conservation and development center". Each member of the committee must have a membership card certified and issued by the government. The number of times and duration of elephant hunting will be decided by the specialized committee and approved by the center's management board. If during the taming process, the elephant dies, a fine equal to the current value of the elephant will be imposed (converted into money).

In addition, authorities at all levels must have laws regulating hunting time and the number of elephants hunted, with the monitoring agency being the central board of directors and local authorities. Violations will be punished according to the law.

Organize propaganda classes to raise awareness : for people, tourism businesses, elephant owners... about the value of elephants to domestic and international biology, techniques for raising and caring for domestic elephants...

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