Measuring poverty and socio-economic determinants of Sumatran elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus) populations and conflicts in Aceh, Indonesia

Abstract As one of countries which has the large tropical forests in the world, Indonesia has experienced serious animal-human conflicts and defaunation. One example is the population declines and conflicts between human and elephant. This study tries to extend and explore how the socio-economic and poverty dimensions impact Sumatran elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus) population in Aceh, one of provinces in Indonesia that still has large elephant populations. The method used in here is mapping of data including deforestation, forest covers, B40 percentage, education indicator, elephant populations and conflicts. The results show the B40 percentage and population density have similar pattern with the deforestation, elephant conflicts and populations. High B40 percentages in western parts of Aceh are related to the absence of elephant populations even though there are vegetation covers in here. Tertiary educations do not have effect in reducing the human and elephant conflicts. This informs that the education curriculum should be revisited by emphasizing more on endemic animal conservation topics.