Burma Elephant Report
EleAid trustee Charles Begley has long had an interest in the status and circumstances of elephants in Burma.
Burma has a long history of elephants. For over 1000 years, the people of Burma have used domesticated elephants for a variety of purposes including transportation, construction, agriculture and war. Elephants, particularly the rare white elephants, were greatly revered and were an important part of national life. During the colonial period, the British continued to use elephants on an industrial scale to extract teak and other tropical hardwoods from the jungle. This practice continues today and Burma maintains the largest number of domesticated elephants in Asia.
Burma also has the second largest number of wild elephants and the largest remaining areas of natural elephant habitat. For these reasons, the country will probably play a key role if wild elephants are going to survive in Asia in the future.
In March 2006, Charles was able to visit Burma and supplement his research with a fieldtrip. His report details his findings and provides an insight into the situation of Burma’s elephants today.
The report is in PDF format and can be downloaded below:
A Report on the Elephant Situation in Burma.
Msimamizi wa EleAid Charles Begley kwa muda mrefu amekuwa na nia ya hali na hali ya tembo nchini Burma. Burma ina historia ndefu ya tembo. Kwa zaidi ya miaka elfu moja, watu wa Burma wametumia tembo kwa makusudi mbalimbali, ikiwa ni pamoja na usafiri, ujenzi, kilimo na vita. Tembo, hasa tembo weupe wasio wa kawaida, waliheshimiwa sana na walikuwa sehemu muhimu ya maisha ya kitaifa. Wakati wa ukoloni, Waingereza waliendelea kutumia tembo kwa kiwango cha viwanda ili kuchimba mbao za teak na mbao nyingine ngumu za kitropiki kutoka msituni. Zoea hilo linaendelea leo na Burma ina idadi kubwa zaidi ya tembo waliofugwa huko Asia. Burma pia ina idadi ya pili kwa ukubwa ya tembo wa porini na maeneo makubwa zaidi yaliyobaki ya makazi ya asili ya tembo. Kwa sababu hizi, nchi hiyo labda itacheza jukumu muhimu ikiwa tembo wa porini wataendelea kuishi Asia katika siku zijazo. Mnamo Machi 2006, Charles aliweza kutembelea Burma na kuongeza utafiti wake na safari ya shambani. Ripoti yake inaeleza kwa undani matokeo yake na hutoa ufahamu wa hali ya tembo wa Burma leo. Ripoti hiyo iko katika muundo wa PDF na inaweza kupakuliwa hapa chini: Ripoti juu ya Hali ya Tembo nchini Burma.