Communication Guidelines for Surveillance of Wild Elephants in Kaeng Hang Maeo District Chanthaburi Province

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to study communication about wildlife surveillance in Kaeng Hang Maeo District, Chanthaburi Province.  The study examined problems and barriers hindering communication about threats from wild elephants and proposes ways to improve communication.  This was qualitative research. Wildlife surveillance information in Kaeng Hang Maeo District, Chanthaburi Province is communicated via alarm dogs, warning signposts, radio, CCTV, and an alarm application. The following problems and obstacles were identified in communication of surveillance information about wild elephants: 1) Some foreign dog breeds bark to signal the approach of wild elephants, but Thai dog breeds fear elephants and do not produce warning barks. 2) When warning signposts are damaged, the lettering looks fuzzy.  Darkness at night and rain further reduce visibility.  Because wild elephants live in or enter the community through various routes, the path to enter the community changes and the warning signposts are no longer in the right spots. 3) Radio signals can only be transmitted over a very short distance. If the recipient goes to the park or runs errands in a remote area, that person may miss the alarm. Radios are insufficient for meeting local demand and their use may unknowingly be illegal. 4) Surveillance cameras (CCTV) cannot be monitored 24 hours a day, so many elephants passing by the cameras are not noticed. CCTV also has high maintenance costs and there is no agency available for diligently inspecting and maintaining the cameras. 5) An internet application for reporting elephant threats is available, but the internet cannot be accessed in many places.  The application is not used by children and elderly, so they are often unaware of elephant threats reported via the application.  The application can be inconvenient to use when tapping rubber, entering the forest, or engaging in other activities as well.  The following communication guidelines are recommended going forward: 1) warning dogs should be of carefully raised foreign breeds, such as Siberian Pitbulls. There should be education about the benefits of raising dogs for surveillance. 2) Signposts should be regularly moved as elephant paths change. The signposts should include reflective materials that are visible at night and when it rains. 3) Government agencies should support providing a budget for the purchase of radio communication equipment to meet needs in the area and provide knowledge of what types of radio communication is legal for all sectors.  4) CCTV cameras should alert local residents directly without going through a central control tower. 5) As for the application, the government should find a way to relax laws to enable the set-up of internet service in the areas where people live in the forest reserve. The use of the application should be recommended to the elderly as well.