GPS and satellite technology is helping experts develop a long term strategy to protect the endangered Malaysian elephant.

A hundred years ago wild elephants on the Malay Peninsular could be counted in their thousands - now there are less than 1500, and over the last century around 50 per cent of forest cover in Peninsular Malaysia has been lost.

Malaysian elephants. [File photo]

Satellite tracking Using the very latest GPS and satellite communication technology experts from The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus (UNMC) and the Malaysian Department of Wildlife and National Parks are tracking some of the remaining elephants to assess the effectiveness of the Malaysian Government's elephant conservation and management practices.

The Malaysian Ministry of Natural Resources through its Department of Wildlife and National Parks has signed memorandums of understanding on research collaboration with the UNMC and 10 public Malaysian universities. The Department and UNMC are also signing a Memorandum of Agreement specifically for MEME, the Management & Ecology of Malaysian Elephants research project.

MEME is a five year research project led by Dr Ahimsa Campos-Arceiz, an ecologist and conservation expert, in the School of Geography. 

He said: "If we lose the elephants we lose a unique element of tropical ecosystems. When elephants walk they trample the soil and impact the forest in a way that no other animal does. When elephants eat, they modify the structure of vegetation, releasing plant parts that can be consumed by other herbivores. When elephants eat fruits, they disperse seeds. Ultimately, elephants create habitat heterogeneity and promote forest regeneration. All this will be lost and we will have a much more simplified ecosystem that is less resilient and has lost a lot of its diversity."

Mitigating human-elephant conflict Hunted for their tusks and stripped of their natural habitat to make way for crops, roads and new settlements the Asian elephant is listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List.

Tracking technology to be fitted to 50 elephants MEME and the Department of Wildlife and National Parks aim to develop a conservation strategy based on scientifically sound knowledge of elephant behaviour, ecology and a clear understanding of the underlying causes of human-elephant conflict.