REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, LHOKSEUMAWE -- The population of Sumatran elephants (Elephas Maximus Sumatranus) in Aceh Province has decreased due to the rampant conversion of forest areas into plantations and illegal logging activities, an NGO activist stated.

The population of elephants in Aceh had decreased by 50 percent over the past 25 years, Chik Rini, communication staff of the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) of Aceh office, noted here, Monday.

"Look around now, the forest area has shrunk due to conversion to make way for palm oil plantations, which has led to the disappearance of the elephant population," she pointed out.

Elephant paths no longer exist as they are being used for other functions, thereby forcing the animals to move to other areas for their survival, she pointed out.

She urged the authorities to deal with the problem seriously in order to save the Sumatran elephants and to prevent conflicts between elephants and the local villagers.

The elephant population in Aceh has dropped since the 1990s. Aceh has some 500 elephants now, compared to over one thousand in the past, she noted.

"The government should tighten the issuance of plantation licenses as it disturbs the habitat of elephants," she emphasized.

The population of Sumatran elephants on Sumatra Island has been dwindling rapidly due to poaching and deforestation, and the giant animal's habitat has shrunk by around 70 percent over the past quarter of a century.

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