Kupastuntas.co, West Lampung - Dozens of residents of Suoh District and Bandar Negeri Suoh District who are members of the Suoh valley animal friend task force accompanied by Suoh Sub-District Head Davet Jakson and Barisan Selatan Consortium representative Nanik held an audience with the West Lampung District Government regarding the ongoing handling of elephant conflicts.

The arrival of a number of volunteers was welcomed by the Regional Secretary, Drs. Adi Utama, Head of the Environmental Service, Henry Faisal and Head of the Natural Resources Section, Sry Wiyatmi in the Secretariat Secretariat meeting room. Friday, 24 February 2023.

Davet Jakson explained, since the emergence of wild elephant conflicts in Suoh and Suoh Airport for about three years, a volunteer animal friend task force in the Suoh Valley has been formed which is a combination of six village heads from two sub-districts, namely Suoh and Bandar Negeri Suoh.

"Since 2019, a volunteer has been formed who is named the Suoh valley animal friend task force to monitor the movements of elephant herds that often enter settlements," said Davet.

However, he said, so far the problem is the budget. Because so far the volunteers for the Suoh valley animal task force have received support from Barisan Selatan which has been running since March 2022, but will end in next June.

"Considering that dealing with this wild elephant conflict requires a budget. So, we hope that the West Lampung Regency Government in the future can provide support, one of which is in the form of fast, medium and long term business development," said Davet.

Because if the task force does not have guidance from the West Lampung Regency government regarding budget sustainability, it is feared that their enthusiasm will decrease. So that support from the government is needed for the task force in charge in the form of assistance.

Responding to this, Adi Utama appreciated Barisan Selatan. So far, he has provided support to volunteers for the Suoh valley animal task force and continues to support budget sustainability in handling elephant conflicts.

According to him, the problem in handling elephants has been around for a long time. Even though so far, the West Lampung Regency Government has made efforts to handle it.

"In fact, we have already coordinated with the Ministry of Environment including with the chairman of Commission Four of the Republic of Indonesia's House of Representatives in the field of agriculture, Sudin. However, at that time, it was constrained because there was still an outbreak of Covid-19," said Adi.

He said, regarding the proposals that had been given by volunteers from the Suoh valley animal task force, it would become a discourse and be immediately studied by the West Lampung Regency Government for the future.

"On behalf of the West Lampung Regency Government, I would like to thank you for your hard work so far in dealing with elephant conflicts. In the future, we will soon find solutions to the problems that have occurred so far," he concluded. (*)

Video KUPAS TV : Residents Complain about Littering Garbage on the Balik Bukit Protocol Road, West Lampung Indonesia