Lubuk Kembang Bunga, Indonesia – Tesso Nilo National Park has long drawn attention for clashes between people and wildlife, driven by expanding oil palm farms that shrink elephant habitat. In the village buffer zone, a group of women farmers has found a practical way to ease those tensions while earning more from their land. Their approach blends simple planting choices with clear results for both crops and the surrounding forest.
The Ongoing Pressure on Tesso Nilo
Illegal clearing for oil palm has reduced forest cover inside and around the park, pushing elephants into farmland in search of food. This pattern creates repeated losses for smallholders who must replace damaged trees. The conflict also threatens the long-term survival of the park’s elephant population and the wider ecosystem it supports.
Women in Lubuk Kembang Bunga live at the edge of these pressures. Some plots sit inside park boundaries where oil palm is restricted, while others lie just outside and allow mixed farming. The daily reality of protecting both income and wildlife has pushed residents toward new methods that address both needs at once.
Planting Choices That Work
The farmers plant citrus trees along the outer edges of their oil palm plots. Elephants avoid the strong scent, so the citrus acts as a living fence that keeps the animals from raiding the palms. In other areas, the women grow fruits the elephants prefer, such as jackfruit, cempedak, and petai, to draw them toward designated spots away from main crops.
These dual strategies reduce damage while adding new sources of income from the fruit harvest. The plantings also help maintain tree cover in the buffer zone, supporting the forest corridor that elephants use to move between remaining habitat patches. Local groups, including the women’s collective Perbani, have helped spread the practice across more households.
One Farmer’s Clear Results
Ernita, a 33-year-old member of Perbani, planted citrus around her oil palm after years of repeated losses. Before the change, elephants regularly stripped the palm fruit, forcing her to replant four or five times in a single season. Since the citrus went in, the raids have stopped.
“Before we had the citrus trees, elephants always ate our oil palm fruits,” Ernita said. “We had to replant the trees four or five times … Praise be to God, since we planted the citrus trees, the elephants haven’t eaten our oil palm fruits.” Her experience matches reports from neighboring plots where the same method has held steady.
Key outcomes so far
- Reduced crop damage on participating farms
- Extra fruit sales for household income
- Continued tree cover in the buffer zone
- Lower need for repeated replanting
Looking Ahead for Park and People
The women’s efforts show how small-scale changes can ease long-standing conflicts without large infrastructure projects. Continued planting and monitoring will determine how widely the approach spreads and how much it helps stabilize elephant movement patterns. For now, the results in Lubuk Kembang Bunga offer a working example of coexistence that benefits both the forest and the families who live beside it.
