The indigenous Semai community has raised concerns over the frequent presence of elephants near their villages
From 2–4 January 2025, the Principal Team of Voices of the Rainforest, Dr Syafiq Mat Noor and Dr Siti Nur Diyana Mahmud, accompanied by Research Assistants Dr Nur Izzati Abdullah and Nur Iman Kamarudin Azhar, embarked on a three-day field visit to indigenous Semai communities.
During this visit, they conducted phenomenological interviews with teachers in two indigenous schools and engaged in ethnographic research in the villages of the indigenous Semai communities in the district of Lipis, Pahang.
On the first day, the team visited the indigenous resettlement area of Pos Betau. Siti Nur Diyana and Nur Izzati conducted phenomenological interviews with teachers at Sekolah Kebangsaan Betau. Meanwhile, Syafiq and Nur Iman engaged in ethnographic interviews with the indigenous Semai community leaders, Tok Batin Mahmud and Tok Batin Othman.
In the afternoon, the team proceeded to Sekolah Kebangsaan Kuala Koyan, where they conducted additional phenomenological interviews with five teachers to better understand challenges in indigenous education, traditional ecological knowledge, and climate change.
On the second day, the team embarked on a 50-minute boat journey to Kampung Lanai from the jetty, where they were warmly welcomed by Mr Jefri Hassan and his family. Jefri voluntarily guided the team on a forest walk, accompanied by two other indigenous rangers, and showed them areas where the community cultivates paddy.
One of the major concerns raised by the indigenous Semai community in Kampung Lanai was the recent consistent presence of elephants near the villages, which has caused significant damage to their paddy crops. The indigenous Semai community of Kampung Lanai believes that the increasing frequency of elephant sightings is a consequence of deforestation by other parties. As elephants lose their natural habitat, they are forced to seek food from local farms, including paddy fields, where the indigenous Semai community practices sustainable cultivation—previously unaffected by elephants.
The team observed firsthand the damage caused by elephants to the nearly ready rice crops, reinforcing the indigenous Semai community’s concerns over human-elephant conflict in the area.
The team also visited the nearby village, Kampung Kuala Suar, a five-minute boat ride from Kampung Pos Lanai. Here, they observed a unique natural phenomenon—the meeting of two rivers, Sungai Telom and Sungai Suar, which do not mix. Sungai Telom appeared murky due to agricultural sediments, while Sungai Suar remained clear.
The field visit reviewed some of the key challenges faced by Fieldwork Research Assistant, Nur Iman while working with the indigenous Semai communities. These challenges included access to key informants and unstructured interviews to document traditional ecological knowledge related to climate change.
As a result, the team concluded that there is a need for a strategic approach to revisit the ethnographic fieldwork, including the introduction of a series of focused group discussions to triangulate the data collected.