Elephant-Training Centres/Elephant Conservation Centres
Before the capture of wild elephants was banned in 1999 by the Indonesian government, the Indonesian Directorate General of Nature Protection and Conservation (PHPA) called for the action plan of catching wild elephants that were involved in human-elephant conflicts (HEC) in attempts to mitigate the HECs that were happening. These elephants were then transported to Elephant Training Centres (ETC), which were later renamed Elephant Conservation Centres (ECC), to tame them. Since 1986, six ETCs have been set up and they are spread throughout Sumatra in the provinces of Aceh, Riau, Bengkulu, Lampung, North Sumatra, and South Sumatra. This was an alternative to culling the elephants.
In the ECCs, elephants were trained for riding and doing other simple tasks such as logging. However, in 2000 the program of domesticating elephants in ECCs was officially discontinued even though some wild elephants were still caught as a solution to HEC in some provinces of Sumatra until early 2009. This was due to an array of problems faced in the operations of ECCs.
One of the key issues was the under-utilisation of elephants and large cost of financing the operations of ECCs.
Although some of the elephants in the ECCs were transferred to ecotourism or recreation organisations such as Zoos, Safari Parks and Recreation Parks, the centres grew rapidly in size and the numbers and operating costs proved to be too much for the government to handle. The government hoped for the high demand and utilisation of trained elephants in the ECCs for forestry, tourism etc. However, this didn’t get realized and the utilisation of  domesticated elephants was very low. This put a strain on the government budget because a higher number of elephants remaining at the ECC would translate into the higher amounts that need to be spent on care for the elephants. In 1995, the Indonesian government’s budget for caring for elephants in ECCs was 51 percent of the national budget for elephant conservation. Thus, it was clear that the domestication of the elephants was not the ideal solution to HECs in Sumatra.
Other issues included: inadequate facilities and space; insufficient food and nutrition for elephants; lack of veterinary services, equipment and supplies; poor health conditions of elephants.
Thus, the welfare of the Sumatran elephants in the long run would require more sustainable and pragmatic solutions involving a collaborative effort which aims to mitigate the HEC. These will be further discussed in conservation efforts.