In their search for more farmland, the villagers are also fighting for the right to use a 10,000-hectare area of the Padang Sugihan Sebokor Wildlife Reserve, which serves as part of a wild elephant corridor. The villagers say no elephants are ever present in that space. CIFOR researchers hope that by planting native plants in buffer zone peatlands, the villagers will have a source of income without damaging the surrounding environment or taking away land set aside for the elephants.

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