26 Introduction Despite being the recipient of intensive conservation intervention over the past decade, the Sumatran elephant population continues to decline and is now restricted to fragmented forest habitat (Soehartono et al. 2007; Uryu et al. 2008, 2010). Island-wide, the current Sumatran elephant population is estimated at 2400-2800 wild elephants (excluding elephants in camps) that occur in 25 fragmented populations. The survival of these populations is considered vulnerable because of the threats posed by habitat loss due to large-scale habitat conversion for monoculture plantation (especially oil palm), human settlement, illegal logging and forest fires (Soehartono et al. 2007; Uryu et al. 2008, 2010). In turn, this habitat degradation brings elephants and people into closer proximity and often leads to increased conflict (Sitompul et al. 2010). The current direction of Sumatran elephant conservation strategies recommends conducting peer-reviewed surveys to estimate population size and monitoring to identify population trends, improve interagency cooperation and data sharing, protecting key elephant populations (Blake & Hedges 2004), reducing human-elephant conflict (e.g. through community based guarding; Hedges & Gunaryadi 2010) and developing elephant response units (see Riddle 2007). Despite the importance of these strategies, none have had an immediate impact in saving elephant habitat at a landscape scale. Yet, in the meantime, many empirical studies have shown that habitat loss and degradation remains the greatest threat to not only Sumatran elephants, but all Asian elephants (Sukumar 1992; Leimgruber et al. 2003; Soehar- tono et al. 2007; Uryu et al. 2008). In Sumatra, habitat loss is continuing at an alarming rate (Laumonier et al. 2010) and human-elephant conflict is escalating (Sitompul 2004; Uryu et al. 2008; Sitompul et al. 2010). As elephant conservation biologists who work extensively in Sumatra, we believe that elephant conservation strategies should secure the remaining elephant habitat, or the elephant population in Sumatra will be extirpated. To achieve a significant result for elephant conservation in Sumatra, a revolutionary and innovative strategy is urgently needed. Elephant conservation strategy in Sumatra needs to be directed and to focus on securing habitats and managing those habitats in a sustainable way and with concrete direct benefit to local stakeholders. The most comprehensive analysis of island-wide distribution shows that 85% of wild Sumatran elephants live outside of protected areas (Soehartono et al. 2007). These elephant habitats are fragile because they lack an official protection status, meaning that they can be converted into monoculture plantations, mined or encroached upon by human settlements at any time. To save these elephant habitats, conservationists need to develop new initiatives to sustainably manage these unprotected habitats. Undoubtedly, this will require providing economic incentives to the local stakeholders (e.g. government agencies and rural communities) who will bear lost opportunity costs as a result of not converting elephant habitat to other uses. Gajah 34 (2011) 26-31 Ecosystem Restoration Concessions: A New Strategy for Conserving Elephant Habitat in Sumatra? Arnold F. Sitompul 1,2 *, Mathew Linkie 3 , Donny Gunaryadi 2,4 , Elisabet Purastuti 2 and Arif Budiman 2,5 1 Conservation Science Initiative & The Indonesian Biodiversity Foundation, Jakarta, Indonesia 2 Indonesia Elephant Conservation Forum, Bogor, West Java, Indonesia 3 Fauna & Flora International, Cambridge, United Kingdom 4 Wildlife Conservation Society-Indonesia Program, Bogor, West Java, Indonesia 5 Yayasan WWF Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia *Corresponding author’s e-mail: asitompul@hotmail.com