Who are we?
APEEL: Association for the Protection of the Elephants Ecosystem in Laos
Founded in 2021, APEEL was born out of the urgency to save and protect a vital yet endangered ecosystem vital to a species that is abused and threatened with extinction in the short term: the Asian elephants, while addressing the environmental challenges that are essential to their survival. We also support and assist the rehabilitation of elephants in their natural environment after years of hardship.
Today, this species is classified on the red list of threatened species. There are less than 40,000 elephants left in 13 countries and they are only present in 15% of their original territory. The situation is particularly urgent in Laos, where only fewer than 800 elephants remain and deforestation and the destruction of their ecosystem are major problems.
Among the main threats are the loss of elephants’ natural habitat due to deforestation, which leads to conflicts with humans and threatens their short-term survival, as well as intensive exploitation by the tourism and forestry industries.
APEEL fights so that elephants are not seen as a tool or an attraction, but as a species essential to the survival of our ecosystem, while respecting local populations and their concerns. The extinction of pachyderms in Asia would have severe consequences for the continent’s economy and ecology.
Our team
Alain Kahn
President
Having been working in relation to Laos for several years, Alain Kahn wanted to pay tribute to the country and above all to protect the habitat of an animal that is the symbol of a whole region: The Asian elephants.
Wendy Leggat
Vice-president
Wendy lives in Laos and runs the Mekong Elephant Park project on a daily basis, so it is only natural that she is committed to the protection of the Lao elephant ecosystem.
Yohan Pinto
Treasurer
Yohan lives in Vietnam but the situation of the elephants and their natural environment in Laos is of great concern to him, so he decided to contribute efforts and skills to APEEL.
Eleonor Bertin
Graphic designer
After an internship at the Mekong Elephant Park, a sanctuary for the protection of abused elephants in Laos, Eleonor decided to continue to defend this endangered species through APEEL. Passionate about graphic design, she likes to express herself artistically, mainly inspired by Nature.
