As climate change fuels more frequent floods and storms across Southeast Asia, forests and wildlife are being pushed to their breaking point, with conservationists and scientists warning of a worsening impact on ecosystems due to a lack of oversight and countermeasures.

In late November, cyclone-driven rains battered Indonesia’s Sumatra island, triggering floods and landslides that killed more than 1,000 people, left hundreds missing and forced hundreds of thousands from their homes, according to officials.

The recent natural disasters have also caused wildlife fatalities. On November 29, villagers in an isolated part of Aceh, Sumatra, discovered a dead elephant buried in mud after the severe flooding.

A resident told Indonesian news agency Antara that elephants had never been seen in the village before and said the animal was believed to have been swept downstream from forested areas upstream after heavy rain and flooding.

For conservationists, the discovery is a sign of how climate-driven extremes are further affecting long-degraded landscapes, pushing wildlife into unfamiliar terrain and increasing the risks of conflict, exploitation and loss.

Experts warn that such shocks have a multiplier effect across the region, weakening ecosystems already strained by deforestation and development and creating new challenges not just for conservation but also for law enforcement.