Killing of elephants
driven by the illegal ivory trade has reached
crisis levels in Africa.
Across Africa elephants are being driven
into decline due to poaching for their tusks,
according to a report issued under the Convention
on International Trade in Endangered Species
of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
Data from the report
shows increased poaching across the entire
range of the African elephant, but the highest
rates are in Central Africa. “The rise in
levels of illegal killing and the dynamics
surrounding it are worrying, not only for
small and fragmented elephant populations
that could face extirpation, but also for
previously secure large populations,” the
report says.
Last year is cited as
having the highest poaching rates ever documented,
exceeding record rates witnessed in 2010.
It is estimated that
tens of thousands of elephants are being
killed each year for their tusks, which
are in demand in Asia. East Africa is identified
in the report as the centre of illicit ivory
transport to Asia, with an escalating number
of illegal consignments exiting seaports
there.
“Alarmingly, 2011 recorded
the highest number of large-scale seizures
ever,” said Lamine Sebogo, WWF’s African
elephant programme manager. “Such seizures
indicate the involvement of organized criminal
networks, but very few cases have been followed
up with proper investigations, arrests,
prosecutions or the imposition of credible
penalties.”
This scale of illegal
ivory trade was demonstrated early in 2012,
when a gang of heavily armed foreign poachers
entered Cameroon and killed hundreds of
elephants in Bouba N’Djida National Park.
This event, and others like it, constitutes
an invasion and a threat not only to wildlife
but people, territorial integrity and stability.
Poor governance and
weak law enforcement efforts have been identified
as the primary drivers of elephant poaching
and ivory trade in Africa.
According to the report
governence and law enforecment will be considered
by governments later this month at a key
CITES meeting. China and Thailand are identified
in the findings as the two biggest raw ivory
consuming countries in the world. Data indicates
that poaching trends can be correlated with
increasing affluence in China, and that
raw ivory prices doubled there between 2004
and 2010.
“In the last two years
we have seen open flouting of China’s internal
ivory trade laws,” said Dr Colman O’Criodain,
WWF’s wildlife trade policy analyst. “Many
visitors, including foreign government representatives
attending CITES-related meetings in China,
have reported seeing ivory openly on sale
without the required certification cards
that prove legality of origin.”
The Chinese market remains
the most prominent destination for illicit
ivory, and a serious slackening of enforcement
of country’s strict internal trade controls
is a major cause for concern. In Thailand,
legislative loopholes mean that there is
no effective regulation at all.
“In Thailand there is
no regulation of ivory trade. Visitors can
see ivory openly on sale, the vast bulk
of it apparently of African origin,” O’Criodain
says. “It is a crime to bring ivory home
from another country, even if shopkeepers
tell you otherwise.”
“It is imperative that
CITES member states take remedial actions
to shut down unregulated or poorly regulated
domestic ivory markets, especially the world's
largest markets in China and Thailand,”
said O’Criodain.
One hopeful sign in
the fight to save elephants is the recent
adoption by Central African countries of
an action plan to combat wildlife crimes
including elephant poaching and illegal
ivory.
“We commend Central
African governments for taking action to
safeguard their natural heritage through
developing this plan. We call on government
leaders to implement the plan as a matter
of urgency and encourage the international
community to provide financial support to
this end,” Sebogo said.
+ More
Rio+20: WWF and African
Development Bank rally leaders to invest
in Africa’s Natural Capital
Rio de Janeiro - The
African Development Bank (AfDB) and World
Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) released a joint
report on the state of environment in Africa,
and are calling world leaders to invest
in Africa’s natural capital. The report
is intended to catalyze decision-makers
to invest in Africa’s sustainable development
and is being presented at Rio+20 at an event
organized by the AfDB and WWF and hosted
by the Senegalese government.
As leaders gather in
Brazil this week, WWF and AfDB are encouraging
leaders in both the public and private sectors
to invest in Africa’s natural capital. “Africa
must rally around this objective, not just
because donors demand it, but because it’s
our responsibility to protect our ecosystems,”
says the report. AfDB president, Donald
Kaberuka commented: “We must strengthen
cooperation between leaders, across continents,
who share a common interest in fostering
economic transformation. Let’s make it a
reality, together.”
Over the next decade,
important decisions will be made in terms
of large-scale infrastructure, resource
planning, and economic development. Investing
in natural capital now will ensure ecological
– and financial- security in the future.
The AfDB and the WWF call on world leaders
to act decisively on a green growth agenda.
That agenda includes; enhancing ecological
resilience and the capacity of natural systems,
living within planetary limits and promoting
measures of social progress that integrate
the value of ecosystems.
The ‘Africa Ecological
Footprint Report – Green Infrastructure
for Africa’s Ecological Security’ takes
a look at the health of Africa’s natural
systems, as well as its footprint—the surface
of land and sea needed to sustain a particular
group. Trends in both areas are worrying.
Africa’s natural systems are under great
strain—biodiversity has declined by 40 percent
in 40 years. At the same time, increases
in population and consumption patterns are
projected to double Africa’s footprint by
2040.
If Africa continues
on a business-as-usual scenario, these two
pressures—the reduction of nature’s capacity
to sustain life, and a more voracious consumption
of resources—will impede its ability to
sustain necessary and equitable development
in the long run, including the provisioning
of life’s most basic necessities: food,
water and fuel.
The good news is that
Africa is well-placed to act. Many African
countries still have a low footprint, allowing
them to take on board resource-efficient
technologies and lifestyles, circumventing
inefficient development pathways taken by
other countries. This means finding solutions
that both promote social development and
preserve nature. “This report brings home
the fact that to build a lasting prosperity
in Africa we must chart a course for development
that conserves and sustains the “green infrastructure”
– healthy rivers, forests, oceans – that
supports the economy and society.” We must
maintain our credibility when we’re talking
about the environment, we cannot just sideline
development.” underlines WWF Director General,
Jim Leape. “That is what ‘sustainable development’
is all about. We must find concrete solutions
to satisfying both.”
For example, coral reefs
in the West Indian Ocean are valued at an
estimated USD7.3 billion annually. They
support coastal and artisanal fisheries,
protect coasts from erosion and extreme
weather, absorb carbon dioxide, and are
the basis of a thriving tourism sector.
Investment in green infrastructure now will
ensure the sustained health of natural systems
on which life and livelihoods depend.
While the report underlines
some serious trends, it also offers examples
of initiatives across Africa, where natural
capital is being preserved while social
and economic development benefits rural
populations.
For example, the lake
Naivasha region produces 70 percent of Kenya’s
cut flower exports and 20 percent of its
vegetable exports, contributing hundreds
of millions of dollars to the national economy
each year. Through a payment for environment
services scheme, the horticultural industry
pays upstream farmers to preserve the water
resources on which the horticultural industry
depends. This scheme not only helps to preserve
valuable freshwater ecosystems, but also
benefits small-scale farmers by increasing
their yields and income, and ensures a clean,
sustainable water supply for commercial
farms.
Another example of how
smart policy and investment can make a difference
is the South African Renewables Initiative.
The Initiative, established to fulfil South
Africa’s Integrated Resource Plan, is channelling
international public finance into the development
and distribution of renewable energy. South
Africa plans to add 19 GW of renewable energy
to the national grid by 2030—going from
0 to 14 percent renewables in its total
energy mix in two decades. Not only will
South Africans have increased access to
energy, this scheme will also boost green
technologies and jobs in the region.
