Posted on 02 December
2013 - Although the number of African elephants
killed for their tusks declined slightly
last year after worldwide recognition of
the severity of the wildlife crime epidemic,
the rates remain unacceptably high, conservation
group WWF says. UN data released today shows
that an estimated 22,000 elephants were
slaughtered by poachers across Africa in
2012, down from the previous year’s record
of at least 25,000.
Central Africa remains
the hardest hit with poaching rates twice
as high as the continental average, according
to analysis conducted on behalf of the 179
members of the Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species. Scientists
say the region has lost nearly two-thirds
of its elephant population over the past
decade, leaving little time left to reverse
its decline.
“High level commitments
to action against poaching and smuggling
are beginning to have an impact, but Central
Africa’s endangered forest elephants remain
in peril,” said Lamine Sebogo, WWF International’s
African Elephant Programme Manager.
The number of large
ivory seizures increased last year signalling
better detection, but also indicating a
continued involvement by organized criminal
groups. Projections for 2013 are even graver;
already this year over 40 tonnes of tusks
have been confiscated while in transit.
Analysts from TRAFFIC,
a joint programme of WWF and IUCN, have
also found that smuggling routes are shifting
as enforcement is bolstered in some locations.
Although global shipping patterns are changing
to exploit weaker systems, China remains
the top destination for illegal ivory, TRAFFIC
found.
“Wildlife crime is a
serious global security issue and participation
by all countries is required to stop it.
In many places improvements are needed in
regulation, enforcement, transparency, resourcing
and transnational collaboration,” Sebogo
said.
Governments are meeting
this week at back-to-back summits in Botswana
and Paris to agree emergency activities
to protect elephants from poaching and trafficking,
and to discuss the peace and security implications
of this transnational crime. WWF is urging
nations to adopt the Marrakech Declaration,
a ten point action plan to combat illicit
wildlife trafficking launched by the African
Development Bank and WWF in May.
+ More
Leaders commit to conservation
measures at Polar Bear Forum
Posted on 04 December
2013 - Moscow, Russia: Ministers and other
national representatives made commitments
today at the International Forum on Polar
Bear Conservation that will help polar bears
persist across their Arctic range. The commitments
were made at a forum in Russia supported
by WWF.
“The Arctic States'
response goes some way toward guaranteeing
a future for these magnificent animals,”
says Jim Leape, WWF International Director
General.
“The states have built
on forty years of good conservation planning.
I urge them to redouble their efforts to
ensure we meet the challenges of the next
forty years - by implementing the circumpolar
action plan for the bears and taking action
on climate change.”
Another key commitment
made in the Forum Declaration is that the
five states responsible for polar bear populations
- Canada, Norway, Denmark and Greenland,
Russia and the United States - will work
on managing the polar bears’ home in ways
that will take into account the Arctic’s
shrinking ice, and increasing industrial
interest.
“We welcome all the
commitments made today,” says WWF polar
bear lead, Geoff York. “But we will also
be watching to see that they are backed
by action. WWF will track the activities
of the states in an annual report card.
We will also continue to support critical
polar bear work across the Arctic, contributing
our resources and expertise to assessing
the health of populations, identifying and
managing key habitats, and reducing conflict
between bears and people.”
While the Forum commitments
will help with managing polar bear habitat
and with direct threats to the bears, these
can only go so far. At the current rate
of warming, climate change will ultimately
erode the sea ice habitat on which the bears
rely.
Addressing this longer-term threat will
require investment from the range states
and beyond in renewable energy.
