Urgent Deal Reached for African Elephants

Key states along the illegal ivory value chain have committed to urgent measures to halt the illegal trade and secure elephant populations across Africa. The agreement was reached at the African Elephant Summit convened by the government of Botswana and IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature).

The Summit is the first-ever meeting focusing on the dynamics of the entire ivory value chain. The measures were agreed on by key African Elephant range states including Gabon, Kenya, Uganda, Niger and Zambia, ivory transit states Viet Nam, Philippines and Malaysia and ivory destination states, including China and Thailand.

“Our window of opportunity to tackle the growing illegal ivory trade is closing and if we do not stem the tide, future generations will condemn our unwillingness to act,” says H.E. Lieutenant General Seretse Khama Ian Khama, President of the Republic of Botswana.

“Now is the time for Africa and Asia to join forces to protect this universally valued and much needed species.”

One of the 14 measures the delegates committed to involves classifying wildlife trafficking as a “serious crime”. This will unlock international law enforcement cooperation provided under the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime, including mutual legal assistance, asset seizure and forfeiture, extradition and other tools to hold criminals accountable for wildlife crime.

Other measures agreed include engaging communities living with elephants in their conservation, strengthening national laws to secure maximum wildlife crime sentences, mobilizing financial and technical resources to combat wildlife crime and reducing demand for illegal ivory.

“We are very pleased with the result of the Summit, especially as it involves some of the most important countries along the illegal ivory value chain,” says IUCN Director General Julia Marton-Lefèvre. “We hope that these outcomes will go beyond the Summit’s focus on African Elephants and boost broader efforts to combat illegal wildlife trade in other species which have been threatened by it, such as rhinos and pangolins.”

2011 saw the highest levels of poaching and illegal ivory trade in at least 16 years and 2012 shows no signs of abating. According to preliminary data, even higher levels of illicit trade may be reached in 2013. Eighteen large scale seizures involving over 40 tonnes have been recorded so far this year, which represents the greatest quantity of ivory seized over the last 25 years. Poverty and corruption, as well as increasing demand from Asia are the principle drivers of poaching and the illegal ivory trade.

The African Elephant (Loxodonta africana), the world’s largest terrestrial mammal, is currently listed as Vulnerable on The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™, with a population estimate of around 500,000 animals.

The African Elephant Summit was organized with the financial support of the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the German Government, the US Agency for International Development, the African Development Bank and the World Bank.

Kenyan rangers in Pursuit of Poaching Gang

The Kenya Wildlife Service has announced that its ranger service is in pursuit of an armed gang of possible 10 poachers who killed an entire family of elephants at Bisadi area of Tsavo East National Park. More details will be released when the situation of the current operation becomes clearer.

The family of 11 elephants were killed by poachers on Saturday and tusks were removed.

The number of the poaching gang was not immediately established but initial reports indicate that a gang of ten are believed to be behind the latest poaching incident in the vast protected area. At 22,000km² Tsavo is the country largest single contiguous ecosystem and home to an estimated 13,000 elephant according to 2011 census.

The current chase involves a large unit of rangers on foot backed up by both canine units and aircraft.

KWS will be releasing further details later as they get reports back from the field.

4 Poachers Killed in 5 days in Kenya

The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has been involved in 2 operations against poachers in the last 5 days which has seen 4 killed, dozens arrested and a range of ivory and weapons seized.

When William Kiprono took over as director of the Kenya Wildlife Service a couple of weeks ago there was an element of surprise and concern that such a high-profile position should be awarded to a relatively unknown career administrator. Any concerns raised though have firmly been put to rest as Kiprono leads the KWS in to a more pro-active fight against the poachers.

In the first operation on Monday 2 poachers were killed and 24kg of ivory recovered together with firearms and ammunition. KWS rangers discovered 4 poachers stripping an elephant of its tusks in the Meru National Park. During the ensuing gunfight 2 of the poachers were killed and the other escaped despite being injured.

The second incident occurred early this morning when a ranger patrol encountered 3 poachers in the Solio Ranch near Mweiga Township, Nyeri County. The range is home to both white and rare black rhino. The poachers had shot and injured a rhino before being disturbed by the ranger patrol. In the encounter 2 of the poachers were killed and the third one escaped. The rhino is currently being treated by vets.

The last week has also seen a large number of arrests including a Chinese and a Congolese trying to take ivory out of Kenya through airports. With the KWS canine unit now working around the clock there is more chance of customs intercepting smugglers as they head out the country.

In total over the last week 40 people have been arrested in Kenya for smuggling or poaching activities. There has also been seizures of 82kg of raw ivory, rifles and ammunition.

It has been a good start for the new Director and if poachers thought they’d get an easy ride with a new face in command then they have just discovered that Director William Kiprono is not someone to dismiss.