Elephant poaching on the rise in Central, West Africa

Afrique en ligne

October 29, 2008

Windhoek, Namibia - The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which is currently undergoing political strife, could be a haven for poachers of the lucrative elephant and rhino tusks, while illegal killings of elephants in West Africa threaten the survival of the world's largest land mammals.

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) secretary-general Willem Wijnstekers told PANA in an interview here Tuesday that while most countries in the Southern African region are doing their utmost to combat poaching, illegal killings of elephants and rhino in countries undergoing political upheavals such as the DRC are getting out of hand.

Wijnstekers, who was in Namibia to witness Tuesday's auction of 7 tonnes of elephant tusks to Asian buyers, said that elephant poaching was on the rise in DRC but that the levels were not yet population threatening.

He said that in West African countries such as Cameroon, Mali and Ghana, which have very small populations of elephants, poaching is posing a serious threat.

The CITES official however said that poaching was not linked to the once-off auctions of elephant tusks currently underway in the southern African region.

"There is poaching everywhere but some countries have better control measures than others. But where there is strife, it becomes difficult to control poaching. DRC is one such example but we also have poaching problems in West Africa.

"The problem is West Africa is that elephant populations are very small and there is widespread poaching," Wijnstekers said in the interview.

The International Fund for Animal Welfare estimates that black market ivory sells for about US$880 a kilo in Asian markets, a top line ripple price compared to the US$164 per kg, an average price fetched by Namibian ivory in the CITES-sanctioned auctions held Tuesday.

Elephants, the world's largest land mammals, are under pressure in many parts of Africa from poaching, loss of habitat to farms and towns, pollution and climate change.

"There is an increase in the poaching of elephants in Central and West Africa, but this has nothing to do with the once-off sale of ivory. The moment there is evidence that the once-off sale of ivory is leading to poaching, we will stop the sales," Wijnstekers said.

He said that poaching in the vast and mineral rich DRC would reduce elephant population but 'would not make it extinct.'

Wijnstekers said that the MIKE programme (Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants), which is based in Nairobi, Kenya, is doing its utmost to combat poaching.

An international ban on selling ivory came into force in 1989 after endemic poaching send Africa's elephant populations into free fall.

Between 1979 and 1989, the number of elephants in Africa fell from 1.3 million to 625 000, with Kenya alone losing 85 percent of its elephants.

Since then, the number of pachyderms in Africa has climbed to more than 450 000.

Unconfirmed estimates from animal rights groups suggest that 20,000 are still killed by poachers annually.

Wijnstekers said that China and Japan have agreed to contribute to a fund set up to help monitor and curb poaching called the African Elephant Fund.

"One of our efforts to combat poaching is setting up the African Elephant Fund and countries such as China and Japan have agreed to contribute to that fund," Wijnstekers said.