Speaking at the launch, Executive Director in the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, Theofilus Nghitila said the survey is a fundamental component of the KAZA Strategic Planning Framework for the Conservation and Management of Elephants.
“The survey will be coordinated by the KAZA Secretariat in close collaboration with designated teams in each of the Partner States and will be based on the recently revised Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants aerial survey standards,” Nghitila added.
The survey will run from July 2022 to August 2022, with an expected cost of nearly US$3 million. Results from the survey will contribute significantly towards the decisions on the sustainable management of KAZA’s elephant population.
The KAZA elephant population is the largest contiguous transboundary elephant population in the world, inhabiting KAZA’s diverse landscape which is home to an estimated population of two million people and has a geographic scope of approximately 520 000km².