Posted on February, 22 2017

A report in Science Magazine announcing an 80 percent decline of elephant population in Minkebe National Park between 2002 and 2014 comes at a critical time for the conservation world.  Sadly it’s symbolic of a wider crisis with on average 1 elephant being killed every 25 minutes due to poaching fuelled by global ivory demand.
21 February, 2017: Lamine Sebogo, WWF, African Elephant Programme Coordinator comments: “The article points to a wider problem for the forest elephants including cross border poaching in the Congo basin. According to our most recent independent study conducted between 2016 and 2017, the numbers of elephants in the green heart of Africa have considerably reduced. In one of the three protected areas that comprise the WWF TRIDOM Programme in neighbouring Cameroon, elephant populations decreased by at least 70 per cent due to the ivory trade. We estimated about 3 elephants killed per day, based on the carcasses found in the field during recent surveys in the reported area.”
 
Marthe Mapangou, WWF Gabon Country Director comments: “The high rate of poaching in Gabon as highlighted in the report raises serious concerns and is putting the forest elephant at risk of extinction. It calls for a coherent and coordinated approach across African governments and globally to stem the crisis.”
 
The illegal wildlife trade is the fourth biggest illegal trade in the world, worth over an estimated USD$19 billion annually. This is an international problem, which requires a strong response to the poaching crisis at the national and regional level.
 
It is imperative that the implementation of the international commitments taken on elephant poaching such as the February 2014 London Declaration on addressing illegal wildlife trade, and the recommendations and resolution of the 17^th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES (CoP17) in Johannesburg, South Africa in September 2016 are implemented. This report underscores the need for global action to reduce the demand for ivory in consumer countries, tackle corruption and increase law enforcement to control poaching and wildlife trafficking.