Over 20,000 African elephants poached in 2013
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E-mail China.org.cn, June 17, 2014
The report identifies monitored sites where poaching is increasing (33 percent of monitored sites), including Dzanga Sangha (Central African Republic), as well as those sites where a decline in poaching has been observed (46 percent), such as Zakouma National Park (Chad). Some populations of elephants continue to face an immediate threat of local extinction.
The report containing the latest figures (2013) from the CITES Monitoring Illegal Killing in Elephants (MIKE) programme and the Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS) will be discussed at the 65th meeting of the CITES Standing Committee taking place in Geneva from 7 to 11 July 2014.
The monitoring data from the field is unique and it is the most comprehensive global survey of any of the 35,000 CITES-listed species. It is collected by law enforcement patrols and other means, who try to establish the cause of death and other details, every time a carcass is found. CITES then collates and analyses this data thanks to funds provided by the European Union.
Commenting on the scope of the report, Julian Blanc, responsible for the MIKE programme, said: "We are monitoring 30 to 40% of the elephant population, through a peer reviewed process that gives us the best available global estimates on the illegal killing of elephants. We hope to expand this coverage to improve on our estimates. We are supporting countries that do not have the capacity or the funds to monitor MIKE sites and are seeking further support for field rangers."
In March 2013, based on the findings of ETIS, CITES identified eight countries (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, China, Malaysia, The Philippines, Thailand, and Viet Nam) as the most heavily implicated in the illegal ivory trade chain as source, transit or destination countries. CITES took decisions at that time requesting all eight countries to develop and implement National Ivory Action Plans to tackle the elephant poaching and smuggling crisis.
These decisions are being translated into a wide-range of actions and initiatives -- improved protection in the field, stronger Customs controls, better use of modern technologies and forensics -- such as DNA testing and isotopes, strengthened legislation and policies, targeted investigations and more prosecutions, new public awareness campaigns, the destruction of confiscated ivory stockpiles, and the allocation of dedicated funding to combat wildlife crime.
"We are seeing better law enforcement and demand-reduction efforts across multiple countries, as well as greater political and public attention to this unfolding crisis and CITES decisions and compliance processes underpin the global effort" said Scanlon.
"The momentum generated over the past three years must now translate into deeper and stronger efforts to fight these crimes on the front line, where it is needed most -- from the field, to Customs, to illicit markets, and only then can we hope to reverse the devastating poaching trends of the past decade," added Scanlon.
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