LIBREVILLE, Gabon (AP) – Growing poaching threats and habitat loss have made African elephant populations more endangered, according to a report released Thursday by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The African forest elephant is critically endangered, and the African savannah elephant is endangered. The two species were previously grouped as a single species and were classified as vulnerable by the IUCN.
The number of elephants in African forests has fallen by more than 86% over 31 years, while the population of elephants in savannas has fallen by more than 60% over 50 years, according to the IUCN, which assesses the risks global extinction of the world’s animals.
Africa currently has 415,000 elephants, including the forest and savannah elephants, according to the IUCN.
Savannah elephants prefer lighter plains and are found in various habitats in sub-Saharan Africa, Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe with high concentrations. Elephants in the African forest – smaller in size – occupy most of the tropical forests of West and Central Africa, with the largest populations remaining in Gabon and the Republic of Congo.
In Gabon, the fight against elephant poaching “is more than just a fight for nature. They are fighting for the stability of our country, “Lee White, Gabon’s water and forestry minister, told The Associated Press.
“We have seen countries like the Central African Republic, where poachers have become bandits, rebels and destabilize the whole country,” White said, attributing most of the poaching and ivory trafficking to international cross-border unions.
“Eighty to 90% of our ivory goes to Nigeria and ends up financing (jihadist rebels) Boko Haram. So it is a cross-border fight against organized crime and even against terrorism, “he said.
The battle to protect elephants in Gabon’s forest is a war, he said. “We turned biologists into warriors,” White said. “We turned the people who signed up to watch the elephants and work with nature and national parks into soldiers who went to war for the survival of the elephants.”
Criminal networks working with corrupt officials are a significant problem in Central and West Africa, says Rudi van Aarde of the Department of Zoology at the University of Pretoria. told the Associated Press.
“Most of the ivory that leaves this continent in Asia comes from Central and West Africa. The population suffers more because of the illegal ivory trade instead of environmental problems such as deforestation “, said van Aarde.
Elephants in sub-Saharan Africa suffered a huge sudden blow to poaching between 2008 and 2012. A worrying trend is that a substantial amount of poaching has taken place in East and South Africa, where an estimated 100,000 savanna elephants have were killed in northern Mozambique and southern Tanzania. , at that time, he said.
“African elephants play key roles in ecosystems, economies and our collective imagination around the world,” said IUCN Director-General Bruno Oberle, lamenting the small number of African elephants.
“Today’s new assessment of the IUCN Red List of both African elephant species highlights the persistent pressure facing iconic animals,” Oberle said. “The results quantify the dramatic decline in these ecologically important animals.”
“With the continuing demand for ivory and increasing human pressure on wild Africa, … the concern for African elephants is great and the need to conserve and manage these animals wisely and their habitats is more acute than ever,” he said. Kathleen Gobush, leading evaluator in the IUCN team that compiles the list.
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Magome reported in Johannesburg.