Leonardo DiCaprio gives $1 million to elephant conservation

The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation have a $1 million grant to the Elephant Crisis Fund, a joint initiative created by Wildlife Conservation Network and Save the Elephants. The grant will be used to save elephants from the current ivory poaching crisis by funding on-the-ground projects that stop poaching, trafficking, and demand for ivory.

The grant was announced at a gala in Malibu in support of the Elephant Crisis Fund, which brought the total raised that evening to $2 million, all of which will be sent directly to anti-poaching, anti-trafficking and ivory demand reduction projects on the ground.

“Elephant poaching is a brutal crisis, with more than 30,000 elephants killed last year alone,” said Leonardo DiCaprio. “The decimation of these animals is something we have the power to stop, and the Elephant Crisis Fund is a crucial part of the solution. I am honored to support them and recognize Dr. Douglas-Hamilton for his lifelong commitment to protecting this species.”

The Elephant Crisis Fund (ECF) directs 100 per cent of donations to global anti-poaching, anti-trafficking and ivory demand reduction actions on the ground. Projects supported by the Elephant Crisis Fund so far include an airplane that flies over Tsavo National Park in Kenya to detect poachers, and sniffer dogs trained to find ivory at ports.

"The only future for elephants is for governments, organisations, and individuals to join together in their support. What we have seen in Los Angeles has given us greater hope than ever, as a generous donation by the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation was matched by this astonishing community," said Iain Douglas-Hamilton, founder of Save The Elephants.

Source: Leonardo DiCaprio gives $1 million to elephant conservation

Botswana and IUCN call for global action to stop African elephant poaching

Botswana and IUCN call for global action to stop African elephant poaching
IUCN, October 2013

As the surge in African elephant poaching and illegal ivory trade continues, the Government of Botswana and IUCN are convening a high-level summit on the African Elephant calling for stronger global action to halt the illegal trade and secure viable elephant populations across Africa.

Hosted by the President of the Republic of Botswana H.E. Lieutenant General Seretse Khama Ian Khama, the event will bring together Heads of State and representatives of all African elephant range countries, as well as high-level representatives from key transit and destination countries in the illegal African elephant ivory trade chain.

“The need for all African nations to work together to manage our continent’s natural resources is more important than ever,” says Minister of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism, Botswana Mr T S Khama. “Africa needs the world’s support to address the issues of wildlife trafficking and trade, as it is the world that is creating the demand for wildlife products which drives poaching on our continent, and so threatens the survival of species.”

The summit comes on the heels of the recently launched Clinton Global Initiative’s US$ 80 million effort to fight illegal ivory trade. The African Development Bank, the UN Security Council and the US President Barack Obama, who launched a new US$ 10 million plan to combat illegal wildlife trade and related organized crime earlier this year, are also actively involved in the issue.

“It’s encouraging that the matter is receiving such high-level international attention,” says IUCN Director General Julia Marton-Lefèvre. “Wildlife trafficking is increasingly entrenched in networks of organized crime and addressing the elephant crisis cannot be left to environment ministries and wildlife authorities alone. Such high-level commitment is urgently needed to tackle this complex and increasingly urgent issue.”

According to a recent report from IUCN and its partners, the number of elephants killed has doubled and the amount of ivory seized has tripled over the last decade. Elephant poaching and the illegal ivory trade are a major concern across Africa and beyond, with serious security, economic, political and ecological ramifications.

Criminal gangs are using sophisticated military ware to kill elephants, taking advantage of high-level corruption to move the ivory across borders and out of Africa. The proceeds from these actions are used by criminal networks to undermine democratic rule in many African states and to fund armed militias and rebel groups engaged in internal and cross-border conflicts.

“The summit will be a unique opportunity for governments from Africa and Asia to come together and commit to urgent actions to halt this devastating trend,” says Holly Dublin, Chair of IUCN SSC African Elephant Specialist Group. “Finding solutions to save the African elephant will be an important way forward in saving other species that are also threatened by wildlife crime.”

The African Elephant (Loxodonta africana) is currently listed as Vulnerable on The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™, with population estimates of around 500,000.

“Botswana, through its 2012 full country wildlife aerial survey, estimates that there are now over 207,000 elephants within its borders, which are increasing at 5% per year,” says Minister of Environment Mr T S Khama. “We, as a nation, are proud of this fact but it does give us some unprecedented challenges. The protection of Elephants and other species is a daunting and expensive task. The problem of human wildlife conflict must also be managed so we do not lose the support of our people living in close proximity to wildlife.”

The African Elephant Summit will take place from 2 to 4 December 2013 in Botswana’s capital Gaborone.

Read more about ant-poaching initiatives across the region in the Zambezi Traveller:
Anti-poaching

Zimbabwe declares war on poachers after cyanide used in Hwange National Park (updated)

Zimbabwe's Environment Minister declares war with poachers after more than 90 elephants are killed by poachers using cyanide in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe's largest protected area.

Image credit: Xu Lingui/Xinhua Press/Corbis

Saviour Kasukuwere, the country's Environment Minister, said the elephants had died in the last few weeks in Hwange National Park, the nation's largest, while security forces were preoccupied with the general election on 31 July. "We are declaring war on the poachers," he said. "We are responding with all our might because our wildlife, including the elephants they are killing, are part of the natural resources and wealth that we want to benefit the people of Zimbabwe."

Kasukuwere, who was appointed to the environment ministry just over a week ago, said he would push for stiff penalties for convicted poachers, although he believes runners in the village were paid a pittance by international syndicates to lace the salt licks and gather the tusks, and saying “We will cooperate with international organizations such as Interpol to crack down on the pay masters. So the war is on, it’s a war which we will win, we are not going to surrender,” Kasukuwere said. Officials say cyanide used in gold mining was spread by poachers over flat 'salt pans' - natural, mineral-rich salt licks. Cyanide attacks the bloodstream, kills almost instantly and causes rapid decomposition. Most of the poisoned elephants died in the past month. The chemical is commonly used by illegal gold panners to separate the metal from surrounding ore and is easily available.

Wildlife department officials said the chemical also killed other animals, including predators and scavengers which have fed on the carcasses, such as lion and vultures, but that no numbers were available. It is also feared that the poison will contaminate the soil and ground water and that the death toll will continue to rise.

Nine people were arrested on suspicion of laying poison in the park to kill elephants for their tusks. Police and rangers recovered 19 tusks, cyanide and wire snares after a sweep through villages close to the Park. To date three of the poachers arrested have been sentenced to 15 year jail terms and fines of (Zim) $200,000 sending a clear zero tolerance message to poachers.

Earlier in the week Zimbabwe Parks spokeswoman Caroline Washaya Moyo said it was Zimbabwe's worst single case of elephant poaching and that contact with the poison posed a danger to any animal or human. She said the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority had reminded people who live near the park not to eat the meat of any dead animals they find.

Tusks of the poisoned elephants are believed to have been smuggled into neighboring South Africa through illicit syndicates that pay poachers a fraction of the $1,500 a kilogram (2.2 pounds) that ivory can fetch on the black market.

The state Environmental Management Authority is planning to burn the elephant carcasses and call in experts to detoxify the affected areas, beginning with digging out the salt licks and removing the top layers of soil contaminated by the cyanide granules. Officials believe at least two deeply drilled wells supplying the water holes may have also been contaminated and will likely have to be sealed. New wells will probably be drilled away from the tainted ones.

Two years ago nine elephants, five lions and two buffalo died from cyanide poisoning in Hwange National Park. Just 50 rangers with archaic weapons patrol the 4,650-sq km (1,795-square mile) national park, an area almost as large as Swaziland, and wildlife authorities say 10 times that number are needed. Experts estimate Zimbabwe needs $30 million to launch an effective anti-poaching initiative.

"We are increasing our surveillance, we are increasing our intelligence, we are also increasing our enforcement. We are aware that we can't do this on our own, so we will work with other law enforcement agencies in the country," says National Parks Chief Edson Chidziya.

Last year more than 25,000 elephants were killed by poacher across Africa, according to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

Sources: The Daily Telegraph (24 Sept 2013),
The Guardian (25 Sept 2013)
BBC News (24 Sept, 2013)
SABC News (23 Sept 2013)
The Washington Post (01/10/13)

Read more about the region in our destination guide:
Hwange

Read more on elephants from the Zambezi Traveller:
Elephants