AFRICAN ELEPHANT
We protect them and Namibia sells them
This is the mouthpiece of those concerned with
animal rights regarding the sale of Namibian elephants in order to make money,
as
Namibia has sold and exported 22 wild African
elephants. But Namibia says it has more than 24,000 elephants and the sale of
the elephants is necessary to mitigate deadly encounters with humans and to
raise funds for the conservation and proper management of wildlife. Last year,
elephants killed three people, and there have been numerous incidents of crop
damage in recent years, according to data provided by the Namibian government.
Many questions have arisen about the validity
of Namibian claims, raising a number of questions about the export of elephants
in Namibia, which appears to violate the Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, because the treaty states that
African elephants cannot be exported from countries including Namibia to a
country that did not before or does not now have elephants - unless there is a
proven benefit to conservation.
Last year, the International Union for
Conservation of Nature listed savanna elephants as critically endangered and
forest elephants endangered. Decades of ivory poaching has taken a heavy toll,
and at least 400,000 elephants remain in the wild across Africa.
In December 2020, Namibia sold 57 elephants to three dealers.
Fifteen
went to a nature reserve inland. While the other two are foreigners, Namibia
has not yet announced the destinations of the elephants, but it is reported
that one of the other traders is from the United Arab Emirates.
Elephants in Africa are threatened with extinction due to overhunting
Factors such as the ivory trade, loss of vital
habitats, and a lack of a deeper understanding of elephant biology all combine
to underestimate the actual threat they face.
The International Union for Conservation of
Nature said that the elephants living in the forests of the African continent
are now at serious risk of extinction.
In turn, elephants that live in savannas (a
mixed woodland and grassland ecosystem characterized by wide tree spacing) are
at risk of extinction.
Their "decades in numbers" have led
to the two species of elephants being classified in the top two groups at risk
of extinction.
African elephants were previously assessed as
a species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List.
Genetic evidence from more than a decade ago
showed that these elephants belong to two distinct species with different characteristics.
But it takes several years to make accurate
assessments of elephant numbers and the risks they face.
The International Union for Conservation of
Nature estimates that only 415,000 elephants live in Africa.
But the number of elephants living in forests
has fallen by more than 86 percent over the past three decades.
In addition, the number of elephants living in
savannahs has declined by at least 60 percent over the past 50 years.
The situation varies from country to country.
In Botswana, for example, there are opinions that there are too many elephants
that the ecosystem there can not support them naturally.
But on the continent, large mammals are in
decline.
Dr Ben Okita, who co-chairs the Elephant Group
of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, called the latest
assessment an "alarm bell".
Dr Okita told BBC News that although poaching
peaked in 2011, it remained a "critical factor" in the elephant
population's decline.
He added that overfishing was "one of the
major causes".
"But there is another silent killer that
requires a high degree of care - land erosion and fragmentation."
"It is a huge challenge faced by species that need very large areas and move over long distances," he said.
"Wild animals do not know international
borders, and in order for us to change things, we have to cooperate across
these borders and plan for better land use," he added.
Dr. Okita explained that when animals share
this land, it is important to use it in a way that is sensitive to their needs.
And he added, "I know that the will is
available in African governments as well as in the local communities that live
alongside these animals, so we just need to put this into practice. I am
optimistic, very optimistic, that we can change things."
"Although it looks bleak on the surface,
bringing it up publicly is a positive step," said Isla Duburgh of the
University of Oxford's Wildlife Conservation Research Unit.
"Separating the species from each other
is a positive step, as it allows us to address this situation in a focused
manner, depending on the species we are looking for and their locations,"
she said.
"I hope (this) will lead to broader
conservation actions for both species, in particular forest elephants, which
have experienced a severe decline," said Amy Frankel, Executive Secretary
of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals.
Conservationists work "in the field in
Africa" to protect natural habitats, Dubourg said, as they are the most
important actors in efforts to protect animals.
"These are the organizations that are
worth donating to," she concluded.
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