african elephant conservation 2002/elephant.pdfelephants 1800’s: the first ivory rush. elephants...

African Elephant Conservation

Alex JacksonLauren Kanakos

Elizabeth KarabinakisJessica JasoJonas Haulin

The State of the African Elephant

About half a million elephants on the African continent today.Population decreased by half during the 70’s and 80’s, mainly due to poaching.

The Problem

Long term conservation of the elephant

International demandfor ivoryNeed for economic development in all sub-Saharan AfricaLocal poverty and human-elephant conflicts

Conflict of interests

The Debate on Elephant Policy and Management

’Protectionism’: Trade in ivory and other elephant products is a pact with the devil.

’Sustainable use’: Elephants can and should be used sustainably as a resource

Background: Humans and Elephants

1800’s: The first Ivory rush. Elephants hunted to extinction in several parts of Africa. Markets in Europe and North America.1914-1970: World wars, depression, new and cheaper materials. Populations recover.1970-1989: Second Ivory rush. Elephant numbers decrease by half, mainly due to large-scale poaching. Markets in the Far East. Halted in 1989 with the international Ivory Ban.

What caused the great decline in the 70’s and 80’s?

Oil crisis demand for hard currency, such as gold and ivory.Newly prosperous economies in the Far East, e.g. Japan. Huge demand, and soaring ivory prices.Africa becomes a cold war pawn abundance of automatic weapons.Colonies gain independence review of national priorities.

Trends in Elephant Policy

Decreased National Conservation Budgets, due to changed priorities (70’s) and structural adjustment requirements (90’s).International support for sustainable use increasing slightly (late 90’s)Efforts at Community level (90’s)

International

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)

International- CITESThe Who, What, Where, When & Why

WHO is invited to the tableThe Secretariat administers the treaty158 nations have voluntarily signed and ratified CITES to dateParty delegates, CITES representatives, Administrators of other UN organizations, international press and observers participate at theCOPs


WHAT

Treaty that governs the international trade in endangered plants & animals

List endangered species on either Appendix I, II or III to regulate their trade

Appendix I - ban all international commercial trade Appendix II - trade under certain conditionsAppendix III – at least 1 country protects these species

Discuss and vote on proposals submitted by Parties and the Secretariat


WHAT (cont.)

Parties cooperate to track illegal trade and catch poachersIssue export & import permitsCITES workshops to aid Parties with treaty implementationInformal & formal recommendations


WHERE

The Secretariat is based in Geneva, SwitzerlandThe previous meeting, COP-12 was held in Santiago, ChileThe next meeting, COP-13 will be in ThailandThe Parties involved are located across the globe


WHEN

First meeting in 1975COPs meet every 2 ½ to 3 yearsStanding Committee meets twice a year to discuss implementation & enforcementCOP-12, the 12th meeting of CITES, met November 4th-15th of 2002COP-13, the next meeting, will be in May, 2004


WHY

Regulate wildlife management

Promote sustainable practices

Eliminate poaching and illegal sale of ivory

CITES-success or failure?

Monitoring & Reporting

Monitoring Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE)Elephant Trade Information System

(ETIS)Growing use of innovative technology


Adaptive

Flexible structureAdaptable to changing circumstancesAccelerated amendment procedure


Decentralization

Delegation to national authoritiesEmpowerment of suitable national administrative agenciesRecognition of national regulatory decisions

(in accordance with mutually agreed standards)


Accountability, Transparency & Acceptance

Infraction reports- reinforces national accountabilityTRAFFIC reports promote information exchangeFrequent news reports raise public awareness & acceptance


Barriers for further progress

Can regulation keep pace?Loss of transparencyConflicting interests (market vs. conservation)

Capacity of enforcement (national level)

Range States and their Regulations

KenyaNamibiaZimbabweSouth AfricaBotswana

Market For ElephantsEffect of ivory ban on ivory market

price dropped dramaticallyno incentives for poachers

Effect of lifting the ivory bancreated a legal market to launder illegal ivorylegal market eliminated illegal trade?

Market For ElephantsTourism Incentives

allows local residents to benefit fromelephantswhen residents benefit from elephants, theyare more likely to tolerate them

Ivory Saleallows local residents to sell ivory to touristsFunds from large ivory sales go toward elephant conservation efforts

Policies at the Community Level

Transitioning from Top-Down PoliciesFrom Protection (National Parks) to

Integration (Local Community – Elephant Population Interaction)

CausesThe success of a top-down approach is

dependant on certain attributes of society not found in many African countries experiencing economic and political hardships:

strong backing of legislationlaw enforcementmaintenance of protected areas and their

infrastructures

Transitioning from Top-Down Policies

Causes (cont’d)The needs of local communities, who often depend on the resources within the protected areas, is increasingly seen as an integral part of the conservation process

one elephant can yield $3,600 for the middleman, at a time when the average worker's wage is no more than $1,000 a year

AmplifiersGrowing Human PopulationIncreasing Budget Restrictions

Three Essential Aspects of Community-Based Elephant Management (AFESG, 1999)(1) Recognizing community rights to ownership of elephant resources(2) Building community participation in elephant management(3) Sharing benefits of elephant management with communities

Currently, two community-based management schemes are actively involved in governing elephant (and other wildlife) populations in Africa

The ADMADE (Administrative Management Design for Game Management Areas) program in ZambiaThe CAMPFIRE (Communal Areas Management Program for Indigenous Resources) in Zimbabwe

ADMADEWhat it is: An integrated wildlife conservation and community development program initiated in 1990, now operating in all 34 of Zambia’s Game Management Areas (GMA’s)Objective: “to have the community regain the custodianship and management of wildlife”(USAID/Zambia, 1998)Methods:

Local committees created to increase community participation in wildlife managementEmployment opportunities created through the Village Scout ProgramShare of hunting revenues, which previously went to the government, is now passed through the committees to communities

Signs of Success (WWF, 1997)Demonstration of the fact that significant revenues could be generated and shared by communities from hunting (40% of revenues from trophy hunting is now channeled to GMA’s under ADMADE, earning communities an average of $50,000 in 1997)Training and employment of over 450 village scouts, 50 unit leaders and 15 community development assistantsInfrastructure improvements including schools, clinics, housing and women’s training courses

ADMADE (cont’d)

CAMPFIREInitiated in 1989 with sponsorship from several different agencies in cooperation with the Zimbabwe government

University of Zimbabwe’s Center for Applied StudyZimbabwe TrustWWF

How it worksVillagers collectively utilize local wildlife resources on a sustainable basisAssociated economic gains accrue to the villages, which then decide how the resources should be used

Where the Resources GoDistributed directly to households in the form of cash dividends (which may amount to 20% or more of an average family’s income)Fund capital investments in the community: schools, clinics, labor saving machinesCompensate citizens who have suffered property losses due to wild animals

The program has been steadily expanding since its inception, and now includes about half of Zimbabwe’s 55 districts

Every Rose Has its Thorn (Poison, 1986)

CBRM Problems in General (Agrawal and Gibson, 1999)Communities may not be as homogenous and conducive to cooperation (a necessary condition for community-based governance to be effective, Ostrom, 1990) as the ones found in rural Zambia and Zimbabwe

“Elephant Exclusive” CBRM DifficultiesCountries prohibiting the importation of products from elephants, like the United States, deny market access and revenues to programs like ADMADE and CAMPFIRE

What it all means1. Have only the cherries been picked? Prime conditions for CBRM

in Zambia and Zimbabwe2. Early success, future failure? Dangers of consumptive use of

elephants3. Or, sustainable development in action? Everyone wins

1+2+3 = Ambiguity

Recommendations: A Sustainable Development Framework

Demand for Ivory/

/ CONFLICT

/ \/ \

Resource Local PovertyConservation

Economic Growth /

/SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

/ \/ \

Ecological Social JusticeIntegrity

Macro-Policy Objective:Policies must ensure economic benefits from elephants accrue to the

local communities they coexist with in a fashion that maintains stable and healthy African elephant populations

Policies Must

Address all sources of conflict

Interact on all levels of society

“Order in a Decentralized World”

Nestedness

Linkage

Plurality/Hybridiity

Synergy/ComplimentarityExample: Elephant Tourism

Developed in response to market demand, provides revenue to local communities, non-consumptive use of African elephants

african elephant conservation 2002/elephant.pdfelephants 1800’s: the first ivory rush. elephants...

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