saving myanmar’s elephants€¦ · saving myanmar’s elephants by ruth powys while a boom in the...

SavingMyanmar’sElephants

ByRuthPowys

Whileaboomintheillegalivorymarketisthreateningtheworld’sAfricanelephants,theirlesser-knowncousinsacrossAsiaaresilentlyfacingasimilarfate.

Theillegaltradeinanimalsandtheirbodypartshasbeengoingonfordecades.Blackmarketshavebeenbrimmingwithpangolinscales;elephantivory,tigerskins,rhinohornsandexoticpetsforyears,butmorerecently,anewfadhasbeenemergingasAsia’selephantsarebeingpoachedfortheirskin.Hiddeninthedenseforests,Myanmar’selephantsarewitnessingadrasticdeclineastheysuccumbtothisgrowing,illicittrade.

Rankedthefourthlargestglobalillegaltradeafterdrugs,armsandhumantrafficking,illegalwildlifetradeisasophisticatedbusinesswithanevenmoresophisticateddistributionnetwork.Mong-LainnortheastMyanmar,aprotectorateareaofChinawell-knownforgambling,prostitutionandillegaltradeofwildlifeproducts,isoneofthemaindestinationswhereelephantivory,bonesandskinaresold.

ElephantsareendangeredacrossAsia,withonlyanestimated40,000remaininginthewildtoday–a90%declinecomparedtoacenturyago.MyanmarretainssomeofthelargestareasofhabitatleftforAsianelephantsandpossiblythethirdlargest(yetdeclining)populationofwildAsianelephantsafterIndiaandSriLanka.Thecountrynowhasasfewas2,000wildelephantsand6,000timberelephantsleft.Itisestimatedthatifthecurrentrateofpoachinginthecountrycontinues,Myanmar’selephantpopulationcouldsoonbecompletelywipedout.

In2015alone,36wildelephantswerereportedtohavebeenkilled,withexpertsbelievingthatmanypoachingincidentswentunnoticed.Lastyear,ElephantFamily–anNGOdedicatedtoprotectingtheAsianelephant–fundedoneofthefirsteverundercoverinvestigationsacrossMyanmarandChinatounravelthegrowingtradeforelephantskinandmakethisissueknown.ThefindingsrevealedthatelephantpoachinginMyanmarisindeedincreasing,fuelledbythedemandfromneighboringChina.Theskiniscutup,driedandsoldontheblackmarketbelievedto‘treat’anumberofailmentssuchaseczemaanddigestiveproblems.Theinvestigationalsorevealedthattheskinisbeingcutintocubes,driedandcarvedintopolishedbeadsforjewellery.

Whileelephantivoryremainsthemostvaluablepartofanelephant,thegrowingdemandforelephantskinandotherpartscontinuestodriveupthedemandforelephantpoachinginMyanmar,furtherdecimatingitsalreadyfragileelephantpopulation.Thisyearalone,aherdof20elephantcarcassesincludingcalves,werefoundintwositesacrossMyanmar’sforeststrippedofftheirskin.

ButElephantFamilyanditspartnersaredeterminedtocrackdownonpoachersandstopthetrade.

Whatcanbedone?

LastOctober,wepresentedourinvestigationfindingsattheCITES1ConferenceofParties(CoP17)inJohannesburgtomakethisissueknown,callingonrangestatestotightenprocedurestostoptrade.OurongoingeffortsweremadevisiblewhenourcallstoactionweresuccessfullyincorporatedandpassedattheConvention.

Ournextstepsaretobuildthecapacityofregionalpolice,customsandwildlifeofficialswithintargetedcountriesinordertobetterdetectandprosecutecross-borderandwildlifetrade.IfElephantFamilycancontinuetosecureawarchestoffundsandcarryoutfurtherinvestigationstoestablishthefullextentofthisabhorrenttrade,wecaninvestinstrongerintelligenceandunderstandmoreclearlywhoistraffickingandsupplyingelephantproducts,allowingustocrackdownonendmarketsonceandforallandsourcesfuellingthetrade.

Sothisweek,tocommemorateWorldElephantDay,letusshineamulti-colouredspotlightonMyanmar’selephantstoraiseawarenessandmuchneededfundsforthislittleknownyetgrowingtrade-athreatthathasneverbeengreater.

OurcombinedeffortscanhelpsaveAsia’selephantsandstopthetradefromescalatinguptothelevelofelephantivoryandrhinohorn,whilewestillhavetime.

Tofindoutmoreabouttheillegaltradeinelephantskinandhowyoucanhelp,visithttp://elephant-family.org/what-we-do/campaigning/elephant-skin

1ConventiononInternationalTradeofEndangeredSpecies