ELEPHANTS are seen as a fundamental part of west Africa’s cultural heritage, but their numbers have dwindled so fast that they risk soon being consigned to memory, conservation experts have warned.
Conservationists from 12 west African countries made a strong call for an all-out offensive against elephant poaching as they wound up a three-day conference in the capital of Burkina Faso.
Ibrahim Thiaw, the regional representative in West Africa for the World Conservation Union and the main initiator of the conference, said the elephant was “an integral part of the culture of West African societies.” Many states in the region had the elephant, or ivory, as their national symbols, and many villagers had traditionally lived cheek by jowl with the mammals.
“The situation is considered to be extremely serious, since according to estimates, 90% of the elephant population in the region has vanished during the last quarter of the 20th century,” he said.
According to the World Conservation Union, West Africa is currently home to slightly over 6 000 elephants – only about 2% of their total population in the continent as a whole.
Burkina Faso, which is estimated to have an elephant population of between three and four thousand, has the largest numbers in the region.
A major factor threatening the pachyderms is demographic pressure – the continuous hunger for farmland which leads to the burning of vast swathes of forests. Added to this is the encroachment of humans into jungles for habitation.
However, poaching remains the greatest danger, according to experts, although they point out that illegal killings for ivory have fallen in the recent past.
West African countries, most of which have tottering economies, are hamstrung by a lack of funds in their campaign to protect elephants.
“Protecting all the species costs a lot of money,” said Thiaw, the main coordinator of the conference, pointing out that it would take several million dollars to protect elephants in some 60 countries scattered around the world.
?The elephant is an enormous animal and it takes enormous resources to ensure its protection,” he said. ?But if they are not protected, it could cost humanity dear.” – AFP
Elephant migration shows drc poaching December 05, 2000