Tue, Feb 28, 2012
The poached ivory is believed to be exchanged
against money, weapons and ammunition to
support conflicts in neighbouring countries.
Geneva, 28 February 2012 - The Secretary-General
of the Convention on International Trade
in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and
Flora (CITES), John E. Scanlon, has expressed
grave concern over recent reports of the
poaching of close to 450 elephants in Bouba
Ndjida National Park in northern Cameroon.
Governments of the region
are being offered support to find, and bring
to justice, the criminals responsible and
to locate and seize the poached ivory. Potential
transit and final destination countries
have also been urged to remain extremely
vigilant and to cooperate.
Further Resources
Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)
Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants
(MIKE)"This most recent incident of
poaching elephants is on a massive scale
but it reflects a new trend we are detecting
across many range states, where well-armed
poachers with sophisticated weapons decimate
elephant populations, often with impunity.
The CITES programme for Monitoring Illegal
Killing of Elephants (MIKE) has revealed
increasing levels of poaching in 2011. This
spike in elephant poaching is of grave concern
not only to Cameroon, a member state of
CITES, but to all 38 range states of the
African elephant, as well as the Secretariat",
said Mr Scanlon.
It is reported that
elephants have been slaughtered by groups
from Chad and Sudan during the last weeks,
taking advantage of the dry season. The
poached ivory is believed to be exchanged
against money, weapons and ammunition to
support conflicts in neighbouring countries.
A collaborative and coordinated enforcement
response is needed.
The Secretariat is contacting
the Ministers for Forests and Wildlife from
Cameroon, Chad, the Central African Republic,
the Democratic Republic of the Congo and
Sudan offering support to help galvanize
enforcement efforts and transboundary anti-poaching
mechanisms in Africa.
Mr Scanlon has designated
Mr Ben Janse Van Rensburg, CITES Chief Enforcement
Support, as the CITES Secretariat's focal
point for coordinating support in responding
to major elephant poaching incidents. Mr
Rensburg is engaging with the countries
concerned as well as with partners in the
International Consortium on Combating Wildlife
Crime (ICCWC), namely Interpol, the World
Customs Organization, the United Nations
Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and the
World Bank, to share intelligence that could
be used to help bring the perpetrators to
justice, to locate and confiscate the poached
ivory, and to help prevent future incidents.
Innovative tools such as wildlife forensics,
DNA profiling and community-based anti-poaching
are also being explored as complementary
tools to support the enforcement efforts
from the governments.
In his briefing to the
United Nations Security Council on Emerging
Challenges to International Peace and Security
last November, UNODC Executive Director,
Mr Yuri Fedotov, raised the issue of wildlife
crime. Interpol and the United Nations Commission
on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice,
have also recently passed strong resolutions
concerning the involvement of organized
crime in illegal wildlife trafficking.
The MIKE programme will
report the latest trends in the illegal
killing of elephants across Africa at the
62nd meeting of the CITES Standing Committee
in July this year, and will provide a comprehensive
analysis of poaching data at the 16th meeting
of the Conference of the Parties to CITES,
to be held in Bangkok in March 2013.
The spike in poaching
that has been detected is affecting African
elephants across much of their range. Illegal
ivory seized overseas has been shipped from
East, West, Central and southern Africa.
CITES authorities have not been able to
identify the actual origin of this seized
ivory, save for a few cases where it was
possible to make DNA profiling analysis.
Therefore, a national, regional and international
approach to manage and conserve elephants
is essential
This most recent mass
killing demonstrates the need for effectively
implementing the Action Plan for the control
of trade in elephant ivory that was created
under the auspices of CITES. The African
Elephant Fund was launched last August at
the 61st meeting of the CITES Standing Committee
and has collected US$ 250,000 in its first
few months of operation. Contributions have
been received from France, Germany, the
Netherlands and the United Kingdom, and
more are expected from additional donors
such as South Africa.
The CITES Secretariat
is administered by the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP).
+ More
Norway Provides the
UN Environment Programme with over US$30
Million of Support
Wed, Feb 22, 2012
As a tangible commendation of the mandate
and achievements of the UN Environment Programme
(UNEP), the Government of Norway has committed
NOK 200 million (US$35 million) for the
2012-2013 biennium to support activities
across UNEP's Programme of Work.
Nairobi, 21 February 2012 As a tangible
commendation of the mandate and achievements
of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP),
the Government of Norway has committed NOK
200 million (US$35 million) for the 2012-2013
biennium to support activities across UNEP's
Programme of Work.
Further Resources
UNDP-UNEP Poverty Environment InitiativeThis
contribution is in addition to Norway's
generous annual support to the core funding
of UNEP and its support to key programmes
such as the joint UNEP-UNDP-FAO, which is
supporting capacity development and policy
dialogue at country and international levels
for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation
and Degradation in Developing Countries
(REDD).
Norway has doubled its
support to the UNEP-UNDP Poverty and Environment
Initiative to meet the increased demand
from developing countries for advice on
the integration of environmental concerns
in national policies for development.
In highlighting Norway's
commitment to UNEP, Erik Solheim, Minister
of the Environment and International Development,
emphasized UNEP's role as a leading catalyst
in the UN system for integrating environmental
aspects into development.
"Ultimately,"
he said, "this funding is a mark of
Norway's trust in UNEP. It will strengthen
the organization's science-based policy
work based on the GEO-report and other flagship
publications and enhance UNEP's ability
to support countries efforts to develop
a low-carbon, resource-efficient and socially
inclusive economy."
UN Under-Secretary General
and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner
acknowledged Norway's contribution as a
strong vote of confidence in UNEP's ability
to achieve results, whether by working with
UN agencies to mainstream environmental
sustainability into development policies,
by providing guidance to nations seeking
to adapt to climactic changes, or by providing
early warning of emerging environmental
challenges.
"Norway is partnering
with UNEP in the true spirit of multilateralism,"
said Mr. Steiner, "they are not only
the largest supporter of UNEP in financial
terms, it is also one of its most trusted
and valuable partners as we strive for an
equitable and environmentally sustainable
world."
