New report warns of uncertain future for African elephants 06
March 2013 | International news release Bangkok, 6 March 2013—
Populations of elephants in Africa continue to be under severe
threat as the illegal trade in ivory grows - with double the
numbers of elephants killed and triple the amounts of ivory
seized over the last decade. According to a new report entitled
“Elephants in the Dust – The African Elephant Crisis”,
increasing poaching levels, as well as loss of habitat are
threatening the survival of African elephant populations in
Central Africa as well as previously secure populations in West,
Southern and Eastern Africa. The report - produced by the UN
Environment Programme (UNEP), the Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), the International Union for
Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and the Wildlife Trade Monitoring
Network (TRAFFIC) - says that systematic monitoring of large-
scale seizures of ivory destined for Asia is indicative of the
involvement of criminal networks, w