Conservation - Rhino Horn and Ivory: a sensitive issue

[Matias]

What drives elephant poaching? It’s not greed
Fewer elephants were poached in areas where communities were healthier and wealthier, a study on thousands of killings in 30 African countries found.

Quote:Elephant poaching is likely driven by need, not greed, according to findings published this month in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.


Fewer elephants were poached where humans were healthier and wealthier, according to researchers from Oxford University, the UN, the University of Cape Town, and other institutions who analyzed data from more than 10,000 killings over nearly two decades and across 30 African countries. They based their study on mortality rates of children under five and surveys assessing, for example, the number of rooms in houses, the availability of clean water and toilets, and ownership of assets such as a refrigerator and television.

Poaching is a major cause of decline for both endangered savanna elephants and critically endangered forest elephants, whose combined numbers have fallen to about 415,000, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Previously, evidence of what spurred killings of elephants and other animals was anecdotal and from particular case studies. But now, nonprofits and governments “can use the study as justification” for conservation approaches, says Timothy Kuiper, a co-author of the study, commissioned by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, the international agreement that manages the wildlife trade. Other motivators of poaching include corruption and global ivory prices.  

“When we are looking to protect wildlife, we can't do that without thinking about the well-being of people,” he says. To better combat poaching, conservationists have to think creatively, implementing strategies such as anti-corruption government reforms, demand-reduction in ivory-consuming countries, improved education, health, and economic programs, and increased support for wildlife rangers.

Poor and poorly governed people. I am reminded of a study I read not long ago that, according to the Monitoring of Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE), a conservation program, about 40% of elephant deaths were a direct result of poaching. It seems even small compared to the high numbers in many parts of Africa, however it greatly exceeds the natural birth and death rates of the species in a good part of its range of occupation. Added to the serious problem of drought affecting the entire animal network; and no wonder scientists and conservation professionals insist that conservation begins and ends with people. Reply