MEDIACOM-RELEASE-WSPA-AUSTRALIA-&-NZ
ELEPHANT MEAT THE `NEW IVORY' ACCORDING TO A NEW REPORT ON AFRICA'S BUSHMEAT CRISIS (CITES TO DISCUSS THE BUSHMEAT ISSUE
FOR THE FIRST TIME)
"If the international community does not respond vigorously and comprehensively to the bushmeat crisis, most endangered
medium and large sized mammals, and many endangered birds and reptiles, will be extinct in these areas within the next
10 to 20 years." - Dr Jane Goodall, WSPA Advisory Director.
WSPA's report, 'Bushmeat - Africa's Conservation Crisis', examines the close links between the illegal bushmeat trade
and the logging industry, and how European development aid has contributed to the worsening crisis.
It also reveals how the hunting of elephants for their meat has now become a more lucrative activity than ivory
smuggling itself in some parts of Africa. An investigation by WSPA Advisory Director Karl Ammann has revealed how
hundreds of kilogrammes of elephant meat are illegally being traded across the border between the Central African
Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
"WSPA estimates that several elephants are being killed every day for their meat and ivory in the Congo basin alone,
with the meat being more valuable to hunters than the ivory" says Kylie Jones, Regional Manager, WSPA Australia & New Zealand. Typically, elephant meat is sold for about $60 per 100 kg, while ivory can fetch about $14 per kg;
economies of scale mean that the total value of the meat is usually several times greater than that of the ivory.
Logging operations in Central and West Africa's forests continue to be instrumental in this illegal trade. In many
undeveloped areas, the timber truck remains the principal means of transport, facilitating the transport of poachers and
bushmeat. Some logging agents supply hunters with guns and food whilst others are involved in buying and re-selling
bushmeat.
International aid agencies also play a role, providing funding for logging roads and other 'development' projects that
are providing access to the forests, thereby damaging indigenous communities and destroying wildlife and their habitats.
Ironically, the European Union and World Bank continue to introduce conservation projects whilst simultaneously
providing financial backing to projects with proven or potential adverse impact upon forests, wildlife, indigenous
peoples and other local communities.
Governments have been slow to respond to this crisis and political commitments on paper have not been translated into
meaningful action on the ground, due to a lack of political will and financial resources. Corruption is rife at all
levels of government in west and central Africa, further undermining any attempts to enforce laws.
Jonathan Pearce, WSPA Campaigns Director, said, "Despite pledges from governments and the timber industry to curb the
illegal trade in bushmeat little has been achieved on the ground. Today, endangered species are being killed at a
greater rate than ever before. The provision of aid for development projects and conservation initiatives must be put
under closer scrutiny until a more genuine attempt is made to protect wildlife in central Africa."
The bushmeat issue is to be discussed at this year's meeting of CITES (Convention on the International Trade in
Endangered Species) in Kenya from 10-20 April. This will be the first time that CITES has looked at this issue and it is
scheduled to be discussed at a special session on Saturday 15th April. A WSPA delegation will be lobbying CITES
delegates to ensure that governments in Central Africa take action to protect endangered species from being hunted and
eaten to extinction.
WSPA delegates at this weeks meeting of CITES are calling for the following measures to be taken to stem the tide of
bushmeat being consumed in Africa: 1. International development agencies must ensure that all development projects
undergo an Environmental Impact Assessment prior to approval to ensure that forests, wildlife, indigenous peoples and
local communities are not adversely affected. 2. European Governments and the European Commission must urgently
implement a wide range of measures to protect wildlife threatened by the bushmeat trade that they voted for at a meeting
with African governments in 1996. 3. Timber companies should adopt a code of conduct aimed at minimising the impact of
hunting in logging concessions. 4. All future forest concession agreements must include specific management plans to
conserve wildlife and the means to achieve those objectives.
ENDS
MEDIA RELEASE FROM WSPA AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND