Regardless of their sophistication, the sheer numbers are enough to overwhelm wildlife management agencies and ranger teams, even in comparatively well-resourced South Africa. Modified date: December 23, 2019 Poaching in Africa has been a serious problem throughout history. Eighty percent of those are plant cases he said back in his office, pointing to a stack of case files piled on the floor beside his desk. However, fear of reprisals prompted many, even community leaders, to remain silent. Human Capital and Institutions Development, Science and Technology and Innovation Hub. Overview 7,700% Rhino poaching in South Africa increased from 13 to 1,004 between 2007 and 2013. Lemtongthais boss in Laos, Vixay Keovasang, has not been charged and allegedly continues trafficking wildlife, though in November 2013 the United States announced a $1 million reward for information on his activities. The support and complicity of some local communities, whether as poaching recruits or simply by ignoring illegal hunting activities, further complicates anti-poaching efforts. South Africas unemployment rate has risen to almost 33 percent during the pandemic. For example, Asian countries could strategically station law enforcement personnel and let investigators call them in to support interrogators and get information from seized documents, laptops and cell phones. Consequently, this technology enables rangers to track and protect game animals from poaching. A new secure online initiative that links whistleblowers with investigative journalists called WildLeaks (www.wildleaks.org/) launched in February 2014 may demonstrate how technology can create more opportunities to safely shine a light on the corruption that facilitates wildlife trafficking. In some communities, the tasks of elephants are curved into jewels and ornaments and animals such as the pangolin scales and rhino horns are utilised in traditional medicines, more especially in Asia. Consequently, Africa is progressively facing life-threatening droughts and floods over the past decade. [10] https://www.pri.org/stories/2015-03-22/poisoning-rhino-horns-doesnt-hurt-rhinos-it-may-keep-poachers-away. Command-and-control structures were streamlined and specialist units commissioned to analyze intelligence to increase response times against more mobile and sophisticated poachers. By some estimates, the number of African elephants killed annually since 2007 has more than doubled to over 30,000.1 The trend crossed a chilling threshold in 2010 as the rate of killings surpassed that at which elephants breed, indicating that significant net population declines have begun. In response, game rangers are subsequently dispatched to monitor the alarmed animal. African governments will also need to work collaboratively to pool resources, share information, and align diplomatic efforts. South Africa is home to around a third of all succulent species, according to the World Wildlife Fund, and experts say that this wave of poaching poses a severe threat to biodiversity. The WJC team of experts in law, criminology and wildlife conducts field investigations worldwide to identify the people behind the poaching, trafficking and trading of wildlife products. In addition, the erratic cutting down of trees has also resulted in climate change. Mozambique enacted a new conservation law in June 2014 that makes wildlife poaching a serious crime. Whistleblowing opportunities and protections should be enhanced. This shift has brought the countrys conservation authorities into conflict with a growing number of young, unemployed people who see in these plants the chance of an escape from grinding poverty. Fishing and hunting without a license. Lemtongthai employed groups of Thai prostitutes, some working in Johannesburg and others flown in from Asia, to obtain licenses in South Africa that permit an individual to hunt one rhino a year. [12] https://www.getaway.co.za/travel-news/technology-developed-to-protect-gorillas/. https://www.unep.org/resources/report/african-strategy-combating-illegal-exploitation-and-illegal-trade-wild-fauna-and. Poaching and illegal trade not only present real environmental dangers, but ultimately undermine the rule of law by potentially fueling conflict, reports the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in its first World Wildlife Crime Report, published in May 2016. More than an environmental tragedy, however, wildlife poaching and trafficking has exacerbated other security threats and led to the co-option of certain African security units. This database and similar ones for elephant DNA are critical to mapping trafficking patterns and the dismantlement of transnational networks. In 2013, 86 poachers were arrested and 47 died during clashes with South African authorities just in KNP. Download this Brief as a PDF: Asian governments should support a ban on ivory sales and more actively discourage their citizens from buying ivory and rhino products. Poaching has damaged the wildlife population in Kenya, with fears that some species could be pushed into extinction, Julius Kamau, executive director of the East African Wildlife Society, told Africa Renewal. I firmly believe that law enforcement can change the behaviour of people, says Olivia Swaak-Goldman, the commissions executive director. Heavier penalties arent a cure-all, though. The Ugandan government monitors gorillas in partnership with Inmarsat, a British satellite telecommunications company, through mobile technology solutions. Various militia groups and criminal networks have been drawn to the illegal wildlife trades huge profits. This is especially complicated by the encrypted nature of the online transactions undertaken during illicit trading across e-commerce platforms. He then altered the official paperwork to redirect rhino horn shipments to his businesses in Southeast Asia rather than to the registered addresses of the supposed hunters (the prostitutes).8 In November 2012, Lemtongthai pled guilty to charges of violating South African customs regulations and illegally hunting protected species. The profits from wildlife trafficking have also fueled corruption, weakening and co-opting critical state institutions such as the police and military. African governments can also work together to avoid past missteps that helped fuel the recent surge in demand for ivory and rhino horn. https://www.traffic.org/news/leading-tech-companies-unite-to-stop-wildlife-traffickers/. For example, reptiles, primates, and birds are captured alive to trade them as exotic pets. However, if national authorities are taking no action, the commission can hold public hearings before an accountability panel. Notably, the utilisation of modern technologies can potentially and adequately enable Africas ability to preserve its precious animals and plants in a collaborative and timely manner. No number of helicopters or advanced gadgetry can top the effectiveness of a ranger who knows the bush, can spot the easily overlooked signs of intruders, can operate for days or weeks without resupply, and is willing to put himself or herself in harms way. Abooming black market trade worth hundreds of millions of dollars is fueling corruption in Africas ports, customs offices, and security forces as well as providing new revenues for insurgent groups and criminal networks across the continent. [1] https://www.encyclopedie-environnement.org/en/life/restoring-savannas-and-tropical-herbaceous-ecosystems/. Experience suggests significant impacts can be realized. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/poaching-animals. Significant challenges remain to reverse poaching trends, but these initial efforts are bearing fruit. Author Delia Owens and Her Husband Tried to Save Elephants in Zambia The South African government lacks the personnel to police the vast open spaces where the Conophytums grow. Historically, Kenya has treated poaching as a petty offence, but a law introduced in 2013 requires high minimum penalties for wildlife crimes, including imprisonment for the killing of endangered species. Poaching is a component of wildlife trafficking (i.e., illegal trade in wildlife). Thus, the animals can be counted within the landscape, generate data management systems, and enable recognition systems against potential threats to wildlife and their habitats. WHY IS IMPORTANT TO TAKE ACTION AGAINST POACHING: As in Kruger National Park in South Africa, the command-and-control structure of these ranger corps will need to be revised to allow for rapid relay of information to a central command post that can quickly reposition and redirect units as needed. Source: Riccardo Pravettoni, GRID-Arendal. There have also been money laundering cases linked to poaching by African militias to fund their operations.[8]. Poaching is not a new problem in Africa. Conservationists say they cant underscore enough the necessity of law. Wildlife trade is predominantly conducted on illegal markets that have unfortunately expanded with the augmentation of e-commerce platforms promoted by dark and social media websites. Once ivory or rhino horn leaves Africas parks and reserves it is usually sold or transferred to criminal networks. Customs or other officials may be bribed to approve or certify transactions and paperwork. Furthermore, APET advises African countries to enhance their efforts towards preventing and closing online illegal wildlife trafficking avenues that have exponentially expanded as enabled by social media and e-commerce platforms. We produce our own content, commission content from freelancers based in different African countries, and curate content from the UN system and the African Union, working closely with Office of the Special Adviser on Africa (OSAA), the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), and the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD). This would also be a service to the many Asian buyers who are wasting thousands or tens of thousands of dollars on these wildlife products for their bunk medicinal properties. Use of machine guns, poison, explosives, snare traps, pit traps, and nets. For example, in 2018, the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) launched the Coalition to End Wildlife Trafficking Online (CEWTO) campaign to discourage online illicit trading and poaching. Therefore, APET is supporting efforts of adopting artificial intelligence (AI) enabled digital technologies that can routinely scrutinise and probe substantial online data to prevent and disrupt illicit trade, promoting poaching effectively. In recent years countries have strengthened anti-poaching laws and stepped up prosecutions. Spikes in the prices of ivory and rhino horn have propelled an escalation in killings of African elephants and rhinoceroses. Once thought of in South Africa as plants for the poor, succulents have come into fashion internationally in recent years, valued for their quirky, sculptural forms and the relatively little maintenance they require. High demand for shark fin soup across Asia has been dramatically lowered through effective social marketing. Several African countries have already adopted new laws or increased penalties. Wealthy people and zookeepers commonly practise this for sport and display. The pandemic is a gift to poachers in Africa - The Economist [15] Furthermore, Baidu, a Chinese multinational technology company specialising in AI and the internet, collaborates with CEWTO to formulate and implement AI-based solutions suitable for detecting online listings and the sale of wildlife.[16]. For example, the African pangolin has been declared an endangered species in Africa. Unfortunately, Africa has persistent wildlife crimes that are particularly deterring Africas efforts towards wildlife conservation. A former diamond miner, Mr. Kaffer, who is 40, said he had been out of work for more than a year and was struggling to support his family. Regrettably, the African pangolin is one of the most trafficked animals in Africa. Technology will also be crucial to the extensive recordkeeping necessary to analyze ranger deployments, poaching patterns, and biometric and forensic data on wildlife remains. The newly created Wildlife Justice Commission (WJC), for example, gathers evidence to disrupt and help dismantle transnational, organized wildlife crime. A drop in rhino poaching in South Africa, which has the tightest lockdown on the continent, is a small exception, says Jorge Eduardo Rios of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. This marked an increase in arrests from 317 for the whole of 2015, according to Edna Molewa, the minister of water and environmental affairs. Internal affairs offices in African security services should be instructed to investigate wildlife trafficking. Flickr, Coordinating Security Sector Responses to Illegal Logging, National Security Strategy Development and Implementation, Peace Support Operations in Strategic Context, Rule of Law and Security Sector Governance, Understanding Africas Emerging Cyber Threats, Strengthening Leadership, Strategy, and Institutions , National Security Strategy Development (NSSD) and Implementation, Security Sector Transformation and Reform (SST/SSR) in Challenging Contexts, Security Governance Initiative (SGI) Partners Seminar, Washington Seminar on U.S.Africa Security Engagement, African Military Education Program (AMEP), Managing Security Resources in Africa 2.0, Addressing Drivers of Conflict and Insecurity , Countering Violent Extremism: Lessons Learned for Security Sector Practitioners, National Countering Terrorism Strategies in Africa, Effective Counter-Insurgency (COIN) Strategies in Africa, Advancing Collective Security and Crisis Response , Regional Responses to Maritime Insecurity, Continental and Regional Conflict Prevention, Legitimacy, Accountability, and Transparency, Africas Contemporary Security Challenges (ACSC), Joaquim Chissano, former President of Mozambique and Founder of the Joaquim Chissano Foundation Wildlife Preservation Initiative in Mozambique, The Ivory Trade: Thinking Like a Businessman to Stop the Business,, New Breed of Poacher Decimates African Rhino,, Rhino Butchers Caught on Film at North West Game Farm,, Kinana Refutes Ivory Trafficking Claims Made by Opposition MPs,, The Ivory Trade Is Out of Control, and China Needs to Do More to Stop It,, From Elephants Mouths, an Illicit Trail to China,, Namibia Offers Model to Tackle Poaching,, How Namibia Turned Poachers into Gamekeepers and Saved Rare Wildlife,, Anti-Poaching Operation Spreads Terror in Tanzania,, China Ivory Prosecution: A Success Exposes Fundamental Failure,. Therefore, APET is supporting efforts of adopting artificial intelligence (AI) enabled digital technologies that can routinely scrutinise and probe substantial online data to prevent and disrupt illicit trade, promoting poaching effectively. Another driver of the demand for rhino horn in Asia is the belief that it has powerful medicinal properties, including that it cures cancer. Trafficking networks continue to operate with minimal fear of consequences. Safaris and tourism are huge foreign currency earners for African countries, including over $1 billion annually for Kenya. Expanded air services, canine capabilities, and several night operation enhancements have also helped. [2] https://au.int/sites/default/files/decisions/9662-ex_cl_dec_813_-_850_xxv_e-1.pdf. [15] https://www.traffic.org/news/leading-tech-companies-unite-to-stop-wildlife-traffickers/. The continent possesses unique species of wildlife that are uniquely African. The vast majority of arrests are of low-level poachers. This could take time. Illegal killings in southern Africa from 2000 to 2007 were rare, frequently fewer than 10 a year. https://wedocs.unep.org/handle/20.500.11822/20825. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter @AfricaRenewal, To receive us straight in your mailbox, subscribe to the monthly Africa Renewal newsletter at this link: https://bit.ly/AfricaNewsletter, Newly-created commission will gather evidence to help dismantle organized wildlife crimes, Baby elephants play soccer as they graze at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Nairobi, Kenya. All rights reserved. Du Toit said their market value overseas would be much higher. South Africa is home to around a third of all succulent species, according to the World Wildlife Fund, and experts say that this wave of poaching poses a severe threat to biodiversity. The problem is getting huge.. As such, African governments have increased game rangers and poaching penalties. For example, to combat South Africas rampant poaching of rhinos, the country has embraced emerging technology solutions necessary for tackling poaching corruption. In previous surveys, 70 percent of Chinese respondents were not aware that tusks mainly come from dead elephants.12 Consumer views of the rhino horn trade appear to be similarly under-informed.13 Few Chinese understand the role that criminal networks play in supplying these products.14 Asian demand for ivory, moreover, also seems to be highly influenced by government policies and pronouncements. Fines for wildlife crimes should at the very least exceed the value of the wildlife products seized from offenders. Conservation groups have begun backing new ways to deter poachers. Since then the number of elephant deaths from poaching in the country has decreased by 80% and the number of rhino deaths from poaching by 90%. Poaching and the problem with conservation in Africa (commentary)