Ivory Trade

[Richprins]

Hmmmmm....

[nan]

oups
Tsavo, the land of red Elephants

[Jillinflorida]

Makes me sick to my stomach. Man's (or woman's) greed knows no bounds.

[vinkie]

DRC Congolese soldiers selling firearms arms to elephant poachers, says M23 rebels

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

The M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo are accusing government forces of selling guns to elephant poachers. The rebels, who have been fighting the Kinshasa government since April last year, say that the poachers have intensified their hunt for Ivory due to the availability of guns they buy at a giveaway price from the government soldiers. M23 spokesperson Colonel Vianney Kazarama told URN on phone from the rebel base in Bunagana that they have information linking government forces to poaching. He says through their intelligence and from the poachers they have arrested, they have established that the government forces who are near the rebel territory are selling off ammunitions to get money for upkeep. The DRC government could not be reached by our reporter for a comment on the matter. According to the Wildlife Conservation Society, the population of elephants in eastern Congo has fallen by about 50% over the past decade due to poaching and conflicts in the region. An estimated 17,000 elephants were killed by poachers in 2011 alone. DRC is among eight countries heavily implicated in the ivory trade. In March this year, a Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) conference issued a warning to the eight countries that they have until July 2014 to reduce the trade in ivory or face sanctions. The other countries are Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania among others. An October 2012 report by UN Office of Humanitarian Coordination Affairs said more than 475,000 people had been internally displaced across Oriental, North and South Kivu provinces. The report added that more than 50,000 people had taken refuge in neighboring Uganda and another 25,000 in Rwanda following the crisis. Presently, the rebels and the Congolese government are involved in peace talks in Uganda under the International Conference on Great Lakes Region (ICGLR). The negotiation is intended to review the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 23 March 2009, a date the rebels coined to get their name.

Source: http://africanenvironmentalpolice.blogs ... 0950772583

[Toko]

Guns will not win the war against elephant poachers

Bigger fines and stronger penalties alone won't be enough to stop poaching for ivory – but traditional values could help

Despite best efforts we are not winning the war on poaching. A massive seizure of 1.5 tons of ivory in Kenya's port city of Mombasa on 3 July flies in the face of threats against poachers and dealers by the Kenya government, and yet ivory traffickers continue unabated. In the first six months of 2013 more than 7.5 tons of ivory was seized in the country - more than was seized in all of 2012.

By all measures, elephants are much worse off than last year; ivory continues to flow through the country at increasing rates, and the slaughter of elephants is accelerating. The public, CITES, conservationists and the world criticizes Kenya for her failure to match words with actions. The situation is rapidly spiraling out of control.

Kenya has taken many decisive actions. Thirty-two staff including senior officers of the Kenya Wildlife Service were sent home for involvement or suspicion of involvement in driving the crisis, the list of shame includes senior officers in the security department. The government is enacting new legislation, committing additional funds to hire 1,000 new rangers, and private sector has also redoubled their efforts through increasing investment in anti-poaching with special training, more monitoring, drones, sniffer dogs, attack dogs, vehicles, 1000$ worth of remote cameras and aircraft.

Despite these military efforts to stop the poachers, the problem is worsening. As Julius Kimani, Deputy Director of Security in KWS said in a meeting last week

"We cannot win this war with guns, it is time to explore more intelligent ways of motivating people to stop killing our most magnificent species."


Changing trends in poaching

There was a time when despite the costs and risks, Kenyans defended elephants. Poaching elephants for ivory was unacceptable to most, and those who engaged in it were demeaned. In the 1970's and 80's poachers mostly the tough wiry Somali people who entered Kenya on foot from the north with guns under their shuka's (sarongs). They followed the tracks of elephants, shot them and buried the ivory for collection at a later date. It was a low tech business. Today the poaching and trafficking of ivory is no longer the prestige of the Somali, it is being done by all tribes, professionals, and individuals of all walks of life:

In April a young university student was arrested at a Kenyan shopping mall in a smart SUV full of ivory.

Local community members once considered the buffer against poachers from outside are now poaching.

Local poaching rings operate with impunity in Kenya

Staff and ex-staff of conservation bodies are now doing the poaching themselves.

How can we apply behavioural economics to save elephants?

From Ariely's research we can take two lessons and actions that might stem the flow of poachers, and reverting those already in crime back to a life of honesty.

First we must address the perception that everyone is poaching and stop those people from becoming engaged in poaching or ivory trafficking because everyone else is doing this. This may be possible through social messaging mechanisms. Poaching must become a socially unacceptable practice, morally wrong, and a taboo.

Secondly, we should look for a way to give those who have just entered onto the thin edge of the slippery slope, a reason to jump off it. African traditions are replete with examples of traditional courts that allow petty criminals to be forgiven. The convict apologizes, pays the penalty, promises not to do it again, and returns to society. This was most famously, if not, controversially applied in the case of the Rwanda genocide through the traditional and officially recognized Gacaca courts.

Honoring traditional values to save elephants

Traditional courts have been shown to be effective for wildlife crimes. For example, in May when the rhino named Omni was killed in Ilingwesi, north Kenya. Government efforts to trace the killers failed until the elders decided to use traditional methods. They gave the culprits 10 days to face up to the crime or risk being cursed. On the tenth day two men came forward. They were immediately fined 3 cows each as per tradition, and then taken to a police station for formal charges. The public acknowledgement, show of remorse, apology and repentance allows these men to return to society though their community is likely to be keeping a close eye on them. Not much publicity or recognition has been accorded to this case which may hold the answer for changing values.

If Ariely is right, then conservationists and governments should begin seriously thinking about how to prevent ordinary people from losing their 'virginity' and entering into the shadowy world of wildlife crime. Unless the social acceptance of corruption and bribery are significantly reduced, it is unlikely that much will be gained in terms of reducing crime of all kinds in Kenya. Poaching and ivory trafficking must once again become so socially unacceptable that communities will not tolerate their own getting involved. By applying behavioral lessons to the problem, we can recognize and empower traditional African courts to honour our African values, change perceptions and grow a community that defends elephants despite the economic incentives.



Army officers have been arrested on suspicion of poaching.

Two renowned Kenyan elephant conservationists have been arrested on charges of ivory trafficking.

On 29th of June an American traveller was arrested at Nairobi International Airport and charged with smuggling ivory.

At this rate it is conceivable that anybody could be suspected of involvement in the ivory trafficking business because it is not poverty that drives people to kill elephants or traffic ivory. Why is it that so many people are now involved in poaching and trafficking of ivory?

Understanding the psychology of poachers

In a recent discussion with behavioral economist and professor at Duke University Dan Ariely, I was challenged to think about the human motivations behind the poaching. Ariely, the author of three New York Times Best Sellers Predictably Irrational, The Upside of Irrationality, and The Honest Truth about Dishonesty has studied motivations behind the actions of criminals.

I spoke to Ariely about the Kenyan government response to the crisis, by enacting extreme penalties to discourage poachers. Like others I have a gut feeling that higher penalties may not work, I fear that instead suspects will bribe the police, the price of ivory will increase to compensate and thus accelerate the killing. Ariely said I had a point, but not necessarily for the reasons I thought.

I learned three important things about behavioral economics that are relevant to poaching.

1. Everyone is dishonest to the limit of social acceptance

First, Ariely's research suggests that when many of people are doing bad things, it is easier for anyone to view it as socially acceptable and starting engaging in this activity as well. Ariely's logic suggests that the more we report the scale of ivory trafficking and elephant poaching, the more it seems ubiquitous and therefore people will think "Everyone else is doing it so why not me?". It seems counter intuitive but what this means is that the more awareness we create about poaching and ivory trafficking, the worse it's going to get. At least as long as the awareness is not tightly connected with moral disgust and condemnation.

His research also finds that we tend to do bad things only up to a limit, and that limit is defined by our own personal standards of acceptable dishonesty. For example, everyone may steal a little, and even when given the opportunity to take more, people tend to restrict their cheating to a certain level which is defined by personal and social norms. It is a kind of social learning, where we observe other peoples' actions as a way to figure out what is OK and what is not.

Social acceptance of many dishonest activates such as drug use, infidelity, doping by elite athletes, bribery and corruption may be rooted in repeated media stories about more and more individuals engaging in thee activities – leading us to view these activities as more commonplace. We then rationalize our cheating behavior and say "I know it's wrong, but so what, everyone else is doing it". We see this daily in Kenya where drink driving is socially acceptable and many people do it. Yet few Kenyans would dream of drink driving in USA or UK where there is no social acceptance of this kind of behavior.

2. Criminals start small

The second thing I learned from Ariely is that most criminals start off small, whether it's insider trading or drug crimes. Once they get started it is easier to do a little more, and before long they are doing things that initially were unthinkable. Culprits often report surprise and horror about the scale of what they are doing when they get caught. It's what we affectionately call the slippery slope, once you are on it you will stay on it and it just gets worse and worse. To many people, committing a crime, no matter how small, is like losing your virginity; once it's gone it can't be reclaimed. But the good news is that we do have mechanisms to reboot and start over. Think of confession in the Catholic Church.

3. Risk of getting caught deters criminals more than the size of the penalty

The third thing I learned is that the likelihood of someone engaging in criminal activity is related less to the severity of the penalty and more to the likelihood of getting caught – and particularly when the probability is very high (think about crossing a red light when the fine is $1,000 and the probability is 1% vs a situation where the fine is $0 and the probability is 100%). Ariely's research finds that despite the fines and jail terms for drug dealing, people still do it, especially in places where the odds of getting caught are low, and especially where there is a culture of crime. So according to this argument, as long as there is a high probability of getting away with it, a poacher might continue to take the risks no matter how high the penalty. From this perspective, higher penalties in an unchanged world of poor investigations, and high corruption, might even escalate the problem as more people stepping onto the slippery slope and the dark world of wildlife crime. All of this means that while stiffer penalties (if they get executed) will certainly get hundreds if not thousands of people into jail for 15 years or more (which is far from ideal), it is not likely to stop the killings.

Ariely concluded

"Rather than creating stiff punishments for offenders if they are caught, we need to change the moral standing on these issues and the educational process that leads to our understanding of the unacceptability of such behaviors".

[Richprins]

Interesting!

Just as China’s importance on the African continent is continually growing (Lagerkvist), so it grows in Kenya. China and Kenya have a history of positive relations dating back to Kenya’s independence in 1963. More recently the countries have engaged in a mutual exchange of military knowledge and technology. Important military commanders from both Kenya and China have made visits to the other country, and in 2005 the Kenyan President visited Beijing (Wikipedia: China-Kenya Relations). However despite the importance of military exchange and political interaction, trade overshadows all else. 15.3% of Kenya’s exports come from China (CIA World Factbook). Only a small fraction of this is China buying Kenyan goods, meaning that Kenya relies heavily on China. This dependence is intensified by aid, which often takes the form of infrastructure projects, particularly in transportation. China was also the first to invest in Kenyan manufacturing (Wikipedia: China-Kenya Relations). Although this highly unequal relationship has not yet affected Kenya’s independent political decision-making, the western hemisphere is certainly considering the possibility.

http://africanworldpolitics.site.wesley ... nd-the-us/

I think this has a lot to do with the upsurge!

[Toko]

Namibia: Elephant Poaching a Concern

BY NDANKI KAHIURIKA, 12 JULY 2013

OVER 72 elephants were poached in the Caprivi Region last year alone while six cases have been reported so far this year.

Detective Tuli Namundjembo from the Katima Mulilo Police says approximately 49 elephant tusks and some ivory (also from elephant tusks) have been confiscated in the region since January this year. They have a combined weight of 427kg with a total value of N$392 000.

Namundjebo said the number of poaching incidents seem to be increasing and police have stepped up efforts to capture the main culprit who is suspected to be sending out most of these poachers. They suspect somebody who operates from outside Namibia to be the ringleader.

Most of the poachers, though, are local people who are given large sums of money in exchange for their service, said Namundjebo.

The Namibian was unable to get the complete statistics for the rest of the country from the Ministry of Environment and Tourism or the Namibian Police.

The escalating elephant poaching statistics have raised concerns amongst conservation officers who set up a new anti-poaching unit where they receive new skills in combatting poaching, according to Karine Nuulimba, Director of Caprivi and Trans Boundary Programme.

Nuulimba said the programme is under the supervision of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET).

"The anti-poaching programme includes game guards from different conservancies. The aim is to enhance skills and (obtain) equipment needed to bag poachers," she said.

The lastest case of poaching was reported from the Bwabwata National Park where four Namibians were caught with 37 elephant tusks worth N$317 000 in June.

The suspects were 35-year-old Andreas Niivundo, 25-year-old Sidney Malonzi, Charles Fredericks (46) and Richard Malonzi (50). They are due to appear in court again on 19 August.

"We hope by not granting the suspects bail we can dishearten other poachers," said Namundjebo, referring to the recently caught suspects who were denied bail.

The MET's Director of Regional Services and Parks Management, Colgar Sikopo, said the ministry was aware of the increase in poaching and is doing its best to stop it.

[Toko]

Parks and Wildlife authority runs out of storage space for ivory

July 12, 2013

THE Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZPWMA) is running out of storage space for ivory with reports that it is sitting on 62 374 tonnes of ivory valued at about $15,6 million.

The authority cannot trade in ivory since there is a nine year moratorium on ivory trade that expires in 2017.
The moratorium was imposed by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites).

ZPWMA last sold three tonnes of ivory to Chinese and Japanese buyers in 2008 after Cites approved the trade.
In a statement yesterday, ZPWMA public relations manager Ms Caroline Washaya-Moyo said, come December, they would have no space to store more ivory.

She said their stores could only accommodate 65 000 tonnes of ivory.
“The authority is running out of storage space for its elephant tusks. Currently the authority is sitting on 62 374,33 tonnes of elephant tusks valued at approximately $15,6 million. This leaves the authority with less than three tonnes to fill up the remaining space. Elephant tusks are collected monthly at an average of 1,1 tonnes,” said Ms Washaya-Moyo.

She said ivory was being obtained from different sources including problem animal control, natural deaths, breakages, confiscation and those picked from national parks.

Ms Washaya-Moyo said it should be made known that while governments the world over fund conservation, ZPWMA was funding its own operations.

“The authority is therefore saying elephant ivory in store represents animals that are already dead and why should we not use the dead to look after the living animals,” she said.

“Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority is struggling to fund its statutory obligations, staff costs and law enforcement which are one of the functions of the authority. Law enforcement ensures that the authority undertakes its obligation of enforcing Statutory Acts including the Parks and Wildlife Act(Chapter 20:14),Trapping of Animals Act, Prevention of Cruelty against Animals Act, the Bees Act and the Quelea Control Act. Law enforcement requires operational equipment such as patrol kits, uniforms, radio communication kits, vehicles, boats, tracking equipment which the authority is in dire need of. Currently most of the existing field equipment is old and obsolete.”

Ms Washaya-Moyo said other challenges they were facing included understaffing in rhino intensive protection zones and elephant ranges, inadequate game water supply, quelea control, problem animal management, lack of funds to carry out conservation and environmental awareness campaign programmes, invasive plant species management and international conventions and agreements obligations which did not allow the country to trade in ivory.

Zimbabwe’s elephant population is estimated at 100 000.

[Toko]

POACHERS KILL FOUR JUMBOS USING POISONED ARROWS 15 Jul 2013

By RENSON MNYAMWEZI

KENYA: Four elephants have died of arrow wounds in the Tsavo Conservation area (TCA) in Taita-Taveta County.

At the same time KWS said it is treating four elephants every week shot with poisoned arrows by suspected poachers in the ecosystem.

The conservation body said poachers had now resorted to using arrows to kill elephants and rhinos in local ranches bordering Tsavo.

TCA Assistant Director Robert Obrein disclosed that poachers were now hiring professional hunters to kill wildlife along the Voi River.

“KWS doctors are using enormous resources in treating injured elephants and this is not good for the country. Relevant stakeholders should all join hands in dealing with the poaching menace,” he said.

“It has become very difficult for poachers to use rifles because of intensified surveillance. They are now using professional hunters to waylay wildlife along the Voi River and kill them,” Obrein said.

The remarks come at a time when the Government is still grappling with widespread cases of poaching among other wildlife-related crimes in the country.

Obrein was speaking at a wildlife conservation meeting in Voi town yesterday convened by the Kenya Wildlife Conservancies Association (KWCA), an umbrella body of all the conservancies in Kenya.

“Poaching is real and everything possible should be done to eradicate the menace,” he noted.

[Richprins]

Caprivi is a nightmare as it lies near the junction of 4 countries, including Angola, Botswana and Zimbabwe.

To add, the appeal by Zim Conservation seems desperate, and who knows how fast their stockpile is disappearing, or will do so. Politics are involved all over the place there, with elections coming up soon, and obviously massive Chinese influence there too!