John E Scanlon, special envoy for African Parks and former secretary-general of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, speaks to the FT's Vanessa Kortekaas about how conservation efforts have been affected by the Covid-19...
Only conservation of the wilderness in its entirety will save wild (and human) species
By Dr Adam Cruise – Stellenbosch University, South Africa The successful conservation of wild species, as well as providing global human well-being, comes down to just a single notion: we need to re-create and expand the space on this planet for natural biodiversity...
Elephants don’t like the disco!
By Dr Tempe Adams - Research coordinator for Botswana-based wildlife NGO Elephants Without Borders (EWB) Conservationists and rural farmers in Africa are constantly trying to find new ways to help protect farms from elephants that like to eat crops. In Botswana, the...
Botswana’s mass elephant deaths – why the secrecy?
By Dr Pieter Kat - Director, LionAid Back some time ago, there were reports that a number of elephant carcasses had been found, most in the smallish concession area NG11 in the Okavango region. Then the number of carcasses began to escalate, and escalate, and go...
Research shows rampant poaching of African elephants is NOT declining
By Dr Adam Cruise - University of Stellenbosch, South Africa Elephant poaching throughout Africa is not declining. This is according to the latest scientific analysis by Elephants Without Borders (EWB) in collaboration with researchers at the University of Washington...
Python skin jackets and elephant leather boots: How wealthy Western nations help drive the global wildlife trade
By Maria Ivanova Associate Professor of Global Governance and Director, Center for Governance and Sustainability, John W. McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies, University of Massachusetts Boston and Candace Famiglietti Doctoral Student, Global...
Animal Farm: South Africa’s blind adherence to neo-colonial wildlife conservation
By Dr Adam Cruise – University of Stellenbosch At the 18th Conference of the Parties (CoP18) of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), held in Geneva in August last year, South Africa vociferously advocated the...
Covid-19 and New Zealand’s Role in the Global Illegal Wildlife Trade
By Fiona Gordon - Environmental Policy Analyst & Ambassador to the Jane Goodall Institute New Zealand The pandemic which has sent countries into lock down and wiped billions from economies has refocused attention on the illicit trade of wild animals. From...
The ecological role of elephants: shaping the land and lending a hand
By Linus Hiscox, studying MSc Global Biodiversity Health and Conservation at University of Bristol and DSWF Programmes and Policy Intern In 1979 the world’s elephant population totalled 1.3 million individuals across Africa and Asia; fast-forward to 2016 and...
Neoliberalism and sustainable use are cut from the same paradigm
By Ian Michler – Sustainability Institute, Stellenbosch University Where neoliberalism subjugates the natural world and people to the commercial whims of markets and globalisation, sustainable use has ensured the international commercialisation of biodiversity, and...