By Jared Kukura – Wild Things Initiative Feeling the pressure of the United Kingdom’s upcoming decision on a trophy hunting import ban, Botswana reiterated their unscientific opinion that the country has too many elephants. In their eyes, hunting...
Camera traps completed one of the most thorough surveys of African rainforest yet
By Mattia Bessone - PhD Researcher in Conservation Biology, Liverpool John Moores University; Barbara Fruth -Associate Professor, Liverpool John Moores University Tropical rainforests are the world’s richest land habitats for biodiversity, harbouring stunning numbers...
Coronavirus has finally made us recognise the illegal wildlife trade is a public health issue
By Simon Evans -Principal Lecturer in Ecotourism, Anglia Ruskin University There will be few positives to take from coronavirus. But the global pandemic may yet prove to be an important moment in the attempts to address the illegal wildlife trade. The media has...
Tribute: A Giant of the Conservation World Passes Away
By Dr Adam Cruise - University of Stellenbosch It is with great sadness that a giant of global wildlife conservation passed away yesterday. Professor Alejandro Nadal was a dear friend and colleague to many of us whose immense scholarly insight into the economics of...
To end wildlife crime global responses must move with the times
By John E. Scanlon AO - Special Envoy at African Parks Network One million species are facing extinction within decades unless we change course according to the IPBES Global Assessment on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. Can we save one species at a time...
Ethics and the IUCN
By Professor Klauss Bosselmann, Chair of the IUCN WCEL Ethics Specialist Group - Program on African Protected Areas (PAPACO) Humanity is plundering the planet with accelerating speed - destruction of natural habitats, wildlife and biodiversity included. If we do not...
Botswana government won’t let the truth get in the way of its trophy hunting narrative
By Dr. Ross Harvey - Independent Economist, University of Cape Town Symptomatic of the Botswana government’s shaky relationship with reality is its letter to the United Kingdom’s Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). A full week after...
Why poaching has decreased dramatically in Mozambique’s Niassa Reserve
By Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime Mozambique’s far northern Niassa National Reserve, one of the great wilderness areas of Africa, was also until recently an elephant killing field where poachers operated with virtual impunity. Now, the...
From top-down laws to individual actions – why policy change is important in conservation
By Ceres Kam, Wildlife Campaigner - Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) When people hear the word “conservation”, a lot of times they may think of field work such as protecting habitats, anti-poaching efforts, helping species population recover and enforcing...
Botswana auctions off the last of its big tusker elephants
By Dr. Ross Harvey (Independent Economist, University of Cape Town) – Conservation Action Trust The Botswana government has again demonstrated to the world that it either does not understand or does not care that elephants play a critical role in maintaining...