By Rosemary Iriowen Egonmwan, University of Lagos and Bola Oboh, University of Lagos Nigeria is one of 37 African countries where elephants are found in the wild. Savannah elephants (Loxodonta africana) can be found in the north and forest elephants (Loxodonta...
Opportunity Lost or Covered – Nairobi Court Acquits Chinese National of Wildlife Trafficking
By Chris Morris, International Policy Digest It could have been the proverbial pot of gold. Instead, it became at best, an opportunity lost in the fight against transnational organized wildlife crime. On February 2, a Nairobi area court acquitted Hoang Thi Diu, a...
Logocentrism: The problem with human language and our relationship with (other) animals
By Adam Cruise Abstract: Human language is a powerful tool that can intensify biases towards ethnic groups, genders or minorities. This is a logocentric manifestation early feminist philosophers, for example, identified and endeavoured to reform. Certainly, until the...
Africa’s savannah elephants: small ‘fortress’ parks aren’t the answer – they need room to roam
By Celesté Maré, PhD candidate, Aarhus University and Robert A.R. Guldemond, Researcher, Conservation Ecology Research Unit, University of Pretoria, The Conversation Africa is home to about 410,000 savannah elephants (Loxodonta africana), most of them living in...
Is elephant poaching on the rise in Botswana?
By Africa Geographic A recent spate of arrests of elephant poachers in Namibia has shone the light on an apparent increase in poaching of elephants in Botswana and led to questions surrounding the efficacy of anti-poaching systems in the region. Africa...
Cop28 can help African forest elephants as businesses push for net zero
By Nick Webster, The National News Solar-powered electric fences are being installed in Gabon to help farming communities coexist with forest elephants – and Cop28 could provide a platform to help the project kick on. The fences are expensive, at $3,500 a time, but...
UN Security Officer’s Ivory Trafficking Conviction Opens Pandora’s Box of Queries
By Chris Morris, International Policy Digest In the shadowy world of ivory trafficking, akin to the narco trade, the stature of the accused is often gauged by the volume of the contraband or the prestige of their legal representation. By such a barometer, Kenya has...
Cameroon’s indigenous Baka sing to save their vanishing forest home
By Ngala Killian Chimtom in Yaounde - RFIIn the south-eastern rainforests of Cameroon, the indigenous Baka people are seeing their habitat decimated by logging, farming, mining and construction. Where once they sang and danced to celebrate a hunt or give thanks to the...
SA’s ‘R3.4-billion’ hunting industry – should a simple tourist levy replace recreational hunts?
By Tiara Walters - Daily Maverick As the debate on the ethics of ‘trophy hunting’ rages on, a new international study claims to offer a proposal that would sound the controversial industry’s death knell — by taxing tourists a ‘lion protection’ fee. But is it really...
Hong Kong’s illegal wildlife trade flourishing despite tougher enforcement powers
By Ambrose Li, South China Morning Post Hong Kong’s illegal wildlife trade is flourishing despite the enactment of tougher laws aimed at shutting down syndicates making millions of dollars off endangered species, experts have said, noting authorities have failed to...