IUCN African ElephantSummit

Background

IUCN is seriously concerned by theescalating rise over the last three yearsin poaching of elephantsfor ivory, which is increasing across the range ofthe African elephant, and thecorresponding illegal international and domestic trade in ivory.Many frameworks exist to tackle this problem, including the African Elephant Action Plan, CITES provisions, and national strategies, amongst others. However,African elephant range States, as well as many of IUCN’s Members, are concerned that this problem, increasingly entrenched in networks of organized crime, cannot be addressed by the actions of environment ministries and wildlife authorities alone.

High-level commitment is required to remove the barriers to effective protection of elephants and significant reduction in the illegal trade in ivory. These commitments are urgently needed at all points in the illegal ivory value chain, including African elephant range States, ivory transit States, and in the States that are the major consumers of ivory.

Reflecting these concerns, IUCN’s Members passed a resolution at the 2012 IUCN World Conservation Congress to convene a high-level meeting in 2013 to identify urgent measures to be taken and to build political will towards implementing these actions.

To date, Germany and the United Kingdom have committed funding to the summit, and the African Development Bank has pledged support for technical preparations.

Critical outcomes

The primaryoutput from the IUCN African Elephant Summit will be the commitment to a targeted set of urgent measures by senior government representatives from range, transit and consumer States. These will include:

  • Priority (urgent and country-specific) activities identified from theAfrican Elephant Action Plan to address the recent upsurge in illegal killing across the range of the African elephant and in the global illegal ivory trade;
  • Specific commitments to tacklingcorrupt networks that support the illegal killing of elephants, and the movements of large amounts of illegal ivory throughout the value chain;
  • Clear timelines forstrengtheningnational policy, legislation, law enforcement and deterrent penaltiesneeded to control the illegal killing of African elephants and the illegal trade and trafficking in their ivory;
  • Understanding of the economic damage to communities and States represented by the widespread poaching of elephants;
  • Concrete steps to address national security risks where they exist; and
  • Increased funding pledges for elephant conservation and management, including law enforcement along the illegal ivory value chain.

Context for these discussions willbe provided by presentation of:

  • The latest information on the status of African elephants and the illegal ivory trade, in particular from the African and Asian Elephant Database and the two CITES elephant monitoring systems, MIKE and ETIS;
  • New research findings into supply models, demand characteristics, and trade dynamics and the implications of this information; and
  • Other relevant information.

Anticipated participants

  • Heads of State, relevant Ministers and specialised technical staff of all African elephant range countries and all key transit and destination countries in the illegal African elephant ivory trade chain.
  • IUCN President, Director-General, Regional Directors, IUCN SSC African and Asian Elephant Specialist Groups and other IUCN Commission Members.
  • Other institutions / agencies / organizations working on elephant conservation and illegal ivory trade (e.g. CITES, CMS, Interpol, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), World Bank, International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC), FAO, UNDP, UNEP, TRAFFIC).

Links with other initiatives

IUCN is working to ensure synergies with a variety of meetings and initiatives on wildlife crime and illegal wildlife trade. African elephants are both iconic and facing a severe and rapidly worsening situation. IUCN expects that anygains made through a focus on African elephants can be expected to benefitotherwork to control illegal and unsustainable wildlife trade.

Contacts

The IUCN African Elephant Summit is being managed by a team from the IUCN Secretariat and the IUCN/SSC African Elephant Specialist Group. For further information, please contact Diane Skinner .

20 May 2013