Forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis) in Dzanga Bai in the Central African Republic (Credit: Cristi?n Samper/WCS)
Endangered forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis) in the Central African Republic (CAR) are safe once again. CAR security forces returned to Dzanga-Sangha National Park (DSNP) after they were expelled in April by poachers and violence escalated in the region following the overthrow of CAR?s President Fran?ois Boziz? in March. At least 26 elephants were killed in the Dzanga Bai region of the park ? a World Heritage Site ? since security forces and conservation staff fled for safety.
Africa has lost 70 percent of its forest elephants within the last decade, according to Gabon?s National Agency of National Parks (ANPN). On May 14, CAR?s newly instated transitional President Michel Djotodia met with President Ali Bongo Ondimba of Gabon ? where half of Africa?s remaining forest elephants reside. Djotodia gained Gabon?s support to improve management of CAR?s protected areas.
Two days later, the ANPN dispatched a delegation led by Mike Fay, a senior conservationist with the WCS and a special adviser to Ondimba, to help CAR develop a strategy to secure the DSNP and restore conservation activities. Government authorities and conservation staff will continue to monitor the park to ensure no further poaching occurs. ?The good news ? comes as a huge relief, along with the agreement that Gabon and the Central African Republic have agreed to work together to improve management of CAR?s protected areas,? said Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) President and CEO Cristi?n Samper.
President Ondimba has since called on regional institutions and conservation NGOs to join Gabon and CAR in this challenge. ?There is a clear link between blood ivory and civil instability in Africa, making this much more than just an environmental issue,? he said. ?We should all work together to restore sound governance in CAR, which will protect both its people and its spectacular wildlife.?
Source: WCS Press Release (May 18, 2013)
Other TWS articles: Elephants Slaughtered at World Heritage Site
Source: http://news.wildlife.org/featured/update-elephant-security-restored-after-political-upheaval/
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