No money to protect elephants
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

Zimbabwe has missed out on accessing money for elephant conservation
programmes, due to its non-participation in the recent CITES committee
meeting in South Africa.
25.01.1210:02am
by Stephen Tsoroti

Six African states were allocated money for conservation initiatives at the
meeting in December 2011. The CITES fund was launched in August 2011 and has
received approximately $250,000 in contributions from Germany, France and
the Netherlands. During the three-day meeting, the members of the Committee:
Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Congo, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa met
with representatives from Germany and the Netherlands to allocate $150,000
to six elephant conservation projects, ranging from investigating regional
illegal ivory markets to mitigating local human-elephant conflicts.

Poaching on the rise

According to Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force, there has been a surge in
elephant poaching countrywide. Waterholes have been poisoned, land invaders
have been involved in poaching and trees are being chopped down for
firewood, placing the animals at risk.

The current national elephant population is about 100,000 and of this Hwange
National Park holds about 50,000 while the Zambezi Valley, Sebungwe and the
South East Lowveld hold 30,000, 15,000 and 5,000 respectively. These figures
are based on aerial surveys undertaken jointly by the Zimbabwe Parks and
Wildlife Management Authority and World Wide Fund for Nature.

Trophy hunting

To date, Zimbabwe has relied on two programmes for the sustainable
utilization of elephants in the country: (i) non-consumptive (photographic,
elephant rides) and (ii) consumptive (trophy hunting and management
off-take). Consumptive utilization is based on an approved quota with the
exception of problem animal control which cannot be predicted.

Trophy hunting, which annually utilizes 500 animals that are declared to
CITES each year, takes place in the following designated places:

• State hunting safari areas - 145 animals

• Private land (mainly conservancies) - 115 animals

• CAMPFIRE in communal areas - 210 animals

• Forestry areas - 30 animals

No trophy hunting takes place in National Parks.

Management off take, unlike trophy hunting, takes place in any protected
area where elephants occur, including national parks, and involves both
trophy and non-trophy animals.

However, the trophies are not allowed to be exported. The ivory from such an
initiative ends up in the central ivory stores at the Parks and Wildlife
Management Authority Head Quarters. It is properly recorded with a distinct
serial number, area of origin, cause and date of mortality and size (length
and weight of tusk).

The ivory is then sold on the domestic market through regular auctions to
registered ivory manufacturers in line with 1997 CITES COP 10 Resolution
which allowed Zimbabwe to engage in highly-controlled domestic ivory trade.
Management off takes are for ecological reasons, to manage surplus animals.

Culling approved

In April 2007, prior to CITES COP 14 in The Hague, SADC Ministers
responsible for wildlife management approved the Southern Africa Elephant
Management Strategy which recognizes culling as one of the main tools for
effective population control. However, in the event that the Authority needs
to undertake culling, all the political, ecological and other
considerations, including thorough stakeholder consultations, need to be
met.

In preparation for a possible requirement to control elephant population
through culling, the Authority has embarked on a training exercise for its
staff. The training involves hunting, recovery and processing of elephant
products and gathering of scientific data.