UN body to co-organize int'l elephant film festival marking World Wildlife Day

The Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) announced on Wednesday that it will join hands with the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival to hold an International Elephant Film Festival to mark the UN World Wildlife Day for 2016.

In welcoming this unique initiative with the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival, CITES Secretary-General John E. Scanlon said that he hope the move will help to raise global awareness of the various challenges facing the African and Asian elephants.

"We are delighted to support this global Elephant Film Festival to amplify the global calls to stop the poaching of elephants and the illicit trafficking of elephant ivory," he noted.

As the largest and most magnificent terrestrial animal on our planet, the elephant once roamed through much of Africa and Asia. Over the past decade, devastating poaching of African elephants for their ivory is reducing their overall numbers, and has decimated some African elephant populations.

CITES figures estimated that over the period 2010-2012, a total of 100,000 elephants were poached for their ivory.

According to CITES, industrial-scale poaching to feed the illicit ivory trade is among the most noticeable and destructive forms of wildlife crime. In response, there has been increasing high level political support to combat these crimes as was recently demonstrated through the adoption of the historic United Nations General Assembly Resolution on tackling illicit wildlife trade.

"At a time when the elephant crisis can still be averted, it is essential to take action that empowers local engagement and personal commitment, and our aim is to galvanize the power of media to inspire wonder, catalyze change and move the dial on elephant conservation," explained Lisa Samford, Executive Director of the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival.

The call for entries of the film festival will close on Jan. 15, 2016 and finalists will be announced in early February. Winners will be presented at a high level event to coincide with the global celebration of UN World Wildlife Day at UN Headquarters in New York on March 3, 2016.

Winning and finalist films will also be subsequently showcased extensively throughout the world, and subtitled DVDs will be distributed free to schools and libraries. Endit