Poaching poses immediate risk to survival of African elephants: CITES

Poaching levels continue to pose an immediate risk to the survival of African elephants with overall poaching trends in 2015 showing the Africa-wide elephant populations still in decline, the secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) said on Thursday.

CITES latest figures showed a steady increase in the levels of illegal killing of elephants since 2006, which peaked in 2011, and has now stabilized at levels that remain unacceptably high.

According to CITES, the most positive news comes from Eastern Africa, where in 2015 and for the fourth consecutive year, there has been an improvement, with natural births overall now exceeding the levels of illegal killing.

However, even within this sub-region the situation is mixed, with increases in poaching evident in parts of Tanzania, and lower levels of poaching recorded in Kenya.

The most serious levels of poaching have been recorded in Central and West Africa. While the overall poaching levels in Southern Africa remain below the threshold, a troubling upward trend in elephant poaching was for the first time observed in the Kruger National Park in South Africa.

Although the overall elephant population in Kruger is not in decline, the situation could change if the trends observed in 2015 continue, CITES said.

"African elephant populations continue to face an immediate threat to their survival from unacceptably high-levels of poaching for their ivory," said John E. Scanlon, CITES secretary general. Endit