Poaching: Critical issues
Of the many, many reasons I'll embark upon this trip none is that it's as time sensitive as the plight of Africa's mega fauna. With recently released studies indicating a drop of 30 percent of African elephant numbers in just the past seven years alone, a shock wave rippled through the world's animal conservation efforts.
Sadly, it's more than the elephants that are in sharp decline. The black rhino is considered functionally extinct in most of the continent now. However, even though small wild populations remain, their numbers are greatly diminished.
Human conflict, poaching, habitat destruction and loss, climate change and disease are some of the main threats these species face.
Let's talk about poaching, and long-term solutions.
I know it's easy to vilify the folks who slaughter elephants and rhinos for their ivory, but that's not helpful in finding a lasting solution and an end to poaching.
The real issue is global poverty and the influence of money. For example, Tanzania (which is a gorgeous country, with a beautiful and amazing culture) is extremely poor. Average annual household income for most of the country is less than $1,500 per year.
The same habitat loss and adverse effects of climate change that hurt the elephants and rhinos also hurt the people who live near the Serengeti and Kilimanjaro. The herding lifestyle of the Maasai people is almost extinct, and urbanization sees people pouring into cities where there are few opportunities to gain financial stability. Negative geopolitical forces in countries surrounding Tanzania created millions of displaced people over the past few decades.
Poverty – and I mean extreme poverty – will always make people risk everything to provide for their families, if simply because they have nothing more to lose. Ivory from a poached elephant can be trafficked at such prices that even one act of poaching will provide for a family for an entire year.
This, of course, doesn't excuse it, and there are dire consequences for anyone caught poaching or trafficking in ivory. The problem is not that there aren't enough laws or enforcement of those laws, it's that there are literally hundreds of impoverished folks who will take their chances in the face of authority, because the money seems like a “golden ticket.”
The poachers risk death these days to continue the ivory trade.
Enacting stiffer penalties and cracking down via anti-poaching patrols and armed enforcement has strained the ivory trade – but not snuffed it out. The most desperate people are now the ones illegally taking elephants and rhinos.
So, how do we end this?
There's no simple answer to such a complex problem that stems from a demand for a product, which was legal for more than a hundred years. Anglo/European colonialism also took so much wealth and power from the African people. The colonial legacy left vast disruptions in the societies and cultures throughout the continent. These former colonial occupiers are now the same countries that eviscerate and pillage Africa for its resources.
In light of there being no easy answers to poaching, one has to see the immense value of being a global citizen and active support for local projects working to deal with, and put an end to the ivory trade.
Telling the world their story is a huge component to the anti-poaching effort, and that's where I come in.
The bottom line is we not only need to reach out to hearts and minds, we also need to dry up the demand for ivory products. It's not Africans who are spending billions of dollars to continue the ivory trade, it's predominantly trafficked to Asian marketplaces.
Economics is simple because inherently it's rooted in supply and demand. The supply of wild ivory has dwindled greatly. The demand has stayed the same (or risen in some countries). To tackle this issue, we have to take on the demand side of the equation. To do that successfully we need people to no longer desire ivory products.
Traditional medicine is a large component of that desire. There are countries in which folks seek out ivory products for maladies ranging from cancer to sexual dysfunction. Education will win – or lose – this fight.
I'm not schlepping to Africa on safari. I'm going so that I can see firsthand the work being done to save orphaned elephants and rhinos, and to come to know the people of Tanzania, so that I may tell their stories, too.
These are complex stories, for sure. But the legacy of what happens today will decide the future of elephants, rhinos and people, alike. Will African mega fauna live on beyond 2050 only in video and images, and for a few more generations in zoos? That's a distinct possibility if nothing changes.
This is a story that needs to be told, and quickly. I urge you to help me tell this story.
Asante sana,
- Rick
