With recent conservation efforts and the involvement of Indigenous peoples and local communities in managing protected areas, forest elephant populations are on the verge of stabilizing,in at least one national park. This is, among other things, what WWF Africa said during a recent press briefing for the launch of the Living Planet Report. Elephant populations, which are primarily found in Central and West Africa, had declined by more than 80% in past decades due to poaching for the lucrative ivory trade. However, “there are signs that, in certain specific places, conservation efforts are bearing fruit,” reassures Martin Kabaluapa, WWF regional director for the Congo Basin, contacted by Mongabay for a comment. He explains that in the Central African Republic (CAR), “anti-poaching teams have been set up in the Dzanga-Sangha National Park. These efforts have significantly reduced elephant poaching for ivory, one of the main causes of the population’s decline in the past. Collaboration with local communities and judicious land use planning have also played a key role”. It should be noted that almost half of all forest elephants in Central Africa are believed to reside in Gabon. Indeed, with justover a 1000 left in the world, the mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei), according to the report, have experienced a 3% increase per year between 2010 and 2016, representing another ray of hope. Mountain gorillas are known to live primarily in Rwanda Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Conservation interventions such as dedicated management of protected areas, extensive engagement with…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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South Africa Today – Environment
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