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Elephants are being wiped out, but not enough people seem to care Elephants are being wiped out, but not enough people seem to care
(4 days later)
I asked a senior environmental journalist the other week what he thought was the single most under-reported environmental issue. He replied, unhesitatingly, wildlife poaching. “It’s as if the wildlife is just being hoovered out of Africa,” he said. “In the 1960s people campaigned around whales and wildlife. The Daily Mail actually put rhino poaching on their front page. But now there just doesn’t seem to be the same level of interest.” Dr Paula Kahumbu, a wildlife campaigner based in Kenya, echoes his sentiment, but adds that the UK public is still more active than most areas of the world. “Not a single African leader has spoken out on this,” says Kahumbu. “The silence is deafening.”I asked a senior environmental journalist the other week what he thought was the single most under-reported environmental issue. He replied, unhesitatingly, wildlife poaching. “It’s as if the wildlife is just being hoovered out of Africa,” he said. “In the 1960s people campaigned around whales and wildlife. The Daily Mail actually put rhino poaching on their front page. But now there just doesn’t seem to be the same level of interest.” Dr Paula Kahumbu, a wildlife campaigner based in Kenya, echoes his sentiment, but adds that the UK public is still more active than most areas of the world. “Not a single African leader has spoken out on this,” says Kahumbu. “The silence is deafening.”
The scale of the “hoovering” is hard to comprehend. Take elephants, for example. In Africa, where some but not all of the poaching is concentrated, elephants are being slaughtered at a rate of 20,000-25,000 a year, from a population of just 420,000-650,000. The forest elephant population has dropped by 62% since 2002. There is a word for the killing of elephants (elephanticide) and a word for destruction of the natural world (ecocide) but oddly enough – given our magnificent form in this area – there doesn’t seem to be a word for killing off a whole species. We probably need one.The scale of the “hoovering” is hard to comprehend. Take elephants, for example. In Africa, where some but not all of the poaching is concentrated, elephants are being slaughtered at a rate of 20,000-25,000 a year, from a population of just 420,000-650,000. The forest elephant population has dropped by 62% since 2002. There is a word for the killing of elephants (elephanticide) and a word for destruction of the natural world (ecocide) but oddly enough – given our magnificent form in this area – there doesn’t seem to be a word for killing off a whole species. We probably need one.
And then there are the other species we “hoover” up, from illegal logging and the dumping of hazardous waste. Taken altogether, a UN report earlier this year estimated that the cost of these crimes is $70-213bn annually. So these are not small operations, not a few farmers sneakily chopping down a few trees to augment their subsistence income, or the odd fisherman going over his quota. These are international cartels systematically and illegally stripping our natural resources and selling them on for profit. Some of them are running parallel drug and human trafficking operations. There is even evidence that some of this income is supporting terrorism. “The illegal trade in natural resources is depriving developing economies of billions of dollars in lost revenues and lost development opportunities, while benefiting a relatively small criminal fraternity,” says the UN. This is big business.And then there are the other species we “hoover” up, from illegal logging and the dumping of hazardous waste. Taken altogether, a UN report earlier this year estimated that the cost of these crimes is $70-213bn annually. So these are not small operations, not a few farmers sneakily chopping down a few trees to augment their subsistence income, or the odd fisherman going over his quota. These are international cartels systematically and illegally stripping our natural resources and selling them on for profit. Some of them are running parallel drug and human trafficking operations. There is even evidence that some of this income is supporting terrorism. “The illegal trade in natural resources is depriving developing economies of billions of dollars in lost revenues and lost development opportunities, while benefiting a relatively small criminal fraternity,” says the UN. This is big business.
Will the publication on Monday by Interpol of a Most Wanted list for environmental fugitives begin the process of bringing to justice the people who mastermind some of these crimes? They are (even though mugshots are never the greatest) a pretty unprepossessing looking bunch, and include the Russian Sergey Darminov, wanted for allegedly running an illegal crab fishing operation that pulled in $450m, or Dutchman Nicolaas Duindam, who is said to have been involved in a trafficking ring bringing in wildlife from Brazil.Will the publication on Monday by Interpol of a Most Wanted list for environmental fugitives begin the process of bringing to justice the people who mastermind some of these crimes? They are (even though mugshots are never the greatest) a pretty unprepossessing looking bunch, and include the Russian Sergey Darminov, wanted for allegedly running an illegal crab fishing operation that pulled in $450m, or Dutchman Nicolaas Duindam, who is said to have been involved in a trafficking ring bringing in wildlife from Brazil.
In some cases, the crimes detailed on the list belie a far more complicated story, such as that of Feisal Mohamed Ali. He is wanted simply for “being found in possession of 314 pieces of ivory weighing more than two tonnes”, according to Interpol, but, according to Kahumbu, his activities also allegedly include other extremely serious crimes. Kahumbu, along with other campaigners, is elated at the publication of the list. “It sends out an extremely powerful signal,” she says, “that the international authorities are taking this seriously.”In some cases, the crimes detailed on the list belie a far more complicated story, such as that of Feisal Mohamed Ali. He is wanted simply for “being found in possession of 314 pieces of ivory weighing more than two tonnes”, according to Interpol, but, according to Kahumbu, his activities also allegedly include other extremely serious crimes. Kahumbu, along with other campaigners, is elated at the publication of the list. “It sends out an extremely powerful signal,” she says, “that the international authorities are taking this seriously.”
It’s a start – a really encouraging and powerful start. But the truth is that it is the lack of public and political interest that is the real danger. On a recent visit to Tanzania, Chinese government officials were alleged to have bought so much illegal ivory that local prices doubled, although Chinese officials denied any involvement in the illegal ivory trade. The UK government pledged £10m in December last year to help clamp down on illegal international poaching, but has not yet, according to Kahumbu, paid up. (I rang Defra and it said that £1m has been allocated so far, that a further £4m will be allocated “very shortly” and that the rest will be going out in the next 12 months.) It’s a start – a really encouraging and powerful start. But the truth is that it is the lack of public and political interest that is the real danger. On a recent visit to Tanzania, Chinese government officials were alleged to have bought so much illegal ivory that local prices doubled, although Chinese officials denied any involvement in the illegal ivory trade. The UK government pledged £10m in December last year to help clamp down on illegal international poaching, but has not yet, according to Kahumbu, paid up. (I rang Defra and it said that £1m has been allocated so far, that a further £4m will be allocated “very shortly” and that the rest will be going out in the next 12 months.)
Why is it all so slow? Because there is such little public pressure to do anything else. Wildlife is just old hat, and nowadays it’s food security and climate change that grab the headlines. Without public pressure, politicians will let this slide. So where will the public pressure come from?Why is it all so slow? Because there is such little public pressure to do anything else. Wildlife is just old hat, and nowadays it’s food security and climate change that grab the headlines. Without public pressure, politicians will let this slide. So where will the public pressure come from?