EFFORTS CONTINUE TO SAVE MALI'S ELEPHANTS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAMAKO 000396 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON SENV ML SUBJECT: EFFORTS CONTINUE TO SAVE MALI'S ELEPHANTS ¶1. SUMMARY: An estimated 550 to 700 elephants in Mali's Gourma region are threatened by drying climate, landscape degradation, and increasing human contact. The Malian herd is the northernmost group of elephants in west Africa and the only surviving group in the Sahel. International conservation groups Save the Elephants and WILD Foundation have partnered with the Malian government and local associations to collect information to help protect the herd by using collars to track migration patterns. While Mali has the political will to protect the herd, conservation resources are lacking. Successful conservation efforts hinge on educating successive generations of Malians on ways to co-exist with the Gourma elephants despite growing ecological challenges that threaten people and animals. End Summary. -------------- - Current state of elephants in Mali and threats -------------- - ¶2. The Gourma elephant population in Mali is currently estimated at 550-700 animals, and is distinctive in Africa for three reasons: it is the northernmost herd on the continent; it occupies an exceptionally harsh, arid environment; and it owes its existence to historic co-existence with the people of the region. These elephants represent 12 percent of all West African elephants, and their numbers appear to have remained more or less stable since the 1970s. Their survival has hinged on the evolution of a nomadic strategy that includes a migration circuit of 600km - the longest annual migration of elephants ever recorded - to cope with the widely dispersed and variable nature of the Gourma's resources. The elephants lived in relative harmony with the people in the Gourma until the 1990s, but the recent trends of reduced rainfall, along with the spread of agriculture, ranched livestock, settled human communities and water development programs, have changed the relationship between elephants, humans and the Sahelian ecosystem. Humans and elephants are now competing more heavily for the same resources (land, crops and water),risking increased conflict. ¶3. Compared to other populations throughout Africa, the Gourma elephants are an old population meaning that more than half of the herd is composed of adult animals. The herd has a fairly high fertility rate but also very high rates of mortality in newborns and young due to the harsh environment and long migration route. The population is vulnerable to anything that obliges the elephants to search further for food or water, and in particular to prolonged stresses such as a drying climate and increased pressure from humans. ¶4. Studies in other parts of Africa indicate that an incremental expansion on human impact reaches a threshold, at which point elephants move away. According to research by Save the Elephants and the WILD Foundation, however, the elephants may not have anywhere else to move in this area of Mali that could provide all their requirements. Dr. Susan Canney, one of the chief researchers, also notes that "as the options for the elephants are reduced, there is the risk that sudden increases in conflict will occur. Once this happens the scope for reducing it are limited, and solutions are much more difficult to implement." -------------- -------------- Save the Elephants - WILD Foundation Collaring Projects -------------- -------------- ¶5. Save the Elephants and the WILD Foundation have partnered with other conservationists to track the elephants to see where and when they migrate. In 2000, researchers attached GPS collars to nine elephants; they later recovered three working units. The high-tech data confirmed that the elephants follow a vast, counterclockwise route dotted with temporary and permanent watering holes. They linger at a lake on the northern edge of their range until the rains begin in June, then head south, eventually crossing briefly into northern Burkina Faso. ¶6. The goal of the ongoing tracking projects is to identify "choke points" - corridors the elephants must traverse to complete their migration. By documenting where the elephants roam, not just from water hole to water hole but in search of food and cover, people can avoid blocking their routes with permanent settlements (Note: the Gourma region has a series of east-west running impassable bluffs that channels the elephants through grasslands also suitable for grazing cattle. End Note). Although they spend a very small amount of time in these corridor areas, blocking any one of them could have disastrous consequences. The team is collaborating with Google Earth which will enable the researchers to pinpoint the exact location of the collared elephants and make informed recommendations to the local communities. BAMAKO 00000396 002 OF 002 ¶7. The most recent collaring expedition in March 2008 illustrates the risk to both the elephants and the research team. While the expedition was considered a success with 9 of 10 planned collars successfully placed, one elephant was much older and weaker than the team had suspected and did not survive the stress of the anesthesia. Unrelated to the collaring operation, another three baby elephants died while trapped in a mud-hole. The team responded quickly to the plea for help from local authorities but were only able to save an adult female accompanying the babies. During this rescue attempt, the adult became enraged and charged a crowd. Bystanders were not injured thanks to a Malian official from the National Direction of the Conservation of Nature (DNCN) who diverted the elephant and fractured his thumb when he fell trying to get out of her way. Finally, the Save the Elephant/WILD Foundation team safely avoided disaster when the engine on their spotting plane failed; the pilot was able to glide safely onto a donkey path. -------------- WB Biodiversity Project -------------- ¶8. The WILD Foundation, Save the Elephants and other organizations provided recommendations to the World Bank for the 6-year (2005-2011) USD 10 million project to protect Mali's natural resources. The Gourma Biodiversity Conservation Project for Mali aims to stop and, in some cases, reverse biodiversity degradation trends in key conservation areas and other specific sites in the Gourma. This project relies on the local knowledge, leadership and commitment of the Gourma population. On communal land, local initiatives favoring biodiversity by community members, community groups or local councils are being implemented. Support is being provided through information, training, financing and advice for local-level biodiversity initiatives. Since 2006, the chiefs of 18 communes have undergone awareness training and over half of the conservation areas have been created. -------------- -- Efforts Africa-wide: African Elephant Coalition -------------- -- ¶9. In February, seventeen African countries signed a document for the establishment of a coalition to save the elephant. It was also agreed that a global elephant action plan that will fight illegal killing and trade in ivory be implemented. Mali hosted the meeting and was elected chair of the coalition. The Malian Minister for Environment, Mr. Agatham Alhassan, supported the accord noting that "with limited human and financial resources, we face not only climate change challenges, but also cruel methods poachers use to slaughter elephants and devastate their habitats, which have been considered safe havens in the past." -------------- Comment -------------- ¶10. The key to the successful conservation of these elephants now lies in continuing to educate and inspire the people of Mali. The current generation of Malians, some of whom still remember the lions, ostriches, giraffes and other wildlife that has long since left the Gourma, are willing to live together with the elephants. Some officials in Gourma have asked for assistance to reduce or better control the small flow of Western tourists who, with inexperienced guides, may get too close and/or disturb the elephants (with some even chasing the reclusive elephants in 4x4s). It is encouraging that community support for conservation efforts currently remains high. MCCULLEY