DROUGHT THREATENS MALI'S MIGRATORY ELEPHANT HERD

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAMAKO 000043

SIPDIS

ACCRA FOR ENVIRONMENTAL OFFICER GEOFFREY HUNT

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAGR EAID ECON ML SENV
SUBJECT: DROUGHT THREATENS MALI'S MIGRATORY ELEPHANT HERD

REF: 08 BAMAKO 396


1. Summary: In meetings on January 13 and 21,
representatives of international conservation groups Save the
Elephants and the WILD Foundation told the Embassy that
prolonged drought is severely threatening the estimated 400
to 600 elephants in Mali's Gourma region. This herd is the
only surviving group of elephants in the Sahel. The watering
holes along the elephants' migratory path through Mali are
drying at a much faster rate than in previous years and are
expected to be completely dry by April. The representatives
said urgent action was needed to replenish local water
supplies to prevent elephant deaths and avoid potentially
deadly clashes with nearby human populations. Conservation
efforts by the Malian government and international
conservation groups in Gourma are ongoing and have been
successful in the past. The current situation, however,
requires a heightened response to repair water pumps and dig
new wells along the elephants' migration route. End Summary.

--------------
Drought Threatens Mali's Elephants
--------------


2. On January 13, Save the Elephants representative Jake
Wall briefed the Embassy on what he described as a dire
situation for the elephants in Mali's Gourma region. Wall
had spent the previous two weeks surveying the watering holes
and proximate villages of Banzena, Inadiatafane, and Indamane
to determine the extent of the water shortage affecting the
region. Using global positioning systems (GPS) technology,
Wall demonstrated that the perimeter of the lake in Banzena,
the primary source of water for the elephants from February
through May, was significantly reduced when compared to its
perimeter this time last year. Located in the village of
Banzena are two bore holes and one well that have been used
in prior years to replenish the lake. Wall said such
replenishment is not an option this year because the diesel
pumps for the bore holes are broken and the remaining well is
deteriorating for unknown reasons.


3. The water shortage is primarily a result of increasing
population pressures from new human settlements and cattle
grazing activity in the region. The expansion of villages
lacking sufficient water supply means that both villagers and
cattle must travel to the lake in Banzena for water. The
radius of cattle grazing is constantly expanding; in some
cases, cattle travel a distance of 40 kilometers each day to
make the round trip from their grazing areas. Even in good
years, there are few viable water sources for the elephants
by the month of May, especially for the females and young.

--------------
Conservation Strategies
--------------


4. Securing the survival of Mali's elephants requires both
long and short term conservation strategies. In
collaboration with a number of conservation groups, the
Malian government has undertaken a number of projectstoward
this end (reftel). The Gourma Biodiversiy Conservation
Project for Mali is a six year (205-2011) USD 10 million
project funded by the Word Bank aimed at stopping and
reversing biodiversty degradation in key conservation areas
and othr specific sites in Gourma. Save the Elephants and
the WILD Foundation partnered with the Malian National Nature
Conservation office (DNCN) under the Environment Ministry on
a GPS collaring project to track elephants' migration. The
goal of this project is to delineate the migratory path and
keep it free of human settlements.


5. The Embassy is currently working with the U.S. Forest
Service and the Regional Environmental Office in Accra to
craft a comprehensive conservation project for potential
economic support funds. Embassy Bamako secured USD 300,000
in ESF funds for an elephant conservation project
administered by the WILD Foundation in 2003. This was
followed by an additional USD 150,000 in ESF money. The
findings of this project, which was conducted in coordination
with the DNCN, provided essential base-line data that formed
the backbone of the World Bank's Biodiversity Conservation
Project. Our current proposal would join the efforts of the
U.S. Forest Service, Save the Elephants, local NGOs, and the
DNCN to develop a sustainable solution for water use at
Banzena. The project would also work with the Ministries of
Environment and Sanitation, Tourism, and Culture to promote
collaboration on ecotourism in the region and ensure that
revenues are used toward the costs of regulation and
maintenance of conservation projects.


BAMAKO 00000043 002.2 OF 002



6. In the short term, the current water shortage at Banzena
could be alleviated by purchasing two new diesel pumps for
the existing bore holes Susan Canney of the WILD Foundation
said reactivating the bore holes would allow the lake to be
restored as the primary watering hole for the elephant herd,
thereby also reducing the risk of human-wildlife conflict in
competition for water. Canney indicated she would meet with
representatives of the Biodiversity Project to discuss
funding for the new pumps.
MILOVANOVIC