Fact Sheet 1: The African Elephant Coalition and the Kenya Elephant Forum

Proposals to relax the African elephant’s protected status and to promote one-off sales of stockpiled ivory spell doom to the elephants within our lifetimes. Twenty-eight African countries have come together as the African Elephant Coalitionto harness information and coordinate action for shaping policy to ensure the elephants’ future.

The Kenya Elephant Forum (KEF) was established in 2007 to provide a participatory platform for gathering and decimating information to guide the formulation and implementation of policy and action for African elephant conservation and management in the context of rational and sensitive co-existence of elephants and people in shared ecosystems.

Fact Sheet 2: The Ivory Trade and Elephant Poaching

This fact sheet aims to brief policy-makers on the links between elephant poaching and the ivory trade. Proposals to relax the African elephant’s internationally protected status and to increase one-off sales of stockpiled ivory pose a serious threat to the continuing survival of Africa’s elephants.
All sources of data show clearly that the killing of African elephants has accelerated to reach a level in 2011 nearly triple that of the preceding decade.

The KEF believes the ivory trade should be halted completely. At the same time, there should be a proactive, two track programme towards a long-term solution. One thrust should be aimed at reducing demand by educating today’s consumers of ivory on the negative ethical, social and economic aspects of killing elephants. The other thrust should concentrate on elevating the governance, economic and social security, and law-enforcement at the supply side (see KEF Fact Sheet 06-2013 Action to Stop the Illegal Killing of Elephants).

Fact Sheet 3: CITES and the Ivory Trade

This fact sheet summarizes the major milestones in governments’ attempts to secure the future of the African elephant through intergovernmental accord concerning the ivory trade. After more than two decades of contradictory policies and proposals, the illegal killing of elephants attendant to the ivory trade is accelerating, and most populations of elephants continue to be under serious threat from poaching.

Fact Sheet 4: Proposals on the African Elephant for CITES CoP16

This fact sheet presents comments on two proposed amendments and one consultants’ report pertaining to the African elephant that have been presented for consideration to the 16th meeting of the Conference of Parties to CITES, 3-14 March 2010, Bangkok, Thailand. It provides rebuttals to the Secretariat’s arguments for rejection of one proposal, as well as views from the African Elephant Coalition on reasons for accepting the second proposal. It argues for rejecting in its entirety the report on a proposed ‘Decision Making-Mechanisms and Necessary Conditions for a Future Trade in African Elephant Ivory’ as being seriously flawed on procedural, economic, biological, political and operational grounds. See KEF Fact Sheet No. 7 for a critique of the report.

Fact Sheet 5: Elephants and Ecosystems

Elephants are important. Elephants are unique. They are large, long-lived, highly intelligent and complex animals. They are under dire threat from ivory poaching and habitat loss. They are an essential component of African savannah and forest ecosystems. Local extinctions could lead to catastrophic ecological changes. Losing them would be detrimental to Africa, Asia and the world.

Fact Sheet 6: Action to Stop the Illegal Killing of Elephants

This fact sheet sets out possible action items to combat the illegal killing of elephants throughout Africa at international and national levels.

Fact Sheet 7: The CITES “Decision-Making Mechanism”

This paper summarises the strong arguments from governments and independent scientific experts criticising the consultants’ report and opposing the concept of a ‘decision-making mechanism’ (DMM) for a process in international trade in ivory. Both the report and the underlying concept of a sustainable trade in ivory should be rejected as being seriously flawed in terms of procedures, economics, biology, geo-politics and operations.

For more information, please contact the Kenya Elephant Forum or one of the AEC national focal points listed below. (Data sources available upon request.)

Key Contacts

Kenya Elephant Forum
Ms. Pat Awori
PO Box 47756
Nairobi 00100, Kenya
kenya-elephant-forum@googlegroups.com

AEC Kenya Focal Point
CITES Office

Kenya Wildlife Service

PO Box 40241, Nairobi 00100, Kenya

Tel: +254 20 600800

cites@kws.go.ke