Even
though, Africa has had and will probably always have poaching until the
extinction of all animals, the last year has been especially catastrophic for
elephant and rhino herds. Ivory has always been a delicacy in China but in recent
years with the economic boom and growing middle class the demand has greatly
been increased. The heightened demand from China has had great effects on all of the African continent. It is reported that like other
resources such as blood diamonds and oil, ivory is fueling wars while depleting
the majestic creatures populations. It is believed that rebellion armies
including the Lord’s Resistance Army, the Shabab and Darfur’s janjaweed are
slaughtering the elephants and using the tusks to buy weapons to continue
raging war. It is not just rebellion groups; it was reported last march a
helicopter flown by Ugandan soldiers massacred 22 elephants from the sky. It is evident that Ivory is leading to
conflict in Africa. What is also startling is that last year over 120 Chinese
citizens that were sent to provide relief building roads and various other
projects were caught poaching elephants. It is pretty clear that steps have to
be done to stop the poaching that is higher than ever (NYtimes 2012). This article is very
important because poaching has resurfaced as a major issue that is financing
war and killing many endangered species. It has been controlled but now has
been recorded in extremely high numbers this past year.
In
recent news Google and WWF have teamed up on a project to try and stop poaching
in major African Parks. Google just pledged 5 million dollars on drones and
helped give software to monitor poachers from the air. This aid will be used to
help protect all species but for now the main concern is the rhino whose
population is in desperate need of conservation. WWF President expresses the
need for aid in an interview, “We face an unprecedented poaching crisis. The
killings are way up”. This has
been the bloodiest year for poaching and it does not seem to be changing
anytime soon. With the Chinese
market blossoming and demand higher than ever for the rare tusks.
After studying Chinese aid and
possible affects this story brings up many questions. With Chinese-African
relations at a higher point than ever it seems that this is definitely a reason
why the ivory trade is back up to the highest numbers since the 80’s. Also With
more Chinese citizens working on infrastructure in Africa it could lead to
heightened smuggling and the rise of the a larger black market. It has been
reported that over 136 illegal ivory shops have surfaced in China.
As for the five million dollars
that Google just gave to help make Drones in the national parks it seems that
the money could potentially be better spent on revamping the ground control and
living conditions on rangers. They almost are starting a project that may not
be as effective as supporting NGO’s and locals that are already in place with
the fight on poachers.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/04/world/africa/africas-elephants-are-being-slaughtered-in-poaching-frenzy.html?pagewanted=5&_r=0&ref=africa
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20625578
I agree with you that there needs to be significant upgrades to ground control but hopefully the drones will act as a deterrent. The poaching is obviously out of hand and gives another insight into the advantageous relationship China has formed with Africa in recent years.
ReplyDeleteThis is horrible. I am not a crazy animal hippie, but I hunting down animals to extinction is not right. In class we put the reality against the myths of China's involvement in Africa. How it is there to help and give aid, basically do good for Africa. It is all business. But sometimes that 'business' hides a lot things, which is why the West will continue to be very aware of the actions which China does. To make it worse, this is not their country, so why would the extinction of these animals matter to them? Good post, and it is interesting to see how Google is just a global powerhouse, providing awareness to so many issues. But how will those drones work? Will they shoot down poachers? This is a governmental issue within the states. The lack of the leader's efforts to work with this issue will become very aware in the future.
ReplyDeleteOne of the largest problems in Africa is in the Garamba National Park in the DRC. Rebel groups and some of Africa government militaries are trespassing on the land and poaching. Unfortunately the state capacity of the DRC is limited and thus NGOs and the international community should help this endangered elephant population and try to mitigate the poaching issue.
ReplyDeleteAs many African countries suffer from worsening economic conditions and high poverty levels, organized crime has become a fairly sustainable means of income for many Africans. I think that in order for the illegal ivory trade to be regulated and stopped, there needs to be a serious discussion about development solutions in the afflicted nations. If these nations could develop infrastructure and reduce poverty, less people would be tempted to participate in the illegal ivory trade.
ReplyDeleteThe relationship between China's involvement in Africa and illegal poaching is both parts linear and troubling. It's extraordinary to me that this pattern is not only identifiable, but seemingly so difficult to prevent. Perhaps increased attention to the issues, through citizen level interest such as your post, will increase the change that attention will be paid to this on a political and environmental protection level.
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting article because poaching is not something we really focused on in class. China is making a huge impact on Africa and illegal poaching is just another thing to add to the list. While countries in Africa have many troubling issues, it seems that poaching is not really a top-priority problem. Awareness should be increased about the dwindling population of elephants and rhinos.
ReplyDelete