Major Initiative Announced To Help Curb Elephant Poaching in Africa

The Clinton Global Initiative and 16 conservation organizations have announced that they are investing $80 million over three years to stem the epidemic of elephant poaching in Africa, which has surged recently due to increasing demand for ivory in Asia. The Partnership to Save Africa’s Elephants, which includes the governments of seven African nations, will fund programs that scale up anti-poaching enforcement, combat trafficking at ports and markets with more enforcement and harsher penalties, and curb the demand for illegal ivory with ad campaigns aimed at consumers in China, Vietnam, and other nations. “We cannot hope to reverse the dramatic decline in elephant populations without addressing all three parts of the problem,” said Patrick Bergin, CEO of the African Wildlife Foundation.Â