and African Elephant Action Plan
International Fund for Animal Welfare POLICY BRIEF
African Elephant Fund (AEF) and African Elephant Action Plan (AEAP) Resolution Proposal
PROPOSAL: CoP16 Doc. 53.3 Proposed new resolution concerning the African Elephant Action Plan and African Elephant Fund PROPONENTS: Nigeria and Rwanda IFAW RECOMMENDATION: SUPPORT Analysis • The document submitted by Nigeria and Rwanda (CoP16 Doc. 53.3) contains two items for consideration by the Parties: a decision calling for the Standing Committee to request funding from UNEP to pay for translations costs associated with the implementation of the African Elephant Action Plan (AEAP) and a draft resolution urging Parties and stakeholders to contribute to the African Elephant Fund to adequately resource the successful accomplishment of the prioritized objectives of the AEAP. IFAW urges Parties to support both proposals, and only notes that language similar to that proposed by Nigeria and Rwanda in a new resolution of the Parties also appears in the draft revision of Res. Conf. 10.10 (Rev. CoP15), which will be considered by the CoP under agenda item 26, and which IFAW also supports. • IFAW fully endorses the AEAP, which was called for in Dec. 14.78 by CoP14 in 2007 and approved by the Parties at CoP15 in 2010. The AEAP was developed, drafted, and approved by consensus by all 37 African elephant range states, and should thus form the basis for coordinated, international, and ongoing efforts to provide for the long-term protection of elephants throughout Africa.
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• IFAW believes that priority objective 1 of the AEAP, which is to “reduce illegal killing of elephants and illegal trade in elephant products,” should be of paramount concern to CITES Parties and stakeholders, as it is the objective that is most relevant to the object and purpose of the CITES treaty, which is to protect species of conservation concern from the additional threat of international trade. Thus, IFAW encourages all Parties, but in particular the U.S., the EU, Japan, and China and the world’s largest ivory markets, to contribute significant funding to the AEF for projects that will reduce the poaching of elephants in Africa and bring about an end to the current poaching crisis, targeting poaching hotspots in Central Africa, Eastern Africa, and South Central Africa wherever possible. • IFAW also notes with concern the fact that a request by the IUCN African Elephant Specialist Group (AfESG) for administrative support from the United Nation Environment Programme in the form of translation assistance has thus far gone unanswered, according to the document. It is of particular concern given that most African elephant range states are French speaking. Thus, IFAW urges Parties to support the draft decision proposed by Nigeria and Rwanda that would instruct the Standing Committee to request that part of the 7 percent Programme Support Cost levied by UNEP be expended on providing translation support services to the AEF steering committee, and that this request be made by the Standing Committee as soon as possible following the CoP. ■
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African Elephant Fund (AEF) and African Elephant Action Plan (AEAP) Resolution Proposal
PROPOSAL: CoP16 Doc. 53.3 Proposed new resolution concerning the African Elephant Action Plan and African Elephant Fund PROPONENTS: Nigeria and Rwanda IFAW RECOMMENDATION: SUPPORT Analysis • The document submitted by Nigeria and Rwanda (CoP16 Doc. 53.3) contains two items for consideration by the Parties: a decision calling for the Standing Committee to request funding from UNEP to pay for translations costs associated with the implementation of the African Elephant Action Plan (AEAP) and a draft resolution urging Parties and stakeholders to contribute to the African Elephant Fund to adequately resource the successful accomplishment of the prioritized objectives of the AEAP. IFAW urges Parties to support both proposals, and only notes that language similar to that proposed by Nigeria and Rwanda in a new resolution of the Parties also appears in the draft revision of Res. Conf. 10.10 (Rev. CoP15), which will be considered by the CoP under agenda item 26, and which IFAW also supports. • IFAW fully endorses the AEAP, which was called for in Dec. 14.78 by CoP14 in 2007 and approved by the Parties at CoP15 in 2010. The AEAP was developed, drafted, and approved by consensus by all 37 African elephant range states, and should thus form the basis for coordinated, international, and ongoing efforts to provide for the long-term protection of elephants throughout Africa.
1
• IFAW believes that priority objective 1 of the AEAP, which is to “reduce illegal killing of elephants and illegal trade in elephant products,” should be of paramount concern to CITES Parties and stakeholders, as it is the objective that is most relevant to the object and purpose of the CITES treaty, which is to protect species of conservation concern from the additional threat of international trade. Thus, IFAW encourages all Parties, but in particular the U.S., the EU, Japan, and China and the world’s largest ivory markets, to contribute significant funding to the AEF for projects that will reduce the poaching of elephants in Africa and bring about an end to the current poaching crisis, targeting poaching hotspots in Central Africa, Eastern Africa, and South Central Africa wherever possible. • IFAW also notes with concern the fact that a request by the IUCN African Elephant Specialist Group (AfESG) for administrative support from the United Nation Environment Programme in the form of translation assistance has thus far gone unanswered, according to the document. It is of particular concern given that most African elephant range states are French speaking. Thus, IFAW urges Parties to support the draft decision proposed by Nigeria and Rwanda that would instruct the Standing Committee to request that part of the 7 percent Programme Support Cost levied by UNEP be expended on providing translation support services to the AEF steering committee, and that this request be made by the Standing Committee as soon as possible following the CoP. ■
www.ifaw.org
