Our catch phrase is on its way.
Dear Fellow Earthlings,
Last month’s National Geographic featured a 30-page article on the African elephant, entitled “Tracking Ivory”. The author of the article, Bryan Christy, points out a factor that I have neglected to mention in my previous blogs about the plight of the African elephant.
He explains how poaching is often a source of funding for terrorist operations. Furthermore, he adds another country to the list of countries who are largely responsbile for the poaching that is decimating the elephant population of Africa.
According to Christy, the country that has contributed most to the disaster befalling the African elephant – although it has largely escaped international censure -- is Sudan.
The countries in the list of shame (countries whose actions are destroying the elephant population of Africa), compiled by CITES (The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) are:
(countries of “primary concern”) : China, Malaysia, Kenya, the Philippines, Uganda, Thailand, Tanzania, Vietnam,
(countries of “secondary concern”) : Cameroon, Congo, Egypt, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Gabon, Mozambique, Nigeria,
(countries of “importance to watch”) : Angola, Cambodia, Laos.
Christy has come up with a way to fight back: using fake tusks carrying hidden GPS devices to expose and follow the trails of Africa’s elephant poachers and elephant tusk traffickers!
The article describes the plights various national parks in Africa face as their underequipped and understaffed ranger organizations deal with terrorists and/or professional criminals who use ivory as a means of paying for the weapons and other things they need to allow them to roam central Africa with little resistance, leaving in their wake thousands upon thousands of dead elephants (not to mention huge numbers of murdered and otherwise traumatized human beings!).
Christy describes both the good people who are trying to protect the elephants of Africa and the bad people who are trying to kill those elephants. He names names and he provides a vivid description of the circumstances surrounding the various events that are taking place in this “war” on the African continent.
The author’s description of the technology being used to trace the flow of ivory from the killing grounds to the destinations – and
including points of transit and storage of the ivory along the way – is a masterpiece of expository writing.
In previous blogs (Installments 157, 177, 178, 198, 231, 246), I have written about the problems the African elephant is facing and about various methods that should be employed to come to the defense of this creature. Bryan Christy’s clever idea of using fake ivory with concealed tracking devices inside it adds yet another weapon to the arsenal we need to win the war we are now waging against those who would destroy every elephant on Earth.
The article is brilliantly illustrated with photographs (taken by Brent Stirton). I ask all of you to read “Tracking Ivory” – and to forego completely the purchase of any ivory!
Steve Walker Earthsaver and Jingles Creator
© 2013 Steve Walker, The Jingles-The Japan Foundation for English Pronunciation, Summit Enterprises.