Facing the threat of extinction, Cameroon’s Kordofan giraffes are receiving vital support from the Bristol Zoological Society that could pull them back from the brink. In late January, the Society published new data from a three-year study conducted with researchers from the University of Bristol concluding that as few as 27 individuals remain in Cameroon’s Bénoué National Park, providing local conservationists with essential insights to inform their efforts.
Wild population of Kordofan giraffes have plummeted by an estimated 85% since the 1980s, with poaching and human-caused natural habitat degradation driving down total numbers below 2,000. Considering that these twin menaces have already triggered the disappearance of cheetahs, black rhinos and elephants from Bénoué National Park, Bristol Zoological Society’s conservation scientists are determined to help break the cycle.
While the global effort to protect endangered species will undoubtedly require stronger anti-poaching regulation, innovative, community-based initiatives around the world are highlighting forest conservation’s key complementary role in shielding animals from human threats.
Poaching plague rising at home and overseas
Bristol’s support of overseas wildlife conservation – which has also included hosting a conference of world-leading experts to disseminate best practice – also reminds that poaching remains a very real problem closer to home.
In January, wildlife photographer Dan Waddicor captured disturbing footage of deer with a crossbow bolt stick in its head while working in a Gloucestershire forest, which he stressed is no isolated incident in the region. According to Gloucestershire Police’s rural crime team, which is investigating the case and regularly patrols the Forest of Dean, poaching is the primary offense it encounters – particularly at this time of year. Last December, the force warned of a recent poaching spike in the Forest of Dean, with the bolstered deployment of specialist teams leading to the apprehension of wild boar poachers in late January.
Globally, Africa and Asia remain poaching hotspots, with the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) spotlighting that high demand for exotic animal goods have decimated populations. The use of rhino horns and pangolin scales in Asian folk medicine has fueled massive rhino poaching in South Africa – pushing its market price close to that of gold – while making pangolins the world’s most poached animal. Meanwhile, elephants in countries including Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Thailand continue to be killed in droves for their valuable ivory tusks, while tigers’ coveted fur have made them the primary target in India and Laos.
In the Americas, heavy poaching of deer, elk and bears for meat, trophy-taking and folk medicine purposes drives the United States’ illegal wildlife trade, while farmers, cowboys and peasants in the Brazilian Amazon hunt and sell river turtles, jaguars and birds to supplement their income according to the Partnership for the Conservation of Amazon Biodiversity.
INTERPOL has estimated the illegal wildlife trade at up to $20 million annually, warning late last year that it has become “one of the world’s largest and most profitable crime sectors.” Run by international criminal networks, the illegal wildlife trade is structured to maximise profits and legal protection for actors higher up on the supply chains – in trade hubs such as the EU’s eastern neighbourhood, Indonesia and Mexico – while local residents of impoverished rural communities are typically caught and held responsible, “leaving the real masterminds…safe” as the WWF has warned.
Forest conservation offering sustainable alternatives for communities
Understanding both how vital wildlife resources are for these communities and the socioeconomic factors pushing local residents into the black market, forest conservation projects are emerging as promising allies in the fight against poaching and its destabilising ripple effects on ecosystems.
In Brazil’s Amazonas state, sustainable forest management firm BR Arbo Gestão Florestal (BR ARBO) is developing the ambitious Mejuruá Project, whose goal is safeguarding over 900,000 hectares of Amazonian rainforest while generating wide-ranging value for communities in the mid-Juruá river basin, including the town of Carauari. Integrating timber processing from sustainable forest management with activities that include monitoring to detect illegal and prevent deforestation, biomass energy production and the extraction and transformation of native açaí berries, the Mejuruá Project aims to create hundreds of jobs, provide qualification opportunities for sustainable activites and foster social well-being for local residents that both capitalise on and protect their natural wealth. Crucially, these activities will provide empowering economic alternatives to the animal and timber poaching that threaten these communities’ long-term resilience.
Meanwhile, in the rainforests of southern Thailand, the Khao Sok National Park rangers have achieved a remarkable turnaround in recent years. Having been plagued with wildlife poaching, deforestation and guerilla war for decades, the area has become a haven of eco-tourism and environmental protection, with Khao Sok’s forest protection unit largely composed of reformed poachers. Like Mejuruá, this inspirational initiative benefits from close community ties, allowing residents to discover the massive socioeconomic benefits of preserving their natural assets. From patrol to tour guide and boat operator jobs, local community members have cleanly broken with the past, bringing poaching and resource destruction down to zero while helping to build a sustainable, hopeful future.
In a similar vein, the local forest department responsible for Periyar Tiger Reserve in South India has dramatically improved its illegal wildlife trade problem over the past two decades by sincerely engaging with the poachers rather than relying exclusively on heavier policing. At a time when tiger poaching was rising and many of the culprits faced trial, the forest department boldly offered to drop all charges in exchange for helping to tackle the issue. Addressing the economic root causes of poaching, this project has provided former poachers with reliable, long-term income through forest patrol and tour guide jobs, earning Periyar a United Nations biodiversity award in 2012.
Broad collaboration needed for next stage
These projects all testify to the potential of community-focused forest conservation projects to protect flora and fauna while providing viable poaching alternatives for the most economically-vulnerable groups in hotspot countries. Moving forward, this holistic approach to poaching should be rapidly expanded, notably through a broad funding and capacity-building coalition bringing together multilateral development banks, universities, NGOs and private investors.
As underscored by its Kordofan giraffe research in Cameroon’s Bénoué National Park, this forest conservation model will hugely benefit from the cutting-edge data and convening powers offered by institutions like Bristol Zoological Society and the University of Bristol. Equipped with reliable wildlife population insights and international support to protect critically endangered species from poaching and ecosystem destruction, wildlife conservation will have a bright future.
