The 10th African Elephant Fund Steering Committee Meeting Hosted by Government of Botswana
The Amazing World of Elephants documentary from the AEF project in Ghana entitled: Elephant Conservation Through Law Enforcement And Stakeholder Engagement In Mole National Park And Its Corridors.
Photo: 3 March 2018- Kasane, Botswana- African Elephant Fund Steering Commitee (AEFSC) members at the 10th AEFSC meeting held at Travel Lodge. Top row from left: Jiri Hlavacek, Aurelie Flore Koumba Pambo, Maartje Langeveld, Sandrine Maury, Cyril Taolo, Abednico Macheme, Mrigesh Kshatriya and Mpho Tjiane. Bottom row from left: Malepo Phosoko, Ntwanano Masingi, Rudolf Specht, Thea Caroll, Patrick Omondi, Miet Van Looy, Mamadou Kane, Nana Kofi Adu-Nsiah, Kumara Wakjira Gemeda, Boitshepho Chube and Dorris Chepkoech
The 10th African Elephant Fund Steering Committee (AEFSC) meeting was held in Kasane, Botswana from the 1-3 March 2018 and hosted by the Government of Botswana.
The meeting was presided over by AEFSC Chair, Kenya and all members of the Steering Committee. The Eastern Africa region was represented by Kenya and Ethiopia; Central African region was represented by Gabon; Southern African region was represented by Botswana and South Africa and West African region was represented by Ghana.
The donors were represented by Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. Ex-officio members were represented by the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment) and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)- Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE) Secretariat. The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS) Secretariat and France participated in the the meeting as observers.
The main agenda for the meeting was to review and assess thirty-one (31) project proposals that were submitted between 2 October 2017 to 31 December 2017.
The Steering Committee members also met to review the implementation of the ongoing projects in African range States, to discuss funding mechanism for future Steering Committee meetings, to discuss the process for revising the African Elephant Action Plan, to discuss roles and functions of the Steering Committee, to discuss resource mobilization strategy for the fund, to discuss post project implementation strategies and to conduct elections for the new Steering Committee members. The Steering Committee approved 17 projects in 13 African range States i.e. Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Burkina Faso, Benin, Niger, Cameroon, Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria and Togo and one project for IUCN for a total amount of 1,342,941 US Dollars.
The Steering Committee received new pledges from donors for the year 2018. Pledges were made from Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Germany. The Steering Committee conducted elections for the new Steering Committee bureau.
The new Chair for the Steering Committee is Nana Kofi Adu-Nsiah from Ghana and Vice-Chair is from Niger. West Africa region are represented by Ghana and Niger. Eastern Africa region are represented by Kenya and Uganda.
Southern Africa region are represented by South Africa and Namibia. Central Africa region are represented by Gabon and Chad. The donors are represented by Belgium, the European Commission and France. The ex-officio members are represented by UN Environment, CITES-MIKE Secretariat and CMS Secretariat.
The 11th African Elephant Fund Steering Committee was proposed to be held in Ghana.
Below are the project proposals that were approved by the Steering Committee:
- Central Africa: Cameroon- Appui à l'application de la loi et à la Protection des Éléphants d'Afrique dans le Complexe de Conservation du Dja, Cameroun / Support of Law Renforcement and the Protection of African Elephants at the Dja Conservation Complex- $145,816
- Eastern Africa: Kenya- Enhancing Prosecution of Elephant Poachers Through Training, Ivory stockpile Genotyping and Construction of African Elephant DNA Library- $89,355, Kenya- Amboseli –West Kilimanjaro – Magadi Ecosystem Aerial Mammal Count- $ 120,490 Kenya- Developing Drought Mitigation Measures for Elephants in Tsavo by Understanding Long-Term Elephant Distribution and Mortality Patterns in Relation to NDVI, Rainfall and Waterholes- $ 23,440 Uganda- Human-Elephant Conflict Reduction in Murchison Falls- $88,760 Uganda- Establishment of an Efficient, Effective and Reliable Communications Network to Support Wildlife Law Enforcement Operations throughout Queen Elizabeth Protected Area, Uganda- $140,000 Rwanda- Elephant Collaring for Their Security and Fence Integrity to Reduce Human/Wildlife Conflicts in Akagera National Park, Rwanda- $72,675
- Southern Africa: Malawi- Combating Illegal Killing of Elephants and Trafficking of Ivory- $100,000 Malawi- Mitigation of HEC and Addressing Deforestation and Forest Degradation Through Income Generating Activities with Communities- $59,484 Zimbabawe- Habitat Use by African Elephants in the Zambezi Valley, Zimbabwe: An Inquiry into the Effectiveness of Corridors and the Suitability of the Environment to Sustain the Species- $39,230
- West Africa: Burkina Faso, Benin, Niger and Togo- Sensibilisation et Renforcement des Capacités des Corps de Contrôle Pour la Lutte Contre le Trafic Illicite de l’ivoire au Bénin, Burkina Faso, Niger et au Togo/ Raising Awareness and Capacity Building of the Control Corps for the Fight Against Illegal Trafficking of Ivory in Benin, Burkina Faso, Niger and Togo- $104,720 Ghana- Elephant Culture: Melding Science and Traditional Knowledge about Elephant Culture and Social Complexity to Increase Positive Conservation Outcomes for Elephants in West Africa- $ 99,989 Guinea- Improving the Protection of Forest Elephants (Loxodonta africana cyclotis) and Reducing Human-Elephant Conflicts at Ziama Forest and Ziama-Wenegesi Corridor in Southeastern Guinea, West Africa- $ 120,577 Nigeria- Supporting SMART-based Ranger Patrols at Yankari Game Reserve to Strengthen Law Enforcement and Reduce Elephant Poaching- $ 35,900 Nigeria- Improving Law Enforcement and Reducing Elephant Poaching in the Oban Division of Cross River National Park through SMART- $25,310 Togo- Appui à l’intégration des Communautés Locales dans la Gestion des Eléphants du Parc National Fazao-Malfakassa/ Supporting the Integration of Local Communities into the Management of Elephants in Fazao-Malfakassa National Park- $ 25,000
- All Regions: All regions- Preparing Technical Inputs for Updating the African Elephant Action Plan- $ 52,195