Stop Rampant Poaching in Cameroon

Environment, Petitions — By Paul Preibisius on February 18, 2012 10:58 am

Target: Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme Achim Steiner

Goal: To halt the massive rise in elephant poaching occurring in Cameroon.

Fueled by a rebirth in the Asian market for ivory, the issue of poaching in Cameroon is now at a critical level.  In just a six week period over 200 elephants have been killed in or around Bouba Ndjida National park in northern Cameroon.

These poachers are frequently well armed and hail from across national borders, frequently from Chad and Sudan.  The speed and brutal efficiency of this sudden uptick speaks to an organized systematic effort that could decimate already threatened elephant populations.

In the outer frontier regions of northern Cameroon these poachers often operate with the cooperation of the local population, offering free elephant meat and capitalizing on the desires of villagers to not have elephants around harming crops.

This type of cooperation is extremely dangerous for the precedent it sets.  Not only does the collusion make it more difficult to bring these poachers to justice, but it also brings the potential of human bloodshed should these well-armed groups happen upon a village that does not wish to cooperate.

There has already been some incidence of bloodshed from this as a group of nearly 50 poachers killed six Chadian soldiers who were attempting to arrest them.  The more emboldened poachers become, the more they will grow willing to essentially go to war to protect their profits.  This needs to be curtailed now, before such a thing can be allowed to happen.

Cameroon alone is unfortunately unequipped to handle the gargantuan task of protecting this large area.  They have dispatched rapid reaction forces to the area but lack the manpower to adequately cover the remote park in Cameroon’s far north.

If this massive surge in poaching continues the elephant population there, already under 5,000, will be decimated.  Additional outside aid is needed and soon, lest the elephant population of Cameroon be allowed to disappear forever.

PETITION LETTER:

Dear Executive Director Steiner,

The tragic rise in poaching across the northern reaches of Cameroon’s Bouba Ndjida National cannot go unheeded.  Within the past six weeks over 200 elephants have been killed in the region.  This massive poaching uptick is being fueled by a rebirth in the Asian ivory trade, which is making the illegal massacre of elephants more profitable than ever.

This has resulted in large numbers of well armed poachers crossing international borders from Chad and Sudan into the protected but remote park and outlying areas.

Compounding the issue is fact that these poachers are also frequently working cooperatively with local populations throughout what is considered a frontier region.  By offering free elephant meat, and ridding them of animals considered a crop-damaging nuisance to local farmers a dangerous precedent has been set.

The more success these poachers have working cooperatively with locals, the more difficult it will become for authorities to root them out and put a stop to their illegal activities.  In addition to this, any village or family that does not wish to cooperate is being set up for potential bloodshed.

Human blood has in fact already been spilled over this issue.  Six Chadian soldiers attempting to arrest ivory poachers were killed by a group fifty-strong.  Acts like these, and the profits reaped from the ivory trade will further embolden these well armed and organized poaching outfits to cause more damage and protect their illegal trade with greater fervor.

The only solution is a rapid large-scale response to thwart elephant poaching in the region before the elephant population of fewer than 5,000 is decimated.

Cameroon has attempted to respond, sending a rapid reaction force to the area but they simply lack the resources and manpower to adequately cover the remote park.

It is with this in mind that I urge you to lend your support to putting an end to the six week poaching spree that has occurred throughout northern Cameroon.  Help them protect their greatest natural resource by defending Cameroon’s endangered elephants before it is too late.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Will Go Here]