At least five elephants were shot and stripped of their tusks in early April 2023 in southern Chad. Shocked by this wildlife crime, the organisation SOS Elephants of Chad is calling on the government to act firmly against the resurgence of poaching of Chad’s endangered elephants.
Toute l'actu sur la protection de l'environnement
AFRICA: WRI mobilises $100m to restore forests in five countries
The World Resources Institute (WRI), an American think tank specialising in environmental issues, has just secured funding of $100 million, or 59.8 billion CFA francs. The funds will be used to encourage tree planting in the Lake Kivu and Rusizi River Basin, which straddles the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Burundi and Rwanda, as well as in the cocoa belt in Ghana and the Great Rift Valley in Kenya.
AFRICA: What can EU law do against imported deforestation?
The European Parliament has just passed new legislation that will ban the sale of deforestation-related goods in member states. However, African researchers and specialists doubt the effectiveness of such a European measure.
CONGO: More than 200 security agents trained to handle seized animals
More than 200 law enforcement officers will be trained in the handling of animals seized during anti-wildlife trafficking operations. The Republic of Congo is one of three countries to benefit from the project, which is managed by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) with funding from the US State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL).
TANZANIA: USAID releases $8.4 million for coastal biodiversity conservation
The United States of America and Tanzania launched the Heshimu Bahari (Swahili for « respect the oceans ») project on April 4, 2023. With a five-year implementation period and initial funding of $8.4 million from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the project aims to strengthen the conservation of Tanzania’s coastal biodiversity.
MOROCCO: Kingdom promotes the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment
The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has adopted a resolution on the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. The text, sponsored by five countries including Morocco, aims to commit states to adopt an effective legal framework and policies at the national and local levels to ensure the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.
GABON: Four suspected ivory traffickers arrested in Makokou
Four individuals involved in the illegal trafficking of four ivory tips were arrested on April 5 and 6, 2023 in Makokou, a town in northeastern Gabon. The elephant population in Gabon remains threatened despite regular ivory seizures by Water and Forestry agents. This observation has led civil society to explore actions upstream of the ivory trade process.
SAHEL: Towards an action plan for the conservation of wildlife
An action plan for the conservation of Sahelo-Saharan wildlife and its habitats will be presented at the 14th United Nations Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), scheduled for 23-28 October 2023 in Uzbekistan. The said plan has already been adopted by 24 African countries, during the third high-level regional seminar on the conservation and restoration of Sahelo-Saharan megafauna, from 14 to 16 March 2023 in Agadir, Morocco.
ALGERIA: A first envelope of $73 million for the rehabilitation of the « green dam
The Algerian government has just presented the rehabilitation and extension program of the « green dam », a forest belt linking the eastern and western borders of Algeria, over 15,000 kilometers. The program extends over 7 years with an investment of 552 million dollars. And for the year 2023 alone, an amount of $73 million has been released.
MOROCCO: International Day of Zero Waste on the coast of Rabat
Zero Waste Skhirat and Al Mountada Li Tanmia, two environmental protection associations based in southern Morocco, carried out a plastic waste collection campaign on the Rabat coastline. The activity, supported by the Australian-based company CWP Global, was part of the celebration of the first edition of the International Day of Zero Waste launched on December 14, 2022 by the UN.