Nyungwe and Odzala-Kokoua national parks, in Rwanda and the Republic of Congo respectively, are now part of the world heritage of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). The decision was taken on Tuesday 19 September 2023, at a session of Unesco’s World Heritage Committee held in Riyadh, the Saudi capital.
Toute l'actu sur la protection de l'environnement
SOUTH AFRICA: Kavango-Zambèze, an area of stability for elephants
The 2023 survey report on elephants in the Kavango-Zambèze Transfrontier Area (KAZA) shows that elephant populations there are stable. In this region of southern Africa, which includes Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe, the elephant population is estimated at 227,900 individuals.
GABON: international ivory trafficking network dismantled
The Gabonese authorities, in collaboration with the NGO Conservation Justice, are continuing to track down members of an international ivory trafficking network from Gabon to Cameroon. Five other suspected traffickers have been arrested in various locations. The alleged traffickers risk a prison sentence of up to 10 or even 20 years, as this is a transnational network organised as a criminal association.
AFRICA: new repellents to limit human-elephant conflicts
The Wild Africa Fund, a wildlife protection organisation based in South Africa, is experimenting with a number of repellents to protect elephants from conflict with humans. In Africa, human-wildlife conflicts are one of the causes of the disappearance of African elephants. The species now numbers around 415,000, compared with 3 to 5 million at the beginning of the 20th century.
Gabon : un camerounais interpelé avec 120 kg d’ivoire
Dans le cadre d’une vaste opération de lutte contre le trafic d’ivoire au Gabon, une opération d’envergure a permis d’intercepter une cargaison importante d’ivoire qui devait être acheminé depuis le Gabon vers le Cameroun par un vaste réseau organisé de trafic d’ivoire. Plusieurs personnes ont été interpellées dont au moins deux des protagonistes importants de ce trafic international.
DRC: 14 NGOs accuse M23 rebels of looting in Virunga Park
The 23 March Movement (M23) has once again been accused of pillaging the wildlife and floral resources of Virunga National Park in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Fourteen environmental organisations have just appealed to the President of the DRC to find an urgent solution to save this World Heritage site.
DRC: violence threatens to close the world’s only bonobo reserve
Ekolo ya Bonobo could close. The world’s only bonobo reintegration reserve, located in the north-west of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has been at a standstill since 13 June 2023. The reason: violence perpetrated by as yet unidentified armed assailants in Basankusu, in the Equateur province where the reserve is located. Four primates were shot dead.
AFRICA: Leboncoin adopts new regulations against the ivory trade
French online sales giant Leboncoin has tightened its regulations against the ivory trade. In addition to ivory items, the company is now removing from its platform any item that might turn out to be made of ivory. This measure is in support of elephant conservation efforts in Africa. The continent has lost more than 100,000 elephants in 20 years due to the ivory trade.
GABON : un intermédiaire du commerce illégal d’ivoire, interpellé à Kango dans la province de l’Estuaire
Une nouvelle opération d’une équipe mixte de lutte contre la criminalité liée aux espèces fauniques vient d’aboutir à l’interpellation d’un individu impliqué dans le commerce illicite d’ivoire, à Kango dans la province de l’Estuaire.
CHAD: After a 20-year absence, the lion reappears in Sena Oura National Park
A team of Chadian ecologists and scientists from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) have announced the return of the lion to Sena Oura National Park in southwestern Chad. A lioness was photographed on 22 February 2023 in the park. Conservationists welcome the return of lions to a national park where the species has not been seen since 2004.